Day 6: Revising Storyboard and Animatic + Design/Style Exploration

Artists Laura Bifano and Skyler Punnett have been storyboarding away and Jericca Cleland has worked super hard to edit the animatic of the entire short film. Meanwhile, the animators have been exploring animation styles while the other artists explored character design and look development. Yesterday was a busy day!

A selection of storyboard panels by Laura Bifano and Skyler Punnett

A sandcastle design sample drawn by DJ Cleland-Hura shows various angles of the structure plus texture and color

Background sky tests done in watercolour by Clive Powsey for various scenes

Thank you so much to Cheryl O'Connell and friends for the incredible dinner last night! We're so grateful to you for cooking for us -- you guys have serious cuisine talent!!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 4!

"Break the cycle of poverty" -- easier said than done! But Habitat for Humanity has helped many families do just that and will help many more in the future. We just need candidates to know how they could benefit from that partnership.

If you haven't seen them yet, the Team Generous films from 2010-2012 are available in the sidebar of this blog -- you can watch them in the sidebar, or click the links on the video to watch them full screen or on YouTube.

Also, don't forget to pick up your own Team Generous Canada 2014 t-shirt/hoodie/fitted tee/long sleeve tee from Teespring.com and support both us and Habitat! Speaking of support, the Team Generous Facebook page has gained 34 likes this week -- and counting! Thank you all so much, and check out our other social media in the sidebar for the full TGC2014 picture!!

Day 5: Animation Tests and Starting Animatic

We're starting to see some major progress -- it's super exciting and encouraging! Team member Jericca Cleland has put together a rough animatic of the first half of our short film, the artists are working away at creating backgrounds and style design, and the animators are running tests and getting used to TVPaint Animation, which is the program we're using. 

If you haven't checked out our Facebook concept art albums, you can find the one with initial art here, and the one with current film art here.

A colour script, drawn by DJ Cleland-Hura, shows the colour scheme throughout the film as the mood and scenes change

A collection of watercolour textures and backgrounds by Clive Powsey

Sarah Clark layers images on TVPaint Animation 

A sample board provides reference for shells, driftwood, stones, and other natural items found at the beach

Team leader Jericca Cleland uses Final Cut Pro to create a rough animatic of the short film

Also, please keep an eye on our YouTube channel because we've uploaded some animation tests from our film and will be adding more shortly! The chronicled animations will show our progress and process and discovery of style!!

Thank you to the Creative Industries Council, based in North Vancouver Island, and Shelter Point Distillery for hosting our evening last night!  It was a lovely mixer for the Team to meet with local professionals in the digital media, entertainment, and technology sectors.

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 3!

Clarifying candidates is something Habitat for Humanity specifically asked us to represent in our short film, because many potential candidates don't realize that they're just that -- people who would benefit from partnering with Habitat. We aim to show people exactly who Habitat helps and how through the key metaphor we identified in Day 3, and show it so clearly that people will realize, "That's me", or "I know that person, let me tell them about Habitat".

Remember to come back later today to read about what we did yesterday! Tomorrow, we will post another key message for you all to see.

Day 4: Storyboarding and Concept Art

Yesterday was an incredibly productive and fundamental day for our short film. We have our story down, loosely, and are working on the style of art and animation now. We've posted albums of both current and brainstorm concept art on Facebook today! Here's a preview of some of the art from those albums...

Sand texture samples, done in watercolor, lie drying on the ground

A section of preliminary storyboard combines beat board panels with text

Footsteps fill in at the tide line

Different sizes of hands sculpt the sand

Abstract shapes explore eroding sand structures and waves

We'll update our albums with new art often to keep you posted on our progress. These albums showcase art from all of the various styles of our artists, so the images are interesting and diverse.

And thank you so much to the Dolphins Resort for the magnificent dinner last night! We will never forget that feeling of being spoiled and loving every second of it!!

Skyler Punnett's Special Assignment?!

Remember when, at the end of Day 2's post, we mentioned that artist Skyler Punnett had a special assignment while the rest of the Team built on the Habitat house? Ready for the reveal?

He was commissioned to paint an enormous Habitat for Humanity logo on the side of a construction container! Here is his process, detailed photos, and footage of the entire team removing the tape and uncovering his art at the end of the day.

First step: clean the dirt off the side of the container and let it dry...

Next, Skyler gridded an image of the Habitat for Humanity logo

After that, he mapped out a scale drawing of the grid...

...And used it to sketch in the logo

Once the logo was drawn in, he used painter's tape to outline and mask

After filling in the gaps, Skyler began spraying the area with paint

Before removing the tape and revealing the image, he let the paint dry

The entire team helped to remove the tape from his logo and it turned out wonderfully!!

