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Ryan Pardee

BFA in Illustration - Entertainment Arts — Illustration
Course:
Visual Development
Faculty:
Cliff Nielson
Term:
2024 Fall
Collaborators:
May Wong, Kurtis H., Demi Duhon, Soli Hu

How the Raven Stole Fire

The outline for this project was to develop a given folktale from a specific culture into a full visual development project which would be pitched at the end of five weeks. Each team member was responsible for designing a character, a prop, a vehicle, and an environment; resulting in a final product that contained five of each category.

For our team, we were tasked with developing a Native American (Tlingit/Haida) folktale called How the Raven Stole Fire.

Process:

To begin, research was paramount. We developed our basic themes, outline, and style--deciding to combine traditional Tlingit/Haida materials, designs, and structures with a more futuristic, high-tech world. After establishing our script and choosing our respective characters/props/vehicles/environments, we began sketching thumbnail silhouettes, which then became line sketches, and then taking our final design to full render.

Learning Outcomes:

This project was challenging but ultimately very rewarding. As a project leader, I took on the added workload of creating the story script and designing the layouts and presentations for each week; as well as communicating deadlines, initiating group discussions, and providing relevant input to keep our team on track. This project provided a glimpse into working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, and I found that through all the hard work I loved every minute of it.

Tags:
2D Design,
Character Design,
Concept Design,
World Building
Character design for Flea, the energetic mechanic of the group.
Prop design for Raven, meant to serve as both a tool and a weapon--and an extension of his character.
Design layout for Flea's mobile home in a post-apocalyptic winter environment.
Environmental design for the capital city, the central underground hub in which Raven begins his story; as well as the domain of the villain, Seagull.