The Maker: Behind the Scenes

Watching through the above video, I screenshotted processes and images I found to be useful or good examples of what I found impressive about the production of The Maker, and edited them together into appropriate sections.

Character face construction: Real teeth would've been cast in silicone after been placed to create the desired 'set' shape. They could've then been cast in a resin, and placed onto the head shapes. The lip shape and eyes are added later, seemingly after initial colourations. The lip shape is the main factor in creating expression in the character; above it can be seen that nothing other than the mouth shape changes, creating entirely separate emotions in the face. This tells me that I don't necessarily have to create entirely new faces/ half faces for every expression; something as subtle as the mouth curve can change the whole emotion. 

These are a collection of illustrations designed for use within the animation; small details like this really fascinate me, and I love how every intricate feature has been thought out, even down to the language used throughout the story. It can be seen in the book, on the furniture, on labels etc. 

This mood board consists of construction elements that went into creating the environment for 'The Maker'. Again, it's the tiny details like bottles and their labels, the rabbit figures either side of the hourglass stand, the realistic bricks of the fireplace that make the whole area seem believable, and like a completed world. 

Animation and finished set examples: The animators created homemade dollies out of household objects to create the shots they wanted to achieve. This looks like it was shot with a DSLR as well, as opposed to an entire filming rig, so achieving similar footage wouldn't be overly ambitious as I have access to these kind of cameras at university.