American McGee's Alice
After deciding I want to do a dark retelling of a fairy-tale I started to look into the most used fairy-tale, Alice in wonderland. This classic story has been given a dark twist in novels, illustrations and even songs, but the example I will be using is the game series made by American McGee.
The trailer to the first game
The series was a huge inspiration for this project, it's based around the characters from the original books but it is set in the future where Alice is an an asylum after the death of her parents in a house fire. Now a teenager she ventures back into 'wonderland' which has become twisted by her own madness, and sets off to save wonderland from the evil red queen, at the end of the game you see Alice leave the asylum and you realise saving Wonderland was symbolic of her restoring her sanity.
In the games the characters are either warped versions of the original character, symbolic representation's of real people Alice knows or metaphor's of her own feelings. This is a very clever idea which can be played with a lot and also adds a deeper side to the story.
Wonderland it itself is broken and twisted like Alice's mind and while it's very well-done in this game, you don't really see it at it's best until the sequel Alice Madness Returns.
The trailer to the game
In the sequel the original Wonderland is expanded on and there's a total of six different area's. I have a few favourites, first being the Hatters Domain, based around steam-punk aspects like gears and mechanics and tea and teapots, taken from Alice's first encounter with the hatter in the book, where him the march hare and the door-mouse are having a tea party, I really adore this level as the grungy metal, red sky and floating clockwork gives the game a beautiful atmosphere. I also love the red queens castle, a massive half-destroyed castle filled with cards and creepy fleshy areas the deeper in you go, I also like this level because of the atmosphere it gives the game. And finally I also love the Vale of Tears, the fist part of wonderland you see, bright and vivid you see a lot of 'tokens' of the Alice world, for example shrinking is predominate in the books and this idea is expanded on by having a lot of items from the real world in various sizes, for example giant dominoes, marbles, teapots, cups ect. and as you go further into wonderland you start to see black ooze contaminating wonderland until you finally end up in Hatter's domain.
Looking at how this game series has twisted and expanded upon certain aspects of the original has given me a good idea about how to make my own grown up/dark version of a fairy-tale.
Fairy-tale Research
After deciding I want to do a dark retelling of a fairy-tale I started to look into the most used fairy-tale, Alice in wonderland. This classic story has been given a dark twist in novels, illustrations and even songs, but the example I will be using is the game series made by American McGee.
The trailer to the first game
The series was a huge inspiration for this project, it's based around the characters from the original books but it is set in the future where Alice is an an asylum after the death of her parents in a house fire. Now a teenager she ventures back into 'wonderland' which has become twisted by her own madness, and sets off to save wonderland from the evil red queen, at the end of the game you see Alice leave the asylum and you realise saving Wonderland was symbolic of her restoring her sanity.
In the games the characters are either warped versions of the original character, symbolic representation's of real people Alice knows or metaphor's of her own feelings. This is a very clever idea which can be played with a lot and also adds a deeper side to the story.
Wonderland it itself is broken and twisted like Alice's mind and while it's very well-done in this game, you don't really see it at it's best until the sequel Alice Madness Returns.
The trailer to the game
In the sequel the original Wonderland is expanded on and there's a total of six different area's. I have a few favourites, first being the Hatters Domain, based around steam-punk aspects like gears and mechanics and tea and teapots, taken from Alice's first encounter with the hatter in the book, where him the march hare and the door-mouse are having a tea party, I really adore this level as the grungy metal, red sky and floating clockwork gives the game a beautiful atmosphere. I also love the red queens castle, a massive half-destroyed castle filled with cards and creepy fleshy areas the deeper in you go, I also like this level because of the atmosphere it gives the game. And finally I also love the Vale of Tears, the fist part of wonderland you see, bright and vivid you see a lot of 'tokens' of the Alice world, for example shrinking is predominate in the books and this idea is expanded on by having a lot of items from the real world in various sizes, for example giant dominoes, marbles, teapots, cups ect. and as you go further into wonderland you start to see black ooze contaminating wonderland until you finally end up in Hatter's domain.
