Erlance

Shelly Gertan

Animation Development

The Last Sunrise

Initial Sketch

Blocking out the composition and identifying the main elements that will be animated: Foreground trees, train.

Blocking

Blocking in the basic shapes to define value and color. Working with a perpsective grid to align the houses and lead the eye to the focal point: the bridge.

Color

Basic, natural lighting. Playing with colors that invite a combination of hope and grief - a bright sunrise signaling a new day, but an overlay of rain.

Depth

Adding shadows, details such as farming fields and architecture, and most importantly, adjusting the light to guide the eye. After researching realistic skies that combined sunlight and rain, I opted to get rid of the rain, because it was distracting and cluttered.

Color Choices

After eliminating the rain, I had more color choices open to me. Would I go for a cooler scheme to keep the feeling of rain, or something warmer?

Final Painting

I shifted the palette to a warmer red-orange hue. This color sunrise looks hopeful and inviting, but the strong shadows it casts keep more mysterious undertones in the scene.

Mood Board

Defining the mood and color scheme. I was inspired by a combination of hazy rain and strong, red-orange skies.

Village References

Village References

Strong inspiration from alpine mountain villages like Innsbruck and Grindelwald. I referenced the layout of riverside villages, as well as architecture and trees.

Development of a shot that establishes the world and mood in "Helpless". This farming village is a long train ride away from the nearest city, and primarily sustains itself. The landscape and architecture is inspired by alpine villages. The sunrise is symbolically hopeful, inviting possibilities of a new day and new beginnings, while the harsh shadows on the houses suggest otherwise. The style is inspired by hyper-realistic but stylised anime background paintings, combined with thick, textured brush strokes from digital speed paintings.