The Red Cliff is a passion project me and my fellow animation friends Lesley Blom, Wolfer Freijsen and Ward Zijffers (+Assisting directors Femke Janssen and Emma van den Nouweland) are conceptualising.
The legend of the Red Cliff is a concept for an animation series about Dutch folklore, myths and other curious historical tales! It is an epic and magical adventure aimed at young teens, about 9 to 14. With this series, we intend to bring these lost stories back from obscurity and reintroduce them to the next generations. (Crazy) cultural heritage is not something to shy away from, but to embrace wholeheartedly!
The concept is rooted in the Frysian tale 'De Roode Klif', which we have loosely based it on and expanded on by combining it with other legends and ancient happenings.
A sneak-peak of Concept-Character design work
Duna
Witch in training,
grew up with her grandma in the forest so is quite brave, rough and socially unhandy!
Has to confront a Dragon to save the land...
Attitude / face sketches, to get a feel for how she could behave
More sketches
I try different kinds of posing, to see how her clothes could move with her behaviour. Does it enhance her emotions?
Joris
Duna's trusty friend,
Grew up as the little runt in a house with 7 workaholic older brothers,
Straightforward loveable idiot who thrives to make his biggest dream come true: to be a knight!
Joris concepts for face/hair
Shape study, placing the characters next to each other to see how their shapes work together
Attitude study
Cor
Duna's mentor and grandparental figure,
Wise, Mysterious and Powerful.
She wears tinted spectacles to hide her terrifying eyes, a reminder of her past...?
Face sketches
Silhouette
