Storyboard

I'm... timing it out as I go along. That's why there's a video, rather than images. Yeah, I know there's a blank space or two. The snippet with the still images is the fight scene i'm working on, which I moved over so it wouldn't interfere with the timing of the rest of the video. There are some parts i have to clean up, like the elf looking back after the arrow whizzed by his ear, and an image of the Kobold at the bar. Other than that, i don't have many edits to do after showing it to Wendy. I'll fix it this weekend if my laptop doesn't act up.

Layouts

I will edit this if the assignment happened to change.

One sample background

Top-Down/Map/Bird's eye view

Full Front View

Polishing Character Designs

Construction

Emotion Refined

Turnaround Refined

New Animation Story

Since the previous animation story is void, here's the new one!

Calbhach and Athol

Act 1

It was a peaceful day outside the Elven town of Avalon. Calbhach the goblin was tuning his lute while Athol the Porc relaxed against a tree beside him. A passerby on the road noticed them, and turned his nose up. He remarked snidely to the Porc, grumbling while looking at the Goblin. Athol only growled in response. Calbhach cut in, grumbling aggressively and gesturing rudely. The Elf only scoffed, mouthing 'rat' at him. As he walked away, an arrow sailed by his pointed ear, and he quickly turned back to see the goblin with another arrow drawn. Calbhach cocked his head, trying to antagonize the elf further. He was only waved off as the elf went on his way. Calbhach stamped a foot, gesturing toward the elf as he looked back at Athol. Athol snorted, shaking his head as his eyes followed the elf. Calbhach's eyes wend wide as a sudden idea came to him, and he grinned widely. He leaned into Athol's ear on the tips of his toes, gesturing animatedly.

The next day, they decided to visit a Kobold town deep in the Bedazzled Mountains not too far away. It took some asking around, but they finally found the tavern. A simple password is all it took to bribe the bartender into pointing to the elder. He looked whether end from his adventures. Rock-fur worn down, a scarred left eye and a tattered scarf adorning his neck. He refused at first, Calbhach's measly one ruby was not enough to sate him. So Calbhach added another. And another. Until a small pile of 10 assorted precious gems made the old Kobold's mouth water. He finally consented, grabbing an emerald and stuffing it into his mouth.

He told the tricksters that the Kobold's gem mine was infested with Mimics. The entrance was just outside of town. Try as they might, the Kobolds just couldn't seem to decrease their numbers. Any help they could get was appreciated, and exterminators were welcome to a small reward for every Mimic they captured or killed. Calbhach politely thanked the Kobold elder, and motioned for Athol to follow.

Act 2

As the elder had said, it was a quick walk outside of town. The mine entrance was barricaded shut, with only a door keeping them from entering. Even outside the mine they could hear the chattering of the Mimics. They would need to be careful not to get overwhelmed.

Upon entering, they spotted two small chests. Calbhach motioned to Athol to go on ahead, staying behind to spot for him and buff him with his bard abilities as needed. Athol took out his twin hammers, slowly approaching one of the chests. He hit it with his hammer… And only gems spilled out. The loud noise made the other rattle and come to life. The lid opened to reveal a mouth with four rows of sharp teeth, with a pair of green, slitted eyes sitting in the space where the seam of two pieces of wood would be.

Calbhach, seeing this, immediately warned Athol of the approaching danger, taking out his short bow. Athol banged his hammers together, casting Draggin Lightning, lashing the Mimic with lightning and sending it sailing into the air. With a quick whiplash, it crashed to the ground. Calbhach let an arrow loose, just nicking it. The Mimic let out a furious growl, echoing throughout the cavern. The chattering grew to a crescendo and silenced. There was a low rumble as a hoard of ten more Mimics entered the cavern. In the middle was a Mimic that looked tattered, and was bigger than the others. Eyes grew wide and ears drooped as the shadow of the largest loomed over them, eating other Mimics to grow stronger.

They attacked it with all their might. Athol shot lightning from his hammers, casting Summon Mjolnir, which summoned a trio of astral hammers and slamming them down on the boss. Calbhach unleashes as many arrows as he could, charming as many minions into attacking each other and putting them to sleep as he could. The duo was thankful for the boss eating his own minions. However, as he ate more, he only became more powerful. They were severely outgunned by the boss. Calbhach ran out of arrows mid-way, and Athol was getting dangerously low on stamina. Both were panting from the long, drawn-out fight. Only the boss was left and he still looked ready to fight.