Looking at how this game series has twisted and expanded upon certain aspects of the original has given me a good idea about how to make my own grown up/dark version of a fairy-tale.
Fairy-tale Research
Finally I got onto researching fairy-tales that I could use, the easiest option would to do Alice in Wonderland but it's been done so many times it would be hard to do my own take on it without being compared to others work, I needed a clean slate to work from.
Hansel and Gretel
I decided to look into Hansel and Gretel first because the house made of sweets was a really interesting concept and the idea of a wicked witch owning it seemed a thing that could be translated to something sinister really well.
The only problem I had with this story is that it is really quite simple and short and the only real settings are the house and the wood, not giving me much to work with, even if I did drag the story on I feel it would deviate too much, it wouldn't feel like a dark fairy-tale but a dark story based on a fairy-tale, which isn't what I want. Another point is that the story isn't very interesting, I was originally drawn to the story because the idea of the house made of sweets but apart from that I don't really have much to work on.
Red Riding Hood
Next I looked into Red Riding Hood, it had a slightly more interesting plot than Hansel and Gretel but after I looked into the story I realised it wouldn't work that well as it had nothing fantastical about it like the house made of sweets or wonderland, it had hardly any magical aspects and it just wouldn't work well at all.
The Snow Queen
The next fairy-tale I looked into was The Snow Queen, I chose it because it had lots of interesting aspects I could develop on, the queens palace made of ice, a journey through strange land where she meets an assortment of characters ect. A bit like Alice in Wonderland, it is a journey story which gives you a wide range of opportunity's to design something really amazing based on the different places she goes, as well as that it also gives you a range of characters to design as well and it would fit well with what I want to do.
Unfortunately as I started looking into the story's plot more I realised that there was too much to this story and I would have to cut a load out of the story, which I wouldn't have minded except I'd have to loose a lot of the journey/characters which I think would make a negative impact on the book.
By a stroke of luck while cleaning out my bookcase I came across a book I read a while ago called 'Wicked', it's a re-telling of the Wizard of OZ aimed at a more mature audience and it was then that I realised I wanted re-tell the Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz struck me as the perfect choice because it's very similar to Alice in Wonderland in the fact it is a magical world visited by a young child, and that gives you the opportunity to make the world and it's inhabitants sinister. The lack of a strong villain in the original material and the generally bright and cheerful land make the contrast between the re-telling and the original very strong which is why it's so effective, the lighter the original idea, the 'creepier' the darker version seems. Also there a lot of characters to play with and different settings.
Book to film differences
The story of Oz is quite simple, a girl called Dorothy is whisked off in her house with her dog Toto by a tornado to the magical land of Oz. As the tornado drops the house, it lands on the Wicked Witch of the East by accident and causes her death, much to the joy of the Munchkins oppressed by her. She learns from the Witch of the North the situation and that now the Ruby Slippers that belonged to the Wicked Witch belong to her. The Wicked Witch of the West arrives then saying she will get Dorothy for killing her sister, Dorothy learns after that her only chance of getting home is to see the Wizard of Oz who lives in the Emerald City, and she finds that she can get there by following the Yellow Brick Road. Along this road she meets a Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin-Man who wants a heart and a Cowardly Lion that wants courage, they agree to travel with her to the Emerald City in the hope that the Wizard will grant their wishes. When they get to the Emerald City, they are sent away by the Wizard and told that he will only grant their wishes if they bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West, therefore they set off to the land of the west. On their way they got ambushed by the Witches magical flying monkeys and Dorothy was taken to her castle leaving her companions behind. The Witch tries to get the Ruby Slippers from Dorothy but she soon relises they wont be released until Dorothy is dead, by now Dorothy's companions had arrived at the castle and sneak in by disguising themselves as the Witch's guards, as they arrive to rescue Dorothy the Witch sets Scarecrow alight and in Dorothy's attempt to put it out the Witch gets splashed by water and melts into the ground. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin-man and the Cowardly Lion return to Oz with the broomstick but Oz turns them away again, but Toto opens a curtain in the room and it is revealed that the Wizard is an ordinary man, he explains that he can't give them what they want because he's not a real Wizard but he does give the Scarecrow a diploma, the Tin-man a clockwork heart and the Lion a medal. He then offers to take Dorothy back to Kansas in the hot-air-balloon he arrived in, revealing the he comes form America too. Unfortunately when the balloon is about to take off, Toto jumps out and Dorothy follows but by the time she grabs hold of him the balloon is gone, as she cries that she'll never get home, the Witch of the North arrives and explains that the Ruby slippers can take her home, she only needs to click her heel's three times and say 'there's no place like home'. Dorothy takes Toto in her arms and after doing what the witch says she wakes up back home in her bed surrounded by all friends.
