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+