Out of nowhere, the elder and a few other Kobold's stormed into the mine, scratching, biting and slashing at the boss with claws, teeth and swords. One, a Paladin, had stepped aside and healed them both. Athol rushed in with renewed vigor. It was a final fire ball from one of the Wizards that defeated the giant Mimic. Enthusiastic cheering from the Kobold's echoed throughout the mine, as they tore the boss to pieces to get at the gems he and his minions had eaten. Athol was barely able to get in between them with his impressive stature to bag and subdue a few that were still unconscious. He picked up a few gems and trotted back to Calbhach. They left the Kobold's to their spoils and left the town. Calbhach wanted to get back to Avalon.

Act 3

It was deep into the night that they acted on their plans and the duo were getting the Mimics ready for their plot. Calbhach cast a very successful Lullaby, sending the mimics to sleep. He then cast disguise, turning himself into an Elf to blend in. He and Athol scattered the Mimics around town for the residents to find. They found the elf who and sneered at them, and made sure he had a couple special ones. It took the rest of the night to go about their mischief.

Once the bag was empty, they retreated to a safe spot. The first light was lit to pierce the dawn. There was a pause before an ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the town, and more lights were lit abruptly. The screams increased in number, and soon enough, there were a few people outside, running from a bouncing Mimic. Athol reached into his burlap waist sack and took out two loaves of bread, handing one to Calbhach. They tapped them together, watching the fruits of their labor.

Deconstructive emotional turnarounds

(aka Turnarounds, Emotion sheet, and construction breakdown)

...I still have consistency issues. -___-

     The character background story stuff is with the attributes list, just posted it too early. And typical me, I changed my mind half way through, so it is now void. I'm writing the story for the animation for these two, with their respective attributes etc. to follow in due time.

Character Bio, Storm Character Development, Story for Animation

Character bio

Cranky

Cranky is a crotchety old man intent on keeping anything off his property. Be it people or animals. However, he will leave well enough alone as long as you do not trespass. He is voluntarily isolated in his house because he is not very social. Nevertheless, that does not mean he does not know the difference between being alone and being lonely. He can be described as Caucasian, with very short, salt and pepper hair and stubble. If one were to describe his default expression, women would compare it to the 'resting bitch face', looking angry all the time. His hands are large and calloused from years of carefully tending his small fields around his home. He normally likes wearing flannels and jeans in mild days with a straw hat providing some relief. Despite him happily displaying his gun outside, he has never shot it at anyone. It is just for show, and for practice at the gun range.

Characteristics:

Antisocial

Compassionate

Brooding

Moral

Stern

Angry

Lonely

Independent

Quiet

Stoic

Taciturn

Stubborn

Touchy

Upset

Conscientious

Crotchety

Decisive

Finicky

Haughty

Keen

The Storm

It was one of those rare nights. A freak blizzard had blown into the small, forested town. This one was a doozy. You could barely se your own hand in front of your face, and the temperature had dropped to minus 15. Cranky had expected these sorts of conditions up north, but in the middle of spring? Really?! The cold made his old bones sorer than the arthritis did. Yet, with the wind howling Cranky heard company rapping at his door.

"Who in their right mind would go out in this weather?" Cranky grumbled. His legs shook slightly as he got up, vehemently cursing the cold under his breath as he made his way to the front door.

A loud "Hey neighbor!" greeted him, and he immediately slammed the door shut. It was Mr. Thompson, his closest neighbor who came over every so often just to bug him. "Aw c'mon Cranky, I just wanted to know if you'd be interested in going out to dinner. What with the blizzard and all, I figured you would like a hot meal."

Cranky paused, glaring at the door, and that was all that Mr. Thompson needed. The door quickly opened again, Thompson grabbing Cranky and pulling him out into the cold. Before the old geezer knew it, he was in Thompson's car and speeding off to town.

Town was miles away, and Cranky quickly grew tired of Thompson's incessant chattering. The car's gears shifted in and out of gear, before the engine spluttered and died. If looks could kill, Cranky's glare would have sent Thompson rolling to the grave.

But the glare faltered, sighing as Cranky relaxed himself back into his seat. There was no time to be angry. They had to survive the night. In Thompson grabbing him, Cranky only had a lighter and his winter coat with him. It was big, and combined with Thompson’s own jacket, they should have enough warmth. “Want some gum? Should take your mind off things.” Cranky took one of the last two pieces, unwrapping it and throwing the wrapper in the ash tray. Cranky got an idea, taking the trash from in the car, and throwing them in the ashtray. Taking his lighter, he set it ablaze.

“What are you doing?! Are you trying to choke us?” Thompson startled.

“Calm down. It’s not enough.” Cranky grumbled.

