Crossing
(Personal work)
War Drama, Action
A one-take animatic following Coalition soldier Cole as he crosses a ruined battlefield during what should have been a routine assault.
Crossing explores duty, identity, and the distance between those who fight wars and those who command them.
The animatic was made using Blender's Grease Pencil, all in one continuous shot.
Beatboards
Beatboards I made to quickly visualize the animatic. Since I already had a clear picture of the visuals in mind, I only did a few and moved straight to Blender. Though these would be more important if a team of people was working on the project.
The story changed during production. Originally Crossing was simply about a soldier crossing the battlefield, with no real story. An earlier ending had the characters going over a dune, toward a highway littered with wrecked cars, only to be bombed by their own side as enemy forces rapidly advanced. It felt anticlimactic, and I thought what's the fun in storyboard when it has no actual "story"? Thus it was ultimately rewritten.
Character Designs
COALITION SOLDIERS & MAIN CHARACTERS
Common Coalition troops, as well as faces of the main characters.
Royce ended up having a three hole balaclava in the animatic, so you can tell when he's talking.
GOLF COMPANY SOLDIERS
The rogue splinter group of the Coalition force. Still sporting most of their original equipment, but with more ragtag, worn, mismatched look. They don't appear up close, except once in the animatic. Still, I wanted to design some of them to help immerse myself in the story.
THE PACTS
The Coalition's actual enemies, the Pact soldiers. I wanted them to have a more "alien" look.
This initial design never went anywhere because I eventually cut them from the story after a major rewrite.
Behind The Scenes
Things can look weird, but as long as they look good on camera, then it's fine!