In the Process of Making 3D Lettering

These letters have been constructed from foam board; I'm intending to photograph them as the title to Hansel and Gretel. The swirls on the letters are supposed to look like lollipops/sweets and the idea is to animate them so they rotate. Hopefully they will have a hypnotising effect to symbolize the witch’s power and how the children are enticed and persuaded to go into the house. I have given a letter 'e' teeth and a red eye to characterise the witch and I'm hoping to animate it eating Hansel while Gretel runs around the letters screaming!

Developing the House

I decided that the swirly, lollipop roof was too busy; it seemed to dominate the whole house and I also thought that the patterns clashed with the sweets. The paper swirls didn't look as good as the rest of the house and the paper material used was in contrast to the rest of the house made out of real food. So I've decided to take off that roof and use food such as biscuits. My tutor, Gary, suggested 'Morning Coffee’ biscuits because they are thin and rectangular which should produce an effect similar to slates on a roof if I can overlay them correctly.

Tree Trunks

I've been having a go at making the trees for the forest. I looked at Su Blackwell's method of constructing trees and thought she had done it beautifully. The fact that the she has created the feeling that Little Red Riding Hood is deep in the forest really interested me as it’s the effect I'm trying to provoke within my Hansel and Gretel images. The trees are really tall which may have helped to create this feeling. The second image is my attempt (so far) at creating trees in a similar way, I have just used toilet/kitchen rolls and scored into the them with a craft knife and then gave them a wash of brown ink. Really pleased with the texture I have created, I think it's very close to the texture of a real tree. I've now got to consider ways of making the branches!

The House is Getting There!

The house just needs a chimney, path and door now! Then I think I will be near to finishing it! I need to stick a few more sweets to the house so it is more convincing that the whole house is made out of sweets but overall I think it is working.

Snow White: An Enchanting Musical

This is part of a performance of Snow White which I found on YouTube. I posted this video as it explains one of my ideas for animation quite well. The way the trees slide away and reveal the other sets behind them is really effective and I thought I could use this as a way of animating when the Hansel and Gretel house first appears in the story. Perhaps I could make trees and then slide them in and out of the image, I could also do the same with the house, I could also rotate it as the children come closer to the house. The movements are really simple but yet seem to be really effective. And I need simple movements on the screen because I don't want the interactions to become tedious for the child.

The House with the Colourful Roof!

This is what the foam board house looks like with the paper swirls glued on. I'm really happy with the way it has turned out, as it seems to have lots of movement and I could possibly consider animating them to rotate, as if hypnotising Hansel and Gretel to come into the house. Another idea is to have the house hidden behind trees and then to animate the trees, opening up and the house coming into view, this could happen as the children ‘turn’ the page.

The Next Stages of my H & G House

I have made the structure of the house out of foam board, hopefully it will be a lot easier to get the house to stand up on its own. I intend to stick the liquorice sweets and pretzels to the foam board along with my lollipop swirls which I have posted in a previous post (Experimenting with Hansel and Gretel’s Roof 18/02/11). We shall see what happens. . .

The Hansel and Gretel House so far. . .

So far I've been experimenting with liquorice to build the house, but it's proving out to be quite tricky as they don't seem to stand up very well themselves once glued together, so I'm going to have to consider a way of supporting them. I'm thinking of using foam board for the main structure then sticking the sweets to that. That way it will stand up on its own and will make a more distinctive house shape.

I think the liquorice is effective because it has patterns that resemble brick work on a house. The pretzels I have used as windows are effective because it fits in with the German patterns and culture and the story is originally from Germany, which ties in nicely as I intend to include that some of that essence of the story.

I think the cake wrappers in the very top image work well as a path but I think I could develop this further and make them look more like steps and a road leading up to the house.

Experimenting with Hansel and Gretel's Roof

This is an image of my experimentation with swirl patterns for the roof of the witch’s house in Hansel and Gretel. My original idea was to keep them black and white like the image above but then I decided they needed colour to look more like lollipops and to further excite children, I thought they'd appreciative more colour. Also I want a strong contrast between this house and the dark forest in which the house is located, so it looks inviting tempting the children to approach it.

Please excuse the yoghurt pot in the photographs :P it's hungry work!

The LG Optimus

It has just been unveiled that LG is going to release a 3D phone. This is further proof that the industry is leaning towards three dimensional technology. The phone allows a user to play games in 3D as well as view videos in 3D (including YouTube videos) both without the need for 3D glasses.

Similarly to the Nintendo 3DS it can also take photographs in 3D now that it has two cameras using the process of stereopsis, which I talked about in my last post however the LG Optimus also allows a user to record videos on the phone and view the 3D effects immediately on the mobile screen.

I think keeping up with trends, styles and fashions is a must if you want to stay current within the design industry. It would be useful to consider a way of making my work applicable to being viewed in 3D.

Nintendo 3DS

I have posted this image of the Nintendo 3DS because I believe it is proof that the 3D aspect is becoming very current and is the future for design. Due to be released at the end of March the games console works because the screen is small enough to fool the brain into thinking the image is in 3D without the need for glasses.

The Nintendo 3DS is also equipped with two frontal cameras which can be used at the same time to take three dimensional images in a process called stereopsis. This process can also be done with higher quality cameras and a computer program to produce the final image. Since my work is model based most of the difficulty in creating these three dimensional images is already overcome, this process is just not possible with drawings so essentially I am ahead of the game!

Taking three dimensional pictures of a world which can then be explored intuitively is a huge possibility in the very near future and my work could be adapted into this role with ease. I think my work is definitely heading in the right direction in terms of trends and fashions in the industry; 3D seems to be the next big thing, with all this talk about 3D television and games.

iPad: Evolution of Books

I think this video is very relevant to my project as it features the eBook 'Alice in Wonderland' on the iPad with animation and interactions. Watching this video was really quite helpful as it showed me what the iPad was actually capable of. For instance, the use of the iPad’s touch screen means things can move when they are tapped and it is also tilt sensitive so it can be tipped which makes objects fall or move around the screen.

This eBook seems perfect for young readers, the inclusion of interactions will intrigue a child and s the iPad can ‘read’ books out loud, they can learn without the company of an adult. I believe it will also make children's bedtime reading much more enjoyable for adults as well as young readers. The pages are vibrant and colourful which really attracts the eye and the yet the text is easy to read. All these aspects are things I should consider when creating imagery or trying to create the interactions and animations.

I have also had an idea as to how I would demonstrate how my ideas would look on the iPad’s screen. I could get a good photograph of an iPad and then print it off (in real size) and make a cardboard cut out/model of one. By filming my hands holding the iPad model, I could touch the screen with my finger which could then trigger the animation on the screen, similarly when I tip the iPad model side to side. This would be a good way of communicating my ideas for the animations and interactions.