That is what Skyler Punnett did on Sunday, and everyone was super happy with it! We'll post some of our film's concept artwork soon, so you can see what else he's created -- check for albums on Facebook and Google+ soon!!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 2!

Here is our second key message: "Instability vs. Stability". This is an important Habitat for Humanity message because they take unstable families and put them in situations that increase stability for the family members, especially the children. This poster was drawn by Niki Cleland-Hura, and uses crumbling dirt to represent instability and steel to represent stability.

If you haven't seen yesterday's key message, take a look at it by clicking here. Check back tomorrow for another one!

Day 3: Finding the Metaphor and Beginning Concept Artwork

Yesterday was a time of discovery; we drilled down on the messaging of the film and worked through different metaphors and ideas using sketches, doodles, and freeform painting!! By lunchtime, we found the visual metaphor we were looking for to strongly convey our message and began concept artwork. It's very exciting to have the general shape of the story idea!

Artists DJ Cleland-Hura, Tara Williamson, Skyler Punnett, Laura Bifano, and Clive Powsey have been working away, so we'll show you some of their illustrations and paintings soon!

Tara Williamson uses Photoshop to create concept artwork

Ian Blum uses a Cintiq and laptop to begin animation style exploration

A page of concept art on Skyler Punnett's Cintiq

A bulletin board is covered in key messages and ideas for the project

The palette and brushes of watercolor artist Clive Powsey rest on his desk

Remember to check our Facebook and Google+ pages for concept art albums, and look back here for more of our day-to-day updates. 

Also, thank you very much to the Royal Coachman Pub for sponsoring our meal (again!!). Dinner was fantastic!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY!

Jr artist Niki Cleland-Hura has taken on the role of drawing up Team Generous + Habitat for Humanity's key message to keep the Team motivated and focused. We will post one each day, in order of importance to show you just what we're thinking as this project moves forward!

"Change SURVIVE to THRIVE":

After all the key messages have been posted, we'll compile the whole thing into an album both on Facebook and on Google+, so stay tuned for that!

Day 2: Brainstorming, Discussing, Being Creative

Yesterday was our first day in the office, which is situated in the Campbell River Enterprise Centre (we are very grateful to Rivercorp for providing the space!). We brainstormed our goals, objectives, expectations and challenges associated with the project, as well as our impressions so far from our contact with Habitat and the partner families.  Then we moved into developing metaphors as we come up with ideas for the style, the story, and the message of our short.

Sticky note walls in the background during a collaborative time in the studio

Sticky notes describing the Team's impressions of Habitat for Humanity cover one of the studio walls

Another wall is covered in goals and outcomes for the short film

Metaphors related to the project are represented on sticky notes and in artwork from our Aug 19th House Jam for Habitat

Sticky notes covered in Sharpie drawings and artwork litter the studio's communal round table

Everyone looks to Team member Diego Maclean as he expresses a thought

The entire day was extremely interesting and productive -- it's hard to put twelve creative people in a room and not generate a ton of ideas! The brainstorming continued after we left the studio, too: the Team further explored concepts during dinner and on the ferry. We aim to continue that flow of creativity throughout the next two weeks, so remember to click back here daily to see how it's going!

Day 1: Habitat for Humanity Build!

Sunday, September 14th, was Team Generous' build day on the Habitat for Humanity build site on Hilchey Road in Campbell River, BC. We volunteered as construction workers, met the Habitat partner families and future homeowners, learned from expert builders, and got constructive! Scroll through to see our progress throughout the day!

Volunteers, builders and team members discuss the day's plan

We donned boots...

...hard hats...

...and Team Generous t-shirts to build!

Thank you to the Royal Coachman Pub for sponsoring our lunch!!

This is the structure we met upon entering the building site

Team members Clive Powsey and Laura Bifano discussing at the front of the building

Hauling gravel and dirt to bury pipes is a big job!

The first wall is nearly ready to raise...

Everyone pitches in to raise the first wall!! Oyé!

Team member Clive Powsey checks the angle of the wall

Team member DJ Cleland-Hura chats with Sarah Clark while the second wall is being built

The second wall is raised, but not complete; a large section is missing!

The second wall's frame is whole and the third wall is in progress

The homeowners of the duplex-in-progress work together and build a relationship

On the other side of the structure, hammer-wielding team members construct the third wall's frame

Everyone cheers as the third wall goes up!

Wrapped up and weather-proofed, the third wall sports window and back door frames

What a productive day! Shade falls on the build site as Team Generous finishes up their work

After hours of hard construction work, everyone stops in the shade for drinks and snacks

What a great, positive experience for everyone!! Team building and house building -- a win-win for all. If you want to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, click here.

While everyone else worked on the house, team member Skyler Punnett had a special assignment. Check back later to see what it is and how it turned out!!