To help me find inspiration, I created a mood board. I knew I wanted to create a fairy-tale and fantasy story. I wanted the setting of my story to be a dark dreary forest where something magical happens to help the main character feel less scared. I tried to imagine what living things might reside in this mysterious area and immediately thought of a poisonous mushroom. Additionally, I incorporated one of my favorite Disney animations, Tangled, and thought about the beautiful shining flower shown throughout the movie.
My main character, Glum, is designed to be a dwarf, walking mushroom with some human features, including stubby arms, legs, and a button nose. She is seen as an anxious and gloomy character, hence the name Glum.
Below is my storyboard. The story depicts Glum walking down a dark, spooky forest. After a failed attempt at befriending fellow creatures on the other side of the forest known as the "Light Way", Glum feels dejected. While walking back home, she spots a glowing flower and gravitates towards it. As she inspects the flower, she feels awed. The flower fills her with determination.
Here are the initial 3D character models created in Blender.
I want my music composition to sound whimsical and soft. I used chimes as my main instrument and kept a simple melody. I used the program Reaper and Audacity to edit my music. Lastly, I found some tree rustling and wind blowing sound effects to add to the ambiance.
This project was my first time working with 3D animation. I had a great experience learning all types of creative programs, including Blender, Adobe Illustrator, and Reaper. This project was a great way to storytell an original idea and to bring it to life. Hope you love Glum as much as I did!
