Vudu Dolls animated short film

Vudu Dolls from Raimondo Della Calce - artFive on Vimeo.

The complete Vudu Dolls animated short, directed by Raimondo Della Calce, written by Riccardo Boccuzzi, produced by Riccardo Boccuzzi and artFive animation studio in 2013.

Vudu Dolls concept art

all images in this post © Enrico Scheri / artFive 2013

 

 

Some concept / set design illustrations I made for Vudu Dolls, an animated short developed by Raimondo Della Calce (artFive studio) with screenwriter Riccardo Boccuzzi. The story is settled in Louisiana in an unspecified old-looking age (somewhere between the late '30s and the early '60s).
Full digital painting, as usual.

Ondino season 2 - Hiccups

One of the episodes I storyboarded for the second season of Ondino / Ripples. Enjoy!

The Caravels' Secret animated teaser

The caravels' secret - trailer from Raimondo Della Calce - artFive on Vimeo.

A teaser for an animated series about Diego, the son of Cristopher Columbus, produced by artFive and Animabit in 2011. For me, an occasion to do some scenographic research about two beautiful spanish settings: La Rabida abbey near Palos, and queen of Castilla's palace in Sevilla.

The King of the Island

Il re dell'isola (The king of the island) from artFive on Vimeo.

Between 2008 and 2009 artFive studio produced this short film with the same staff who worked on the Ondino series. It's a gentle story of a kid living in the port of Genoa at the beginning of the 20th century.

I was in charge of designing backgrounds with all the related historical research, a vast but extremely exciting task.

Enjoy!

Concept artworks for Il re dell'isola

all images in this post © Enrico Scheri / artFive 2009

media: pencil, digital colouring

For Il re dell'isola I made several 'concept artworks' to test the setting of the main actions of the script inside the planned background set. I always liked to do this kind of drawings because you can freely explore the mood of the scenes without restrictions in techinique or composition.

As the story is settled in the early 20th century, I chose a charcoal-like style with thin frame lines and classical lettering to recall the popular illustrations of that age.

The image at the beginning of this series shows the main character, Gioanin, as an old man that let his memory return to the childhood days, starting the movie.

The fourth image illustrates Gioanin's dream of the savage island in a daylight version, alternative to the one used in the actual movie. This is the only full-coloured concept artwork with the intent to suggest a different visual style for the dream sequence.

The artworks posted here are just a few of the series I drawn. You can see a larger sample on the gallery section of The King of the Island official website, where you can also compare how the same scene developed from concept artworks through color studies and storyboard to the actual frames of the movie.

2D backgrounds - Lanterna promontory at the beginning of 20th century

all images in this post © Enrico Scheri / artFive 2009

media: digital

For Il re dell'isola I did also some matte painting (still backgrounds behind 3D elements). This is an example of the historical research demanded by this movie, as I had to reconstruct the look of the now-destroyed promontory that once linked the big lighthouse called Lanterna to the hills behind the city.

For the skyline and the shape of the main buildings I referred to a selection of ancient black-and-white photos, and for the colors to a fresco on the roof of the main hall of ducal palace here in Genoa. A bit of imagination was necessary here and there, but the general result seems to me quite believable. 3D clouds, sea and atmospheric effects were added to this background to create the final image you can see in the movie.

3D set design - City gate and old pier

all images in this post © Enrico Scheri / artFive 2009

Some studies for the sets I designed for Il Re dell'isola, an animated 3D short film directed by Raimondo Della Calce and settled in Genoa at the beginning of the 20th century.
We tried to reconstruct the appearance of the main pier of the old port, with the city gate called Porta Siberia, still visible today, and the head of the pier with its small lighthouse, demolished in the '20s.

3D set design - Gioanin's house

all images in this post © Enrico Scheri / artFive 2009

Some other sketches I did for the sets of the short film Il Re dell'isola. This is the house where the main character of the movie, a child called Gioanin, live with his mother. The exterior of the house is a real existing building, hidden somewhere in Genoa's medieval heart, while the interior is pure invention, with props based on old-times photos.

Concept artworks for Pinocchio

all images in this post © Animabit Studios 2008

Pinocchio approaching the gates of the town of Acchiappacitrulli, accompained by his 'friends', The Cat and The Fox.

Pinocchio looking at the moon from inside the mouth of The Whale.

Two concept artworks from a series I drawn to explore the possibilities of a new animated version of the Italian childhood literature classic, Pinocchio.

Media: digital paint.

A coach for 21st century

media: pencil, digital

What if the coach shape was still a reference for automobile design? A cartoonish answer.

Storyboard for Ondino TV series

Storyboard for "Ondino" TV series from Enrico Scheri on Vimeo.

A sequence from one of the storyboards I draw for the first season of Ondino, an animated 3D series produced by Animabit and RAI (the Italian national TV company).

2D backgrounds - Fancy campiello

media: pencil, digital

A friend of mine (and great illustrator) likes this drawing and recommended me to show it on the blog.

It is a background design test I realized for an animated series to be settled in Venice. Don't waste time trying to recognize what campiello (little square) of Venice it is, for it's just a fancy one. But if it reminds you a real existing one, please tell me where it is!

2D backgrounds - Palazzo del Comune

all images in this post © Achtoons / Emilia-Romagna Film Commission 2005

media: digital

One of the backgrounds I did for the animated intro to promotional DVD Emilia-Romagna regione animata, a showreel of animation studios, directors and festivals from Emilia-Romagna region produced by Achtoons studio in Bologna. The clip featured a character running through some of the main monuments of Emilia-Romagna. The one showed here is the Palazzo del Comune of Piacenza.

I'm happy to had the opportunity to create a De Chirico-like mood using monumental architectures and deep shadows, for I think it give a rich and slighty mysterious look to the whole short.

2D backgrounds - The Skypopolis Center

all images in this post © Achtoons 2008/2009

media: pencil drawing with digital colouring

The opening background of a promo trailer for Achtoons studio's TV series project The Skypopolis Center.

Won't you take a ride on a cartoonish spider?

A prop I designed for the Skypopolis project produced by Achtoons studio in Bologna. Characters were designed by Anna Lucia Pisanelli.
Media: colour pencil.