The process of making this short film was to begin with character sketches of the main characters. The original story calls Stingy Jack. So, I wanted to dress him in plain, cheap clothes. Also in the original story, the Devil is portrayed as a dealmaker. So, I dressed him as a 19th century businessman.
The next step of the process was to finalize the character designs and create a reference sheet in the form of a turn around. This gives the animator the colors and a 360 perspective of what the characters should look like from any angle.
Once character designs were finalized, the story could now be visualized via storyboards and scenes.
According to the story, we first meet Jack and the Devil in a bar. Here we have a painted background to contrast the 2D, cell shaded characters. This scene is meant to be warm and homely, and those feelings are conveyed via the warm lighting and organic materials of the wood.
Once the storyboards were completed, work on the animatic could begin. This animatic shows the pacing and general movements of the characters involved.
While the animatic was being made, so too was a test animation for a walk cycle for Jack. This walk cycle shows the possible final style of the animated story. I wanted the style to feel unfinished, giving the animation a vintage feeling.
