Conceptualizing

Spring is almost here! I'm definitely glad to see this winter say "au revoir." It's been a rough one.

Things at Ningen Manga HQ have been busy as Cindy and I get ready for a jam packed 2009. Women's Studies inches ever close to it's fall DVD release. I'm hoping to have some announcements about that within the next few months. We've also got some exciting things brewing with NMP's new mascot, Helena, Hussy of Horror.

The big project we've been working on is preparation on our second feature film. While we're still not ready to make an official announcement, a lot has been happening behind the scenes. Personally, I'm very excited about this new script. It's a great step forward from Women's Studies, and I think it's going to really challenge NMP's production crew.

Over the past couple months, I've had the great pleasure of working once again with Rich Aidley, an artist based in the UK. Rich worked on the concept art for Women's Studies which was a big part of helping to get the film on it's feet from both a production and design point of view.

How's the process work?

We start out with script pages. I send Rich a copy of a sequence from the script I'd like to see conceptualized. After some back and forth, we settle on a part of the scene which we think will make the best art piece. (Click on the page to actually read the text.)



Then Rich draws up a series of thumbnail sketches for me to choose which "shot" I like best.



I choose shot #1.



Based on that thumbnail, Rich draws up a larger version of the shot in pencils, then inks and colors it. (For details on that process, check out this great video on his blog.) When all is said and done, we end up with the below picture. Click on it for a bigger version!



And what is this mysterious scene about? To find that out, you're simply going to have to come back for a future blog . . . though if you dig around Ningen Manga's various websites, you may find some clues.


(All content on this page is (c) 2009, Ningen Manga Productions.)