DEAD MAN'S TRAIL
Senior Thesis
This is my senior capstone project-- the magnum opus of what I've learned and accomplished at SCAD and in life. Naturally, I wanted to make a project representative of all my artistic inclinations and interests(so far). This manifested in an offbeat western fantasy storyline that takes inspiration from the "wandering hero" archetype of the western adventure genre, as well as a healthy dose of old school fantasy art with a smidge of metaphysical undertones. Phew. From there, I sunk my teeth into world building, pacing, tone, and composition.
I wanted the project to feel fantastical and imaginative, which I wanted to evoke through illustration. I brought this illustrative style to life primarily through heavy use of 3D assets and camerawork to make the world feel expansive and real. Aiding me with modelling a couple key 3D assets was Jacob Bailey. Ace sound designer Mark Ninan Otim brought my world to life with a sizzling soundscape that I thought could only have existed in my imagination-- luckily, Mark is enough of a pro to make sense of my rambling descriptions.
Check out my behind-the-scenes process and development for this project, featuring a peek at the mix I made to get me in the zone whenever I was working.
My main character, Silas, is the focal point of nearly every shot in the project. Since I knew early on that I wanted the option to experiment with dynamic camerawork, a 3D character would be my best option to edit sequences as I went.
Having Silas be fully 3D allowed for more depth to the world and story.
He was rigged and animated with Mixamo, and his cloth simulation was developed by myself in Cinema 4D.
My initial styleframes for my animatic were focused on color and textural elements, and only had a suggestion of the 3D space that I would tackle during production.
