Lil' more

Moving right along...

I know that progress is slow, but I'm anal retentive and want things to look the way I want them to. I've also been working on some character sketches! I'm so excited about them!

Eventually, the flash movie will require scrolling to move along with the conveyor belt, but for now you can just look at it scrunched down. I'd like to finish it before I worry about little things like that!

Arbor, new and improved

So does this look better?

In the name of progress...

So, my schedule I had for this week got a little skewed. As I started reviewing my storyboards, I realized that maybe I was biting off more than I could chew in two weeks. I work slow, and I'm a perfectionist and those two things don't really mesh that well. So I'm taking it level by level. Working from the first page down to the last, I'll assign tasks before, list them up, and modify as I'm working. I think working this way, I'll get a better quality than quantity. Heck at this point, I'd be glad just to get the first page done. I've gone from this still image, to a fully animated moving sequence! Although I'm pretty happy with the animation, I'm not so happy with the wheel animation. So here's a list of things to do to the wheel between now and tomorrow afternoon:

Make the gradient on the wheel jiggle.
Track the highlights on the notches to match the turn
Skew the notches for better perspective?

Got any other suggestions for making the wheel more realistic (within some cartoony constraints)?

Oh and modifying my endgoal for my ASTP experience, I'd be really happy with finishing half to the end of the first chapter - just somewhere in between that.

Goals for the first page:
Finish movement of robots down assembly line
create conveyor belt and track to robot's movements. (note to myself shift+10 is for the first tween where the head moves)
Map out box to truck sequence.
Map out truck delivery sequence.
How to encourage user to scroll to the right!

I'm also really computered out. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do when you get a little disoriented from staring at the computer too much? I know this will be easier to deal with whenever I start drawing more and get past this huge flash page, but what can I do in the meantime? Take lots of breaks? Stare off into space? Would someone help me remember do this?

Ding DONG!!!!

I've had a great idea to revamp the very first page of Arbor so that it introduces the user to a less passive narrative!

Scott McCloud is obsessed with scrollbars. How about a really long and skinny flash movie that animates the process of making a robot? With metallic sounds! And the reader will have to scroll along to follow the process therefore no long being a passive reader! INTERACTIVITY!!

Music Technoculture

Negativland mixes up some crazy stuff, and they're the pioneers of the cultural mish-mash phenomena known as the mashup (a.k.a. Bastard Pop). Their website is a great resource for all things music collage, intellectual rights issues, and fun crazy things. Check out their saga with U2 for a great historical perspective on intellhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifectual property issues and how it clashes with artistic expression.

A similar group to Negativland is the Evolution Control Committee. Most of their music is completely free on their website, and for the most part they've done their homework with their samples. Check out Rocked by Rape which features segments of a Dan Rather broadcast! Yet another intellectual property case which is really interesting.

One of my current favorite culture jammers is Josh.Cry.On.My.Console who mixes things from drum and bass to britney spears to the mario bros. There's usually a mashup per week, so check back often.

Also, in the project front, I've scanned in the storyboards for Arbor! Please check them out and post a suggestion. I've never considered myself a writer, and I think that's the weakest part of the story. Help me out!