Thompson calmed, relaxing back into the car seat. He stared at the fire as something crossed his mind. “What happened?” Cranky Gave him a side-glance. “I mean, you used to be so happy. Are you really still so sore from Elise’s passing?” Cranky dipped his head. “It’s been ten years. The guy is rotting in jail.”

Cranky scoffed. “With a good meal, books to read and no cares given.”

“He’s nearly due. You’ll get our justice.” Cranky only sighed. “You don’t have to be alone you know. You don’t talk much, but my wife likes having you over. Even the kids like you when you give in and play with them.”

It went on like that throughout the night. They would throw in more trash to stoke their small fire. Dawn approached and the wind had died down. “Looks like we can get out now.” Thomas commented. They opened the car door and looked around, the ground was blanketed in a couple inches of snow. As they looked around, they noticed the very restaurant in which they had tried to have dinner. The car had broken down right in front. As expected, the town had been dead silent because no one in their right mind would go out in a blizzard. Cranky proceeded to clock Thompson on the head.

Animation story

A fox sneaks around a chicken coop. She enters one side, and the chickens inside are startled into fleeing the other. The fox marvels at her work on the ramp up, and begins her chase. She zeroes in on one, unaware of the company that had ran out of his farmhouse at the commotion. Angry and snarling, he whips out a shotgun and shoots at the fox. The fox is startled into fleeing.

It was not the first time the fox had come onto Cranky's farm, and he was still trying to deter her from his property.

The next day, the fox comes back. All is quiet. It looks peaceful, but there is an uneasy air around the farm, and the scent of metal. She steps onto the property, sneaking toward the coop. Her paw hits metal instead of the tall grass, and she jumps up in surprise. A bear trap snaps up, nearly grazing her paw. Her quick movements had triggered not only this one, but also a small cascade of the metal teeth across the property. She worked to sprint across the grass to the coop. With every step she took, she triggered more with the mere thump of her paws on the ground and the light wind she created as she dashed across the grassy expanse. Once clear, she snags a sleeping chicken and runs off with it. Cranky curses vehemently as he watches the furry terror escape.

All was peaceful this morning. No sign of traps. Today would be an easy day. Maybe the farmer had given up? She had gotten close to the coop when the sound of barking hit her sensitive ears. She looked toward the farmhouse, and a pack of hunting dogs barreled around from the back of the house! She stood her ground against them, ready to take them on. But they turned. She spotted a ball of brown fur dashing in front of them, trying to escape. A rabbit had the misfortune of running into them. Some guard dogs! She chuckled, and picked off yet another chicken.

Cranky decided it was time to pursue her himself. Sure enough, the fox came back and took another chicken. But he was prepared this time. He quietly followed the fox deep into the woods. As he hid from sight, he watched her enter a den at the side of a cliff. But only shortly. She dropped off the chicken and left again. His tracking had taken all day, and he quickly set up a snare. Satisfied with his work, he settled in for the night and waited in the shadows of the surrounding forest.

The whining of the fox woke him up the next morning. She hung upside-down from the tree where he had set up the snare. He took his time setting up his shotgun and took aim. Squeaking and whimpering reached his ears as he was looking down the sights. Looking toward the bush that hid the den, a couple kits stumbled out. They looked between their mother and the farmer. Cranky slowly concedes. The fox was just doing her job taking care of her kids. He couldn’t fault her for running on instinct. Cranky sighs as he leans the gun against a tree.

He reaches for her and she flinches yipping and wriggling in protest, thinking he was going to harm her. Cranky releases her from the snare, and reunites her with her kits. Once her leg stops hurting, she runs off. She looks back at Cranky before they disappear into the bush. He gets up and walks out of the forest. 

5 Concepts

This and the one below relate, a fox hunted by a farmer for preying on his chickens. The one below also has the benefit of being a spin-off depicting the daily life of the mother and the antics of her kits.

A Goblin and Porc duo that likes getting into trouble and cause some mayhem. This causes trouble for the resident Elves, who decide to try to arrest the two. Charges include: Causing a magical fire that burns the bar for 25 years, setting a Kobold prisoner free to terrorize the town, replacing the residents' belongings with Mimics, and offending the local Dragon, sending him on a rampage in the countryside.

(the more I think about it, the more I'd like to storyboard these guys instead...)

A mouse that has no sense of personal space and a dragon that has little to no patience with trespassers when it comes to protecting his hoard.

A Schizophrenic teen tries to deal with the shadow people he sees. At the advice of his psychologist, he slowly befriends one of them. Despite his best efforts, other shadow people cause trouble, making him see and hear things that don't exist. When he reacts to it, it makes him look crazy in the eyes of the people who watch him panic. His own familiar helps him see the inner demons of others.