Have at Ye..! Sword Research

Some preliminary sword research for my nightwatchman character:


I decided fairly early on that it was important that the sword be wooden because of several reasons.

First, that it makes the character of the nightwatchman seem less threatening and more comical. Without a real sword he is really quite harmless.

Second, it shows his ineptitude in combat and his unsuitability for the position he's in. Wood denotes his training rank, that he isn't fully competant enough yet to handle a real sword.

Finally, it makes his dramatic turn all the more impactful in that he appears harmless for two thirds of the film, before finally revealing he has no need for a weapon when it comes to displaying his aggression.

(And lastly I've always liked wooden swords).

How Illuminating

Here is a rough mock up of my film's title, taking inspiration from 15th century Medieval illuminated manuscripts, in which the first letter is elaborately illustrated with subjects from the passage of text, and is embellished with gold leaf.


And here are two variatons on the above - I've yet to choose my favourite:



There are clues in the illumination as to affairs that'll occur in the plot, chiefly the depiction of an owl. Further, the apparent leaves that adorn the F are in fact feathers (which will be more obvious on the final version), while the structured base of the F illustrates the castle setting.
The design above was largely based on the following:

and is typical of illuminationsdating from around that period. So too is the owl illustration based on real Medieval illustrations of the time, most specifically these:

Owlet Design Influences

My owlet is designed to be cute. He will be necessarily cute because then it will make the moment when he dies all the more powerful. The owlet’s primary intention in the story will be to antagonise the nightwatchman in various annoying ways, mostly just through his being there.

His actions are not malicious or deliberate; he is young and just playing.The design for my owlet will be unreaslistic in as far as shape and anatomy. My owl will basically be a sphere with wings. He will not fly like an owl, instead more like a bumble bee or a hummingbird in that he hovers in one place before rapidly switching to a new place in the air. This will be in keeping with the annoying nature of his presence. He is not a graceful bird, he is clumsy and about as unaerodynamic as you can get.

The influence for my owlet character comes from multiple sources as pictured below:

Firstly, just how stupidly fake and spherical an real owl can look.

Everyone's favorite: Woodstock of course. I want to emulate his fantastic animation in the flight style of my owlet.

The hummingbird: Again, this bird's method is flight is what I hope to capture, at least in part, with the animation on my owlet. Getting into the more obscure now...

As much as I dislike to take reference from Harry Potter, the Golden Snitch successfully captures the spirit of my owlet - small, fast, hard to catch. Plus it is a sphere with wings as in my original design intention.

This little thing is Clocky the Run-away Alarm Clock, and the stress I feel every morning when he runs away from me is exactly the kind of feeling I imagine the owlet induces in the nightguard. Everything about it from its erratic movement to its speed and noise are downright annoying. Perfect. And finally...

My cat. I've always though that she looks a bit like an owl, but more than that I'm drawing influence from the times when she has jumped onto my stop-mo set in the middle of an important scene in the past, and caused me a fury not unlike the one I hope to induce in the nightguard when he finally snaps.

Wow, long post... design drawings to follow.

Some Castle Imagery

Here is some general castle imagery by way of basic research into the design for my fortified wall set.


Rustled together from google images.