Environment Research Part 1

For this term's project we're having to focus on creating a digital environment - with or without the characters we had designed and modelled last term. Over the break I had refined my lizard model so I wanted to keep in mind an environment that could involve him. Before I wanted to settle on a specific idea, however, I wanted to look at some different options.

I looked at backgrounds used in Disney films such as 'Princess and the Frog', 'Tangled', 'Aladdin' and 'Mulan', looking closely at their use of colour and light.

I also went to The London Sea Life Centre to see the kind of environments that fish and other underwater life live in. Aside from the physical stone backdrop the aquarium provides, there is an abundance of life that creates the environments, such as anemones and sea weed. The way the water makes them move creates an other worldly feel, which adds to the environment in its own right.

As a group we visited Dennis Severs' house in London - a house in Shoreditch that has been entirely kept as a Victorian household. No electricity, nothing modern, it was a snapshot into life 150 years ago. As an environment, it was fascinating - it was nothing I'd ever experienced before other than behind glass at a museum. But aside from the ancient objects and furniture, it was the atmosphere that hit me the most; the smells, the lighting, the sounds. I realised that creating an environment is not just about creating a look, but creating a mood.

I think a film that incorporated mood as well as scenery was 'Rango' - it's also closer to what I have in mind for my environment. The barren desert scenes and ransacked towns worked well with the narrative and feel of the film, as did the heavily muted colours. 

The 'Home on the Range' concept backgrounds also proved to be a valuable resource to me. Although the film was relatively unsuccessful, I enjoy the stylised approach to the concepts. The exaggerated, blocky colours are reminiscent of Looney Tunes 'Road Runner' backdrops. The visual approach and content is exactly what I'm looking for, but I need to be careful not to make things too complicated for myself.