secret lair green-light review

7/30/2019 Secret Lair Green-Light Review

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/secret-lair-green-light-review 1/14

Emily Clarkson

16/11/2012



A long, long time ago, a colony of beings lived in the legendary castle of Camelot.

They lived beneath King Arthur's feet.... under his throne... in the Candelabra

above his bed... in the cracks of the castle walls... and even in the heart of his

round table. A colony of the most fantastical creatures

...

Name

: Sir

Callida

, (

Arilitus

Callida

)

Backstory:

A rather large colony of spiders are living in the disused spaces of the legendary

Camelot. Among them is an

ArachKnight

by the name of Sir

Callida

. The various

insects of the colony have been under the rule of the False Widow Queen. The

spindly, conniving creature is possession of 'The Emerald

Potestas

', a magical

Emerald stone, that once fell from the Crown of King Arthur. The precious stone

grants the False Widow the power to control her closest subjects. By the dark use

of this gem, the False Widow has managed to oppress all Camelot's insect kind

beneath her rule. She has halted the further breeding and colonizing of her

subjects, for fear of them supplanting her high position. Little does she suspect

that one of the

Arachknights

is

planing

to overthrow her tyranny, even without an

army of warriors that she so greatly fears. Its going to take some clever planning

but with a few

ArachKnight

friends, a few glow worms lighting the way and an old

Relic... they might just win.



Personality:

Sir

Callida

is a well seasoned warrior . He knows how to fight, however he would

rather win a fight based on tactics,

favouring

brains before brawn. A resourceful

Arachnid, well equipped for his job and fearless. Quite ready to dive from a

candelabra into full view of the human King to help his own kind... even if it

means dodging the sole of

few boots.

Hero Prop:

The old Relic, earlier mentioned will be the Hero prop. In direct competition to the

False widows magical Emerald stone, Sir

Callida

is in possession of a carved ring

(one that was once on the finger of one of King Arthur's ancestors before it was

lost.) This relic will provide the perfect adornment for Sir

Callida's

abdomen. It

acts as both

armour

as well as a showy example of power.



The biggest influences for this secret lair design were the film ‘The

Borrowers’ (1997), and also the television series ‘Merlin’ (2008

-

present)

‘The Borrowers’ was a live action production based on a novel of the same

name in which a family of miniature people (4inches tall) end up on an

enormous adventure trying to save their home from demolition. This

film had a great impact on the illusion of all things miniature.

I

tems

such as batteries, thimbles and fridge magnets were all enlarged to huge

proportions in order to make the actors appear extraordinarily small.

The Production team successfully conveyed the idea that an average

kitchen is an enormous obstacle course to traverse.

The television series of ‘Merlin’ is loosely based upon the legend of King

Arthur, focusing on the Warlock Merlin in his early years. The set

designs for Camelot

-

particularly the great hall within the castle, has

proved to be the most influential design. I has aided me to design a lair

set in the Middle

A

ges and

M

edieval

E

ngland.



This here influence

map contains the

most influentialimages, aiding me

to create a lair fit

for an Arachnid

knight. It includes

scenes of great

halls, cobwebs andCandelabra.

The secret lair is

located within the

ironwork and chains

of the candelabra

above king Arthurs

very own Round

table.



This here influence

map contains the

most influentialimages, aiding me

to create the hero

prop for Arachnid

knight. It includes a

large number of ring

designs that are of Medieval theme,

armour theme,

signet rings or

jointed rings.

This ring prop willbehave both as a

piece of adornment

but also armour for

the AracKnight.



Having looked at a very informative post by Nadia on what has helped inspire her.

Emily Clarkson11 November 2012 12:23 This is a really detailed thought process and i really like where you are drawing it all from. I

can really see a man cursed (but at the same time saved by) voodoo, seeking refuge in a forest

hideout. Your inspirational images are really atmospheric. I can't wait to see your thumbnails.

Commenting on some thumbnail work by Jebb , encompassing his character, lair and

hero prop.

Emily Clarkson11 November 2012 12:14

I'm intrigued by drawings 13 and 14. Your Solar Goddess is definitely burning brightly and

that Amulet necklace design looks both pretty and powerful at the same time. Whichthumbnails do you like best, or want to explore? :)

Jebb19511 November 2012 15:01

Thanks for the comments, the images I am going to explore further are numbers #17, #19 and

#27, I am also thinking of creating a quick concept painting of the character due to her unusual

appearance.

