Finished this video game concept a few months ago to apply to Uni, using one of my already existing stories.
I really do hope I get to work on this further in the future, even if “just” in comic form. The content is close to my heart and relates to my own experience with depression, suicide and psychosis / the schizophrenia spectrum. Maybe it could help others find more empathy within themselves for their younger past selves.
I actually got the very first spark for this story back in… 2017? 2018? It’s insane how much has changed, it really does feel like it gained a mind of its own. Jane was originally the protagonist with a whole lot more curses involved. For a hot second it was even set in a magical boarding school! Imagine that!
Game in general is inspired by Silent Hill 2, The Cat Lady and What Remains of Edith Finch. If I gave this another try I’d definitely include more fake screenshots.
Some slides (3) are missing - you can view them on my ArtStation profile :-)
My first ever animatic - “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
Made this as 1 of 3 projects for my portfolio to apply to Uni - and I got accepted, hurray!
Looking back ,now that I finished this months ago, I’d do a LOT of things differently if I had to give this another go. For one, I’d keep the shading way more minimalistic. I WAS aware that it’s not ideal to make it this detailed from the get go but honestly, I mostly did it for the fun of it.
Next up, I would have tweaked the design of the female character. Exaggerate the features more (especially body pasture) to highlight the fact that she is an old woman.
Lastly, I should have played WAY more around with the “camera” angles. Utilize more interesting perspectives (maybe add more backgrounds too) because as is, there is too much focus on shots of faces.
But on the other hand, it will probably be satisfying to look back on this flawed project in a couple of years and see the progress I’ve made since then! And I’m still proud that I DID manage to finish this. I actually got the initial motivation for this a couple years ago… I still have an old post talking about it up on this exact blog :P But back then it seemed too daunting so I put it off. Crazy how things work out.
Maybe I’ll return to this in the future if I ever feel like it. And if I do an animatic for the entire song, I’d give it a different story with other characters.
Created this animatic for one of my University assignments (yes, I did get get into it with the “My Memories Of Her” concept, among othe projects :P) and I chose the prompt “phone call”.
Decided to go with a film noir inspired look and story that involves an alien detective living amongst humans in the middle of L.A. who, thanks to his hat, can transform into his human disguise to stay undercover. A lonely investigator with a missing daughter who happens to be held captive in Area 51 for experiments, with the animatic itself showing him learning of this information.
I originally planned for him to be a simple human, with no mention of any aliens at all, but I’m glad I went with this instead. I think the extraterrestrial spin gave it a bit more uniqueness. I do wish I had done a few things differently… for example I don’t think it’s quite clear that it is the hat that allows him to transform in the first place. But you live and you learn. It’s only my 2nd ever animatic and I think I’ve already improved a bit compared to my first one :-) And that’s what counts.
You can find this animatic and the other one on my YouTube channel.