After choosing Oz I decided to go out and buy the original book for a more in-depth look into it, and I realised it has many differences to the film, the most major one being that the story doesn't stop when you get back to Oz after killing the witch, you go on to the land of the south instead then get told how to get home by the witch of the south.
Also you don't meet the wicked witch until you're sent to kill her, the book in general had less direction and plot and after some deliberation I decided the shorter film plot would be better as it fits into a more normal three act structure. In the book you also learn of how the scare-crow was made and how the tin-man went from human to tin, I really like these additions but I don't really know if they have relevance to what I want to do. There are also various inhabitants you're introduced to in the books that are never mentioned in the films, including a bear with a tigers head, the queen of the feild-mice, a city made of china and much more, these additions defiantly add to the world but I feel that they seem a little random and out of place, a bit dis-jointed from the world and don't really connect to each other, for example the animals can talk but it seems not all of them, the other races are never explained or linked to the world of Oz, and Oz in itself seems rather undefined whereas the film gave it a very colourful saturated look that is easily definable.
After looking at all the research I have decided to take the simplest plot (the film version) and work from there, I'm not going to add in any extra characters from the books as they were all rather disjointed anyway, instead I will keep the main cast (Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin man, the Cowardly Lion and The Wizard) the only exception being I will use all four Witches instead, as in the film the roles of the North and South witch are merged together into the character Glinda. I intend to give OZ a whole new identity
Style Experimentation
Now I had the basis of my idea, I decided to experiment with what style I wanted to use, I decided to look into four art styles I usually don't use, and four from the area of art I already work in (Manga) with aspects that would fit this project.
The second style I tried was Tim Burton's style, I chose to do it because it was more creepy than Disney but as I was drawing I really decided the style was not what I wanted, the character looked horrible and gangly and far too cartoon-y.
Dolls/Dream Dolls:
http://hane-chan.deviantart.com/art/Like-the-day-before-279887757
One of my main inspirations was dolls so I did a style based around them, it turned out well but I didn't like nose or lips that much.
Alice Madness Returns
http://therottingzombie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/alice-madness-returns-fantasy-videogame.html
My final style for the top row was based on the illustrations used in the cutscenes of one of my inspirations, the game 'Alice Madness Returns', I really like the eyes and nose style but I didn't really like the lips.
Yana Toboso
http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=16302
I chose this artist's style because the characters look young and doll-like, I really like the eyes and face shape.
Tite Kubo
http://eguiamike.deviantart.com/art/Orihime-Temptation-186874454
I choose Kubo's art because he is a personal hero of mine and he draws very cute girls, I think they eyes are too simple and blocky though.
Peach Pit/Rosen Maiden
http://random--day.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/rozen-maiden-general.html
Peach Pit is group of artists who work on various manga, the one I'm focusing on actually being a series about dolls that come to life. I really like the eyes in this style, but they are too far apart and the nose/mouth is to small for my liking.
Noizi Ito:
http://www.haruhisuzumiya.net/galleries/noizi-itos-haruhi-suzumiya-artwork/
Finally I looked at the art style of Noizi Ito, I like the way she draws eyes but I think they are too stylised for what I am looking for.
With the help of this experimentation I was able to finalise the art style the illustrations will be in.