Having looked at my initial thumbnail designs for my character of an Arachnid

Knight but also initial ideas of spaces in which the character could

inhabit.(Thumbnails 1 -9) Jebb19512 November 2012 13:13

Hi Emily,

For the character idea, I like images #5, #8 & #9, with #5 clearly depicting the many eyes of a

spider combined with the human appearance of the head, but it raises questions on whether

you are portraying the character as a complete spider or a human-spider hybrid. Both #8 & #9

work well due to the emphysis on an entirely spider appearance, but combining the skin with

armour, like in real-life, might improve the designs. The bottom image may be the most

beneficial as it is the anatomical structure of most spiders, almost resembling a suit of armour.



http://campus.albion.edu/florida08/files/2008/03/crab-spider.jpg

http://www.localpestcontrolservices.com/pest_control_blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/bark-crab-

spider.jpg

http://www.cirrusimage.com/Arachnid/spider_anat_700.jpg

The environmental designs are very imtriguing, the technique of over sizing ordinary objects is a

great idea, implicating a size to the character, best displayed in images #1, #3 & #8, but I think

the helmey interior idea has great potential, possibly changing the angles inside, or the

placement of the helmet itself, maybe laying on its side half buried. I love the idea of the round

table being hollow & containing spiders.http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bCaLWo10-

Q4/SjBHzTsQVHI/AAAAAAAACJE/AAd53Kls048/s640/A113%2BBugs.bmp

http://www.toxel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/giantobjects05.jpg

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00792/Giant-Bucket_792865i.jpg


Wow you're an absolute mine of information Jebb! Thanks for all the links :D. In answer to your

ponderings I have eventually decided on a spider character that looks simply like a spider; no

hybrids- because it takes away from the realism and believability of a teeny tiny world of spiders.I have a couple of images of spider anatomy I'm going to try and use to help me create slightly

odd furniture for placement within the secret lair. As for the space itself, but also to tryu and

design armour plates. The most popular lair design so far appears to be the candelabra aerial

shots... I think i'm going to do some digging into ironwork and medieval metal crafting for some

more thumbnail ideas. Thanks again for all the links. They've been really helpful! :D (I especially

like the basket building and the oversized bucket and spade!)



Having looked at some of my Photoshop thumbnail designs of the spaces in which my

ArachKnight character could inhabit. (Thumbnails 10 -12)

Akinbiyi Babarinde12 November 2012 11:45

I like how you've made your character this small, number 12 stands out to me, the idea of having his lair

inside a medieval torch holder, it'll be pretty cool to see it from the inside though, just like you did with the

chandeliers, I think the effect of number 10 is greater but I really like the idea of thumbnail 12

Jebb19512 November 2012 13:26

An aeriel perspective from the lair is an excellent idea, #10 in the candelabra, and the placement of other

creatures from the characters world, #11 the glow worms, as an environmental aspect is a great design, it

would be brilliant to see them move, swinging from the ceilings changing the light effects.

I posted up a final influence map that helped to inspire my entire Secret Lair


Looking into Camelot from the Merlin series seems like a great idea...some mice thumbnails could come

out of that influence, as a digitally painted piece your study of the cobwebs would come in handy, but how

are you thinking of representing it in a 3D environment when you get to that stage


Well I think I have definitely got some more thumbnailing to do before I decide completely on what exactlyto do. But within the 3D environment. I believe I will model the Candelabra first and then use Matte

painting to make the background scene to go behind the 3D object. As for spiders webs... I have yet to ask

the Maya guru's how to make them in 3D, i honestly have no idea where to start with those!



I posted up a sheet of silhouettes, trying to create weaponry for my insect sized Knight


These are really nice silhouettes ; 8 stands out to me, but i do see what George means :)

(Needing to think less about the designwhen creating silhouettes)

Having had a look at a few of Kinbi’s thumbnail designs for his character Lair

Emily Clarkson7:50 PM

Hey Kinbi these are nice. I find a, b, and f are the most interesting to me. a;'s interesting melding

with natural formations, b for its clear theme and f for its perspective view. Nice work :) do you

feel drawn to any of these particular designs?

Akinbiyi Babarinde9:24 PM

Yeah I really liked C and A; I'm drawn to these the most, but these were my early thumbnails, I'll

keep posting the thumbnails I have and reflect on them before going forward, what I am having

issues with at the moment is deciding on a Hero Prop.



I left feedback for Nadia having read and looked at the initial ideas she had had for

her character design.


Hey this is really interesting. I really like the idea of semi voodoo cursed super sleuth. The

conflict with the power and living in general is a nice angle. Have you had any thoughts as to

what kind of a space such a character might live in? I immediately think of those black and white

thirties films with a Private Investigator walking around a rather dark office, but yet with

Voodoo in mind, I'm wondering if a few relics of the like might be hanging around such a place...

Nadia Yadallee9 November 2012 08:56

thanks emily! :) I have a few ideas in mind about the lair, which is actually pretty similar to your

idea of the office, sort of like a place he comes to do his research on people to help with crimes. As

for the voodooism, I'm not sure to sure how to incorporate that with my design yet, something I

have to experiment with I think..

Nadia created a series of character designs, upon which I commented


I really like that development of your characters face from human to monstrous. Its definitely

creepy. Its fantastic!

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