Shed Model Update

Here's a render through the front door of the shed - it's made of square planks, and is getting a little heavy geometry-wise.

Shed Furniture

I modeled some custom furniture for the west wall of the shed; this went pretty quick, so I think I'll build more for other parts of the shed too.

Shed Model

I've started modeling the shed. Right now it's mainly cubes, just to figure out where all the shelves and countertops will be.

Boy Design

Here is the latest version of the boy. He's got a simplified hair design, and fairly tight-fitting sweater and pants to keep rigging as simple as possible. He comes from a well-off suburban background, and so doesn't come into contact with animals or sheds very often.

Gecko Model Update

The Gecko has been modeled and is ready to rig!

Shed Design

Here is the first pass at figuring out what the shed will look like. I am now leaning towards an abandoned woodshop in a rural setting, to allow for more interesting stylization. There will be a lot of weathered wood and rusty metal, and tools scattered around everywhere.

Updated Mouse Design

After talking to several riggers, it seems that the mouse would be better off as a quadruped (it will emote on two legs, but all of its running and scampering will be on all fours). In this design I also tried to make it look a little more feminine.

Gecko's Gamble: Logline and Treatment

Logline: A trapped gecko must choose between saving himself or his fellow captives.

Treatment: A gecko is lying on a sunny rock in a suburban backyard. Without warning he is swept up in a net by a malicious young boy, who takes him into a ramshackle shed to feed to his much-abused pet hawk. The gecko escapes from the boy and the bird and nearly gets out the door, but faces a moral dilemma when he spots a mouse trapped in a cage, also doomed to be eaten. In a moment of selflessness, the lizard turns back to save the mouse, but is recaptured as he opens the cage door. The mouse escapes, and must choose whether to flee the shed, or stay to help the gecko. The boy drops the gecko over the hawk’s cage, but the mouse intercepts him just before the hawk does. They flee, and the boy chases them around the room, eventually recapturing the mouse. Unable to help but unwilling to flee, the lizard risks everything and releases the bird from its cage in the hopes of creating a diversion. Instead, the hawk places the gecko on its back, and together they fly straight at the boy, steal back the mouse, and escape from the shed through an open window.

Style: The film will be constructed entirely using 3d animation (Maya). The character design/expressiveness/render quality will take much influence from Dreamwork’s well-known Madagascar characters. The action sequences will be heavily influenced by the Oscar-winning short animation “Oktapodi”, while the lighting and atmosphere of the shed itself will draw from the dark film-noir world of “Double Indemnity” or “Touch of Evil”.