I realized I am over halfway in this project and haven't posted a single thing! So as I write this I am tired and waiting for this render of 700 frames to be over...
Research
My idea is a short animated comedy which asks the question what if gods had pets.
Greek Gods were often, nearly always, portrayed with animals, Aphrodite had doves, Ares was represented with venomous snakes, Artemis has been portrayed with deer, Hades had a three headed dog, Hephaestus owned guard a dog and Hermes’ sacred animal was a Tortoise.
Many Egyptian God’s weren’t portrayed with animals but rather with animal features such as the goddess, Bastet. Bastet was seen as a protective Goddess with a cats head. She sometimes appeared in battle with a Lions head to protect the king. A black cat was also symbolic of Bastet.
Other interesting Egyptian Gods include Khepri. Khepri is drawn as a man with the head of a scarab beetle. He was the God of creation, the movement of the sun and rebirth. The ancient Egyptians believed that the beetles just appeared from nowhere- as they believed that their creator god had appeared from nowhere. Thus, they thought that the scarab beetle was special.
In my research I have also come across games which include the very strong linked theme of Gods and Animals. One game is Black and White, published in 2001 by EA games. The player begins as a newly created God, born from the prayers of a family, after saving their drowning son. The family take the God to a nearby village, there the player chooses a starter animal and from them on the game is about completing ‘scroll’ quests. The way in which the player decides to complete the quests and bring up the creature will influence and determine whether the God is Evil or Good, Black or White, hence the name.
In my research I have also come across games which include the very strong linked theme of Gods and Animals. One game is Black and White, published in 2001 by EA games. The player begins as a newly created God, born from the prayers of a family, after saving their drowning son. The family take the God to a nearby village, there the player chooses a starter animal and from them on the game is about completing ‘scroll’ quests. The way in which the player decides to complete the quests and bring up the creature will influence and determine whether the God is Evil or Good, Black or White, hence the name.
From my initial research I have played with many ideas, one example of this would be where I questioned, ‘What if humans had godly powers?’. Yet the ideas felt as though they would be to time consuming and complicated. I also felt that it would be to easy to lose the viewer if I do a short animated story.
Therefore I took a step back from my complex ideas and looked at the research again and found a much easier and simpler idea.
What if God had a pet?
What if God had a pet?
I think this would be an easier idea AS WELL AS A MORE EFFECTIVE IDEA because it would include little or no voice acting, and the ideas are basic, pets and animals seem to do funny things all the time, and adding the theme of Gods would have an interesting and original outcome such as... A Dog falling from the sky. Heaven is said to be above us, in the clouds so it would make sense
Dogs like to dig holes and there is nothing beneath clouds other than a long drop down. But before we can run ahead Further research is in need.
So I went into Google images and typed in ‘God’ as I felt that Greek gods wouldn’t make sense to the
viewer, if I was looking at a larger audience, as only one or two Greek gods are well known and even then they are still very mildly known. So I looked up God in the hope that I could find a stereotypical idea of how God has been portrayed many, many times. This way it is noticeable as to WHO he is The God mood board shows many different images and portrayals from as early as 1515 with Cima da Conegliano’s painting, God the Father. However the images seem to have similar ideas of what God looks like. In a majority of the images God is portrayed Caucasian, wearing Red or White robes, he has long grey hair,
So I went into Google images and typed in ‘God’ as I felt that Greek gods wouldn’t make sense to the
viewer, if I was looking at a larger audience, as only one or two Greek gods are well known and even then they are still very mildly known. So I looked up God in the hope that I could find a stereotypical idea of how God has been portrayed many, many times. This way it is noticeable as to WHO he is The God mood board shows many different images and portrayals from as early as 1515 with Cima da Conegliano’s painting, God the Father. However the images seem to have similar ideas of what God looks like. In a majority of the images God is portrayed Caucasian, wearing Red or White robes, he has long grey hair,
sometimes coupled with a receding hairline, and a long white beard. The colours used with the images tend to be quite light, creamy and shades of pastel. He is also drawn with a shape either a triangle or a circle, symbolic of a halo which is something I should consider.
Concept Art
Concept Art
Modelling and animation
I have taken many screenshots since I have started to model, rig and animate.
