Visual Design:
Window Into a World
The prompt for this project was "Window Into a World". I wanted to create a contrast between the 'real' world, and the fictional one I created. This contrast can be seen by the different tones of colors. The real world is grim, dark and ambient, while the new world is colorful and uplifting. I wanted to create this contrast so the viewer could more easily immerse themselves into this world before it abruptly being set back to reality.
I started this project with concepting things from my own experience. My orignial concept was going to revolve around my house and the life within it. I wanted to film this in the style of an old video called "Flatlife" by Jonas Geirnaert.
In my first iteration I wanted to show the difference in 'worlds', my own world, and everyone's world. I did this by creating a contrast between things from my personal life and events that people recognize worldwide. I ultimately changed course and did not continue with this idea but it was a good starting point to iterate on my definition of Window Into a World, which can also be seen in the photo of my dummy.
I learned how to make custom brushes in Photoshop, which is what I ended up covering in my tutorial. I used these brushes to draw the landscape that is showed during my final version. I was able to use the brushes to make grass, boulders, trees and clouds.
During this process I took inspiration from Indie Game Developer Thomas Brush, he showed his techniques to create good colors and depth in 2D drawings.
I used my second iteration as a clearer starting point for my final concept, in this installation I wanted drawings to appear on the paper, which then come to life by animating them. I included foley sounds and a custom soundtrack in this project related to paper.
I want to combine this with my final video (at the top of this page), where a simple landscape is being drawn on the paper and that landscape then comes to life behind the window frame.
Reflection
At the start of this project I was very unhappy with what I made, I didn't have a good direction or vision for the project. But after multiple iterations the vision and story became more and more clear.
Some feedback I received was about creating a clearer and more engaging story, which is why I pivoted to a different idea after my first iteration was made because it was very difficult to work off of that.