For our group project we animated stanzas 11- 13 from the poem 'The Deserted Village' (Oliver Goldsmith). We decided to take the poem out of its' original time and set it in a fantastical land taking some influences from Celtic Ireland.
After studying the meaning of the poem we decided that the main characters/elements were the villagers (and the village), the priest and the city. The main idea we took from the stanza's was how the 'virtuous' priest cared for and protected the villagers The portrayal of the priest character as the guardian of the whole village emphasizes his importance in the poem. His 'pride' is to protect the villagers from the exterior allure of the city was his 'pride'.
Design roles for the final animation:
Elain Buckley - villager design
Oscar Nickelsen - background design
Pat Rogers - city design
My role - guardian design
Finished animation (animated with after effects)
Guardian defeated scene
Community celebrations scene
Finished guardian design- front
Finished guardian design- giant scene
Finished guardian design- side view
Overlaying watercolour textures in backgrond images.
Watercolour textures
Guardian model sheet
We initially planned on hand-painting the backgrounds using watercolour so the images below are some earlier ideas for the aesthetic of the anmation.
Concept drawing for our animation: watercolour pencils
