My drawings that I make as art are fairly formal and abstract. The image above boat is about as close as I get to a figure/ground relationship. Why am I telling you this? Right this minute I'm writing instead of drawing because I'm a little anxious to get started. I've done everything but construct images. Oh sure there are some awesome woods in my head but that blank paper is a little intimidating- and it's not just one set of woods- its several- the woods change- and then there's all these houses that need to move in and out. AND it has to fit with the story- and honestly- I shy away from story and narrative in my work big time. YET I teach classes like Illustration, and Painting, in which that's what I expect my students to do. I'm excited about this challenge but also a little nervous.
Whenever I'm overwhelmed by something. I usually break things down into many steps. In this case I realized I really needed to know each change in the set. So I re-read the script this time armed with my favorite organizational tools- little post-it flags, highlighters, markers and pens. I'm sure those with more experience see this as massive overkill- but it's working for me.
I made a little code for myself- pink for set changes, purple for things I have questions about. Like will Milky White be played by a person or is some kind of prop object that they have to drag around. After all Milky White needs to rise from a grave- much easier if someone can just stand up. I also made a silly list of places and things since making lists makes me feel more on top of what I need to do.
Whenever I'm overwhelmed by something. I usually break things down into many steps. In this case I realized I really needed to know each change in the set. So I re-read the script this time armed with my favorite organizational tools- little post-it flags, highlighters, markers and pens. I'm sure those with more experience see this as massive overkill- but it's working for me.
I made a little code for myself- pink for set changes, purple for things I have questions about. Like will Milky White be played by a person or is some kind of prop object that they have to drag around. After all Milky White needs to rise from a grave- much easier if someone can just stand up. I also made a silly list of places and things since making lists makes me feel more on top of what I need to do.
From there I was able to make a list of about a dozen distinctly different sets that I'll want to draw. Most are just the woods in different light- but this is the fun drawing part and I'll get to channel my own secret Mary Blair. This seems an awful lot like storyboarding- which is what John told me I should do first.
Deep breath. Time to start drawing.
