First Malak Dark deception custom plush

 

Lonely Louie

Lonely Louie just wants some friends! He dreams of having friends and a beautiful environment around him that he can call home. While daydreaming, he is interrupted by the sound of thunder. He quickly realizes that a storm has come out of nowhere and swept him up! He cartwheels across the sky, thunder claps all around him and then all of a sudden, he has landed on the ground again. But wait, why is he staring at himself? ...Wait a minute, that isn't him! That's another flamingo! Quickly, he looks over to the right and over to the left. He then realizes he has landed into an environment he has always wanted, surrounded by flamingos just like him. He is finally home!

Editing and After Effects

I decided to bring some of the photos of Louie into Photoshop and change them to gray scale...I thought it would be a somewhat helpful way to distinguish between his dream and reality since we weren't doing a full scale animation for this project.

I also decided to leave the tear drop with color in the video because I felt maaaaaybe that could be some type of 'sign' or hint possibly that what was happening. I felt the tear drop was like "ohhh you wish so hard for that...here, cry and your wish will come true".

I then took some of the still frames that would be during the thunderstorm and placed a screen effect of rain onto to the photo...dropped the opacity down to 70% and called it good.

It was then time to fire up After Effects. Let me be clear, I've used this program now 4x. I'm still lost and in a blur on how to I was able to figure it out this go around...but let's just say that it's 7:05am on Monday May 11th, and it has finally been completed and submitted on the discussion board. I began working on it in After Effects at 1am...it's been a long night.

I chose a rather catchy piano song by Kevin MacLeod called Ecossaise in E-Flat. It's offered on the youtube copyright free website. The thunder was also found on there.

Scene, Skelegons, Render

I began with a large green object to place all over the ground. I felt I could just add the 'dead' grass to the opposite corner and just work around that way.

I added the sun, some lights, the flowers, and trees and called it good.

I also added the skelegons on Louie and just rolled with it that way. Cloned him a few times and created Heathcliff, Harold, and Helga. The Happy Flamingos. It's late...I tend to name everything. Gives them more personalty.

I went ahead and began the process of capturing the frames per my story board. All was going well until I realized...the tear....HOW was I going to do that? I went ahead and decided to design an '8-bit' tear drop.

I then continued and did the rendering of the frames. Which I sadly did not get anymore screen grabs of the process cause I was staring the finish line in the face. 

Objects

At first I went with a realistic type effect for my project, I began with the flamingo

(which I apologize I did not get a lot of photos on while working on it, I will be explaining more).

So I began with a rectangular box. I used segments to help build up my flamingo. I widened the body of the flamingo first to produce the shape of a flamingo. I them began to build the neck of the flamingo by using the Shift + F method and build up the neck. I used the rotate (y) tool to give the neck of the flamingo the curve as well as the face and beak.

After that I went back to the body to work on the tail of the flamingo. Once I felt that looked right, I began to work on the beak of the flamingo some more but couldn't quite get the feel of the beak (and later the neck) of the flamingo. I decided to add the legs using the disc tool. Since this flamingo object is actually a lawn ornament, I didn't have to go into too much details with that.

Once I was somewhat satisfied, I began surfacing the object. I just used a plastic preset on the entire thing because it's supposed to be a plastic lawn flamingo like in people's yards. After I was done, I hit tab to smooth the entire object. Even before hitting tab, it still looked pretty smooth for a box object. The first photo is before hitting tab, and the second photo is pressing tab to smooth the surface.

Before pressing the 'tab' key to smooth.

After.

Once I made the skelegons on this and played around with it on Layout, I determined I didn't really want to do realistic type surfacing. and scratched this flamingo altogether and restarted the character.

NEW FLAMINGO CHARACTER

I realized everyone had a great idea and type of surfacing effect and mine was turning into the norm of what I did in Graphics with a real look... my kiddo plays a lot of Minecraft and I thought, you know, this sounds like a fun way to do this. It's a type of design, and it's different from what I was going with. I began to research a little (I say a little because I too play Minecraft). I found you could easily get textures for surfacing, the objects are easily done with boxes (I mean, it is Minecraft after all). So I drew out a flamingo after making a boxed segment for the body.

and began constructing a Minecraft style flamingo.

 After I began surfacing just using the colors of a flamingo and working with it that way.

After, I began working on my "clean house" using the same Minecraft routine.

Walls with windows cut out.

Minecraft block roof.

Added a porch.

block pillars.

Can't forget the door!

Before surfacing

After surfacing.

Finished 'Nice' House Minecraft style.

Then I began working on the "trees" now trees on Minecraft are all kinds of crazy and difficult. So far the tree has been my biggest obstacle. I began by making a regular box and surfacing it with the 'tree' texture.

and did the same method with the "trunk" of the tree.

Just a tree...not so happy. 

I added the box with the 'leaves' and just went crazy cloning them and placing them as I felt necessary.

In Layout for reference.

I then went to work on my 'not so good' house...the one where the flamingo would be seen first. I decided to still do the method from the 'good house' but break apart some of the blocks to try my best to make it look like decaying house. 

I began surfacing it and trying to decide the best approach for the roof. I enlisted other Minecraft friends, Sophie and Angie, and they suggested the Acacia block for the roof...which was way better than what I went with originally (I used the lava rock...or the magma, I can't quite remember what it is called. But here is a pic to show you reference of my bad idea versus the chosen idea)

This is fine..no it's not LOL

Finished 'not so nice' house with Acacia roof.

After that I decided to start working on flowers, cause the good yard needs some nice flowers! and we all know Minecraft flowers are interesting little specimens. Here are some of the research photos I found and used to make mine below. 

This one was tedious. But I love sunflowers and HAD to make it. 

Storyboard

Proposals for Project

Lonely Louie

Character: Louie the Lawn Flamingo 

Synopsis:  Louie, a lawn flamingo, is outside in the yard, unhappy of the scenery of the garden. He has a boring life living in his yard with dying flowers and nature, making Louie sad and upset that he has no friends or a nice scenery to enjoy. He imagines a life with other flamingos and a beautiful yard to call home.

He begins to notice the sky getting darker but it is only the middle of the day. The clouds begin to roll in, darkness fills the sky, the wind begins to blow. A flash of light and a loud clap of thunder is heard. Louie just stays put, still longing for a better life. Suddenly, the wind picks up immensely and sweeps him up in the air and takes him for a ride in the dark sky.

He opens his eyes and realizes he is no longer trapped in the yard, he is in the sky. He begins to loop around the sky, doing somersaults and cartwheels with the clouds. Just as quickly as it begins, the storm subsides and he has landed on his side back on the ground.

When he opens his eyes he sees a familiar face, one like his. The unfamiliar flamingo nods and Louie gets up and begins to look to the left and right before his realizes he is with other flamingos like in his imagination. Flamingos with a yard of flowers and nature. He is finally where he is meant to be.