I liked the bigness of the eyes in a lot of the styles as I wanted the character to look young, but I also liked the hints of bags under the eyes in the Alice Madness Returns style. I chose to do a less pointy nose, more of a mix of the Disney and the Kubo noses. The face in general is squatter and less angular than most, which I think adds to making her look younger.
The next step of experimentation was to choose the way the illustrations will be finished.
First I tried smooth clean simple lines, then those lines with hints of colour, then a light sketchy look, then a darker sketchy look.
While personally I prefer clean and smooth lines, I feel that they don't have a place in the illustration style, as I am going for a more aged look, the precise lines just end up looking unnatural. I think the sketchy style works so much better and is far more natural, I also think the darker version works best and I will be using that for this project.
Evaluation
From my research I have learnt a lot, I believe the end product I intend to produce is a good balance of my skills and passions, while also challenging me. Looking into various illustration styles has given me an insight as to what tone I want to work in for the illustrations, as well as research into writing styles has helped me choose how I want to write the story.
Looking through a wide range of inspirations has really helped me think outside the box as well, and it helped give me starting points to work upon for when I start production, also looking in depth into the original story I want to use (Oz) has given me a deeper understanding of the material and had helped bring aspects forgotten from the book in the more popular film adaptation to my attention.
Style and writing experimentation has really helped me figure out how long an illustration/page will take to produce and has given me a starting point so I can move on to drafts and character designs.
All in all I learnt a lot about what aspects I feel are effective, be it in story plots, character design, writing style or art style, and I feel that I can transfer them well into what I produce
Book to film differences
The story of Oz is quite simple, a girl called Dorothy is whisked off in her house with her dog Toto by a tornado to the magical land of Oz. As the tornado drops the house, it lands on the Wicked Witch of the East by accident and causes her death, much to the joy of the Munchkins oppressed by her. She learns from the Witch of the North the situation and that now the Ruby Slippers that belonged to the Wicked Witch belong to her. The Wicked Witch of the West arrives then saying she will get Dorothy for killing her sister, Dorothy learns after that her only chance of getting home is to see the Wizard of Oz who lives in the Emerald City, and she finds that she can get there by following the Yellow Brick Road. Along this road she meets a Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin-Man who wants a heart and a Cowardly Lion that wants courage, they agree to travel with her to the Emerald City in the hope that the Wizard will grant their wishes. When they get to the Emerald City, they are sent away by the Wizard and told that he will only grant their wishes if they bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West, therefore they set off to the land of the west. On their way they got ambushed by the Witches magical flying monkeys and Dorothy was taken to her castle leaving her companions behind. The Witch tries to get the Ruby Slippers from Dorothy but she soon relises they wont be released until Dorothy is dead, by now Dorothy's companions had arrived at the castle and sneak in by disguising themselves as the Witch's guards, as they arrive to rescue Dorothy the Witch sets Scarecrow alight and in Dorothy's attempt to put it out the Witch gets splashed by water and melts into the ground. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin-man and the Cowardly Lion return to Oz with the broomstick but Oz turns them away again, but Toto opens a curtain in the room and it is revealed that the Wizard is an ordinary man, he explains that he can't give them what they want because he's not a real Wizard but he does give the Scarecrow a diploma, the Tin-man a clockwork heart and the Lion a medal. He then offers to take Dorothy back to Kansas in the hot-air-balloon he arrived in, revealing the he comes form America too. Unfortunately when the balloon is about to take off, Toto jumps out and Dorothy follows but by the time she grabs hold of him the balloon is gone, as she cries that she'll never get home, the Witch of the North arrives and explains that the Ruby slippers can take her home, she only needs to click her heel's three times and say 'there's no place like home'. Dorothy takes Toto in her arms and after doing what the witch says she wakes up back home in her bed surrounded by all friends.
After choosing Oz I decided to go out and buy the original book for a more in-depth look into it, and I realised it has many differences to the film, the most major one being that the story doesn't stop when you get back to Oz after killing the witch, you go on to the land of the south instead then get told how to get home by the witch of the south.
