Character sketches

Concept 2015

Blackwood's absurd and black humorous universe is based on the dark folktales and the classics of early horror literature, like E.A. Poe and J. S. Le Fanu. The story universe is centralized around a fictional town called Blackwood. Blackwood resembles the atmosphere of a 19th century industrial city with its dark alleys, old cathedrals, eerie cemeteries, filthy sewers and huge factories coughing up black smoke. Blackwood is the home of many peculiar characters: all these anthropomorph, half human-half animal fellows have their own horrific, spooky absurd or terribly strange story. These funny and grotesque tales are the backbone of Blackwood's universe: the dark and absurd atmosphere of Poe meets The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Blackwood is not bound by the laws of reality. Although its stories take place in the beginning of a fictional material age, anything can happen: a decapitated journalist can carry on writing her article, one can be easily stabbed in the heart with a freshly cooked odorous frog leg and one can realize that his or her best friend is a vampire, who has an intention of eating the particular person for dinner.




crossmedia project

Genre: Victorian Fantasy Horror Comedy
Target audience: 12+
Platforms: TV, web, board game, computer and mobile game

Blackwood - How to Write a Blackwood Article

Some stills of my graduation film.

Director: Csaba Gellár

Script: Csaba Gellár

Writer: E. A. Poe

Narraton: Eszter Ónodi

Design: Csaba Gellár

Animator: Katalin Moré, Csaba Gellár

Backgrounds: Éva Katinka Bognár

Editor: Judit Czakó

Compositor: Csaba Gellár

Consultant: Rita Domonyi. József Fülöp

Producer: József Fülöp

Production manager:Krisztina Holló Leleszi

Festivals:

Monstra 2014, Lisboa - Student films competition

Anifilm 2014, Trebon - Student films competition

Mediawawe 2014

Sehsüchte International Film Festiva 2014 - official selection
Zlin Film festival 2014 - student films  competition

ANIMATOR  2014, Poznan - competition selection

Anima Mundi 2014 - international panorama (animation, of course!)

International Film Festival of Fine Arts, 2014, Szolnok - competition programme

3D Wire International Animation Festival 2014 - official intenational programme

Animest 2014, Bukarest - student competition

Be there! Corfu Animation Festival 2014 - short film competition

BAF 2014, Bradford - student films  competition

Cinanima 2014, Espinho  - graduation film competition

Bradford International Naimation Festival 2014, Bradford - student films  competition

Primanima 2014, Budaörs - graduation film competition

Animateka 2014, -panorama programme

Motivation

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! from Csaba Gellár on Vimeo.

Spooky sketches

Because of Halloween is coming.

Merry Christmas!

Blackwood - Merry Christmas! from Csaba Gellár on Vimeo.

Carriage design

Final design of a carriage and its driver from the streets of Blackwood.

Blackwood - poster

The official Blackwood-series poster.

Trailer of the Pilot episode called How to Write a Blackwood Article

Blackwood (How to Write a Blackwood Article) - official trailer from Csaba Gellár on Vimeo.

Final character designs

Background concept

Sketches - supporting cast

Graphic tests to Sygnora Psyche Cleopatra

First Episode - How to Write a Blackwood Article

The story adapted from E. A. Poe: How to Write a Blackwood Article and A predicament

Synopsis:

Sygnora Psyche Zenobia strolls forth in the City of Blackwood with her faithful poodle named Diana, in search of some horrific inspiration for the article she intends to write. While she walks, she speculates spectacularly, scribbles in her notebook and pays no attention to the fearsome and shady citylife around her.

This is how she proceeds on the streets, when all of a sudden her destiny presents itself to view: she beholds a gothic cathedral. She's seized by an uncontrollable desire to ascend the giddy tower of the cathedral. Into the dark chamber above the sole light proceed from a little opening. Ms Psyche resolves to clamber up to this hole from wich Blackwood’s splendid prospect is laid before her eyes. She thoroughly enjoys the smoky, foggy and screamful heavenly scene. All of a sudden she feels something cold gently pressing on her neck. To her extreme horror, she realizes that the huge minute-hand of the church clock has descended upon her neck. Sygnora Psyche Zenobia can’t escape and the cruel pressure of the hand causes her eyes thumble outof its socket. After the huge hand severs all the remainder of her neck, her head falls to the ground of the street. While she pounders about this strange phenomenon, her body turns to Diana, and sees the poodle’s skeleton: Diana has eaten up by rats during Psyche’s tragedy. The headless body of Sygnora Psyche Zenobia finally scribbles her final words into her notebook, and theatricaly drops to ground, dead.

Sketches - Diana

Diana is Sygnora Pszyché Cleopatra's poodle. She' s very annoying and proud like her owner , but she follows her everywhere.

character design - expressions

Sketches of Sygnora Psyche Cleopatra's expressions.

First sketches

First sketches of the pilot episod's main character. This episode based on E. A. Poe's tales, called How to Write a Blackwood Article and A predicament.

first series concept

Blackwood is an animated series full of black humour and absurdity, based on classic scary tales (e.g. E. A. Poe, Le Fanu, Bierce) and dark folk tales.

Each episode has a separated story and different main characters, but every story is happening in the same town called  Blackwood.  Blackwood is a fictive city similar to the big cities in the end of 19th century, full of smoky chimneys, steam machines, factories and carriages. In this foggy world the characters are different kinds of anthropomorphic animals with human body and animal head.

 The storyworld’s dark humour and horroristic tone combined with a detailed, refined artistic style lends a certain atmosphere of absurd elegance even to the most gory and bloody parts.

episodes’ lenght: 4-5 minutes

Technique:

mixed technic, digital papercut character animation (with Anime studio) and digital 2d frame by frame effects and background animation.

 Target audience: 14+