Bonny swans

Bonny Swans is a personal project based on the song by Loreena McKennett, which tells the fable of a woman transforming into a swan. The images below were created (by me) using Midjourney, to help me find a style and generate some ideas to eventually create an animated film of this story.

I created this first set of images, wanting to evoke a sense of romanticism, with a more “classical” style of art, inspired by pre-Raphaelite paintings.

The images below are iterations of 1a - trying out some variations.

I was finding this style to be a bit obvious, given the story. And there’s so much detail here - it would be challenging to translate to animation.

Wanting to move in a more abstract direction. Keeping a sense of movement from the previous images, but wanting a simpler style. Also exploring ideas for the transition from woman to swan.

Below are variations of 2b. I like the interplay and contrast of dark and light - the idea of two distinct beings. The protagonist is one thing to start, and becomes something completely new.

Although the images above are cool, I was pursuing an even simpler, more graphic style. But I wanted to keep the sense of moving energy and water. The images below are the results.

Iterations of 3d below. Liking the more graphic style.

My faves:

3D-1& 3d-4

They are clean, neat and the most cohesive of the group while still being quite expressive.

I’m still not 100% on this style for this project, but it is cool! Maybe for some other purpose or project.

Continuing to explore style - i love these.

Iterations of 6a. I couldn’t get enough…

I have so many favourites.

For a fashion campaign or some other project, these are awesome. But they are not exactly the vibe of this animated fable.

In search of the right style. Trying something more in the vein of Mary Blair.

Iterations of 5a:

I love the style of these and the colours. A good jumping off point and something i will maybe come back to. Still not 100% on the style. Too derivative?

I continued the exploration of this story and the style of it on my character design page. Creating from my own personal style, as opposed to trying to mimic others.

There are some great ideas for composition here that i will certainly come back to.

Little red riding hood

I created some concept art for little red riding hood - a more accessible story to showcase my ability to generate ideas and create visual storytelling.

Iterations of 1d:

I wanted to see red’s face, so i turned her around:

Further exploration of 2b:

Iterations of 2a:

These are my favourites. The colours, the sense of drama and danger. In 2a-4, it looks like she is one with the wolves because of the glow in her eyes. She is controlling them with her mind. The alpha wolf. I love this spin on the story. It adds a supernatural element.

2a-1 wins for me, overall. Red looks like such a badass, which is a nice modern spin on the story. The wolves are focused on her as if they are waiting for her next command. I would continue to develop this - give her a crossbow!