Also you don't meet the wicked witch until you're sent to kill her, the book in general had less direction and plot and after some deliberation I decided the shorter film plot would be better as it fits into a more normal three act structure. In the book you also learn of how the scare-crow was made and how the tin-man went from human to tin, I really like these additions but I don't really know if they have relevance to what I want to do. There are also various inhabitants you're introduced to in the books that are never mentioned in the films, including a bear with a tigers head, the queen of the feild-mice, a city made of china and much more, these additions defiantly add to the world but I feel that they seem a little random and out of place, a bit dis-jointed from the world and don't really connect to each other, for example the animals can talk but it seems not all of them, the other races are never explained or linked to the world of Oz, and Oz in itself seems rather undefined whereas the film gave it a very colourful saturated look that is easily definable.
After looking at all the research I have decided to take the simplest plot (the film version) and work from there, I'm not going to add in any extra characters from the books as they were all rather disjointed anyway, instead I will keep the main cast (Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin man, the Cowardly Lion and The Wizard) the only exception being I will use all four Witches instead, as in the film the roles of the North and South witch are merged together into the character Glinda. I intend to give OZ a whole new identity
Style Experimentation
Now I had the basis of my idea, I decided to experiment with what style I wanted to use, I decided to look into four art styles I usually don't use, and four from the area of art I already work in (Manga) with aspects that would fit this project.
Disney:
The first style I tried was Disney. Probably the most well known cartoon style, it has the qualities I want in the illustration style for this project, I want the characters (mainly Dorothy) to look young and innocent so the style works well for that. I like the way the eyes are drawn but I don't like how the nose or the lips are done.
Tim Burton/Corpse Bride:
The second style I tried was Tim Burton's style, I chose to do it because it was more creepy than Disney but as I was drawing I really decided the style was not what I wanted, the character looked horrible and gangly and far too cartoon-y.
Dolls/Dream Dolls:
One of my main inspirations was dolls so I did a style based around them, it turned out well but I didn't like nose or lips that much.
Alice Madness Returns
My final style for the top row was based on the illustrations used in the cutscenes of one of my inspirations, the game 'Alice Madness Returns', I really like the eyes and nose style but I didn't really like the lips.
Yana Toboso
I chose this artist's style because the characters look young and doll-like, I really like the eyes and face shape.
Tite Kubo
I choose Kubo's art because he is a personal hero of mine and he draws very cute girls, I think they eyes are too simple and blocky though.
Peach Pit/Rosen Maiden
Peach Pit is group of artists who work on various manga, the one I'm focusing on actually being a series about dolls that come to life. I really like the eyes in this style, but they are too far apart and the nose/mouth is to small for my liking.
Noizi Ito:
Finally I looked at the art style of Noizi Ito, I like the way she draws eyes but I think they are too stylised for what I am looking for.
With the help of this experimentation I was able to finalise the art style the illustrations will be in.
The next step of experimentation was to choose the way the illustrations will be finished.
First I tried smooth clean simple lines, then those lines with hints of colour, then a light sketchy look, then a darker sketchy look.
While personally I prefer clean and smooth lines, I feel that they don't have a place in the illustration style, as I am going for a more aged look, the precise lines just end up looking unnatural. I think the sketchy style works so much better and is far more natural, I also think the darker version works best and I will be using that for this project.
Evaluation
From my research I have learnt a lot, I believe the end product I intend to produce is a good balance of my skills and passions, while also challenging me. Looking into various illustration styles has given me an insight as to what tone I want to work in for the illustrations, as well as research into writing styles has helped me choose how I want to write the story.
Looking through a wide range of inspirations has really helped me think outside the box as well, and it helped give me starting points to work upon for when I start production, also looking in depth into the original story I want to use (Oz) has given me a deeper understanding of the material and had helped bring aspects forgotten from the book in the more popular film adaptation to my attention.
Style and writing experimentation has really helped me figure out how long an illustration/page will take to produce and has given me a starting point so I can move on to drafts and character designs.
All in all I learnt a lot about what aspects I feel are effective, be it in story plots, character design, writing style or art style, and I feel that I can transfer them well into what I produce
