The Process
I started the project by writing the narrative script, and then developed the design and storyboard from the narrative. This project aims to tell the story with a joyful and playful mood, the process of crafting the design is shown below.
These are early iterations of the design. I found the forms were boring and plain, barely conveying any joyful mood. Hence, I started the process of redesigning the style of my illustration.
When exploring the style, I applied the method of two-step illustration that I learned from an online course delivered by an illustrator, Tom Froese. The first step is observational drawing, on which I am able to take in the information of the reference. The second step is drawing from the mind, which gives me the space and freedom to alter, distort or texture the drawing. I flattened the style and added roundness to the objects in this sketch, making them less realistic and more stylized.
To make it more unique, I chose to add features such as "wrong" perspective, rough strokes and bold shapes. The oddness and quirkiness in this sketch were applied to the final design.
Storyboarding. I considered the balance of character performance and concept demonstration quite a lot. From the teashop scene to the various drinks scene, I focused on the demonstration of concepts by the abstract, surrealistic style of design and animation.
