MacDonald Effects Beginnings

Ok I haven't gotten too far but I wanted to post what I have before class to dicsuss.

My concept is to have the effects live in two separate spaces. Those within the "real world" and those that are created as a result of magic. Below is my styleboard and you all may notice a shift towards stylized effects with sharp/angular design. I wanted them to reflect the angular world of our film (i.e. OBEN), but the magic effects would be more like a firework bursting with colors and complexity (ie Kung Fu Panda). Potentially some poofs with soft rounded edges while dirt clouds or car exhaust has squared shapes without blur. This will evolve as we develop the style of our film but it's a start.

*Update*
Just found this and it has not only awesome effects animation, but some great little star bursts that are very simple and almost like a flare with liitle water droplets shooting outewards. I will explore this for sure.

Rough Color and Lighting Moodboard

This is an early mood board I developed as a possibility for lighting.  My idea is to use mainly desaturated and cool tones for the grey world the main character lives in.  While her magic tricks are colorful, she is slowly drained of color until she too looks like the rest of this world.  When she gets back into her colored environment  I wanted vibrant and warm colors to welcome her back.  My thought was to use something like a hard light with crisp strong shadows for the desaturated world (unlike many of the images in this moodboard, sorry) which shows how tough and callous the real world can be.  Then, when she returns to color, the light is warm and soft and glowing, with soft shadows.  This would contrast with the hard cool light of the 'real world' while also providing us a chance to see how inviting her world is.