Apple Rot: Concept Art and Costume Design

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The Screenplay

The two intruders in Apple Rot are described as following 

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I always love Harry’s script notes.

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‍“???”

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It’s very hard to annotate the costumes when it literally says everything. I try to imagine the two figures in my head.

I can see them entering the room slowly, moving their limbs in an off-beat manner. Dim moonlight illuminates the room and breaks the figures up in light and shadow work. They seem to be morphing as the light moves over the surface of their clothes. Though the atmosphere in the room seemed tropical before, these figures are dressed from top to bottom. They are completely out of place, unwanted and uninvited.

Leo, the director, says they look layered, and dirty. Disintegrated, almost. Rotten. 

They sound and look like multiple figures merged together. 

The Sketches

Early Apple Rot character sketches tried to capture deforming shadows on the body.
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Shadow-doubles or mis-morphed body parts.

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These ink illustrations explore rotten clothes, hidden faces and the first steps towards actual character designs.

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The Moodboards

It was at this point that I made mood-boards. I wanted to gather references for textures and create somewhat of a style distinction between the two figures.

Down here are some slides from the Apple Rot style-guides and mood-boards:

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Most inspiration is taken from the color of rotten apples, nightmarish paintings and disintegrating clothes in odd or particular styles. 

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Concept Art

I made a painting on canvas, illustrating the mood of the two characters Tall Sad and Short Angry.

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To help me visualize these two figures in more detail, I asked Ab Wienk to make digital concept art.

Working with Ab Wienk

Ab is a fantastic Concept Artist who I met at THU Portugal in 2021.
His personal style fits the dark and rotten world of Apple Rot, I just wanted to see his take on these characters so badly. 

Today, I will introduce Tall Sad.

Ab expanded on the ideas of layered garments.
This concept art creates the perfect starting point for me to design the technical patterns and textures of the 3D garments. 

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Conclusion

Apple Rot is a 3D animation short film, and the technical execution of two characters wearing a mountain of clothes is an interesting challenge.

Conceptually, it’s great.
Technically, for animation and simulation, it’s the seven stages of Hell.

No matter, we love a good challenge at Blauw Films, and I’m excited to find the talented animators, riggers and weight painters who can help to make this creepy pasta dream come true. 
We’re always looking for textile artists, animators, riggers and look dev artists to join Apple Rot!