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Storyboarding is a key part of making an animated piece.

It allows you to perfectly shape each scene in line with how you want to produce your animation or story. You can use a storyboard to help aid any aspect of your story, and detail aspects you would like clearer in your scenes, like, colours, timing, designs and maybe even sounds or music. It's also a way more time efficient way to demonstrate your ideas for an animation or production. I personally find it really helpful when mapping out my characters and how they would behave in my animation.

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I dabbled with a bit of storyboarding very briefly in the previous project, when I made an animatic for my final prototype but I'm hoping and aiming to pay more attention to it this time as I'm really honing in on the animation aspect of this course.

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Perhaps you've heard the term "storyboard" before from a character in a glamorous (and incredibly unrealistic) movie portrayal of an advertising agency.

Or, maybe it brings to mind a flurry of sketches tacked to a wall surrounded by creative types squinting at them with lowered brows, fingers stroking visible-and invisible-beards as they analyze the work in front of them.

The word "storyboard" could even mean absolutely nothing to you at all; you may have arrived at this article because you're curious to learn more.

Whatever your particular knowledge of the term, by the time you finish this article, you'll have a much better understanding of what a storyboard is, why you might need one, when to use it, and a whole host of additional relevant information. Here's what we'll cover:

1. What is a storyboard?

2. When and why do you need a storyboard?

3. What elements make up a storyboard?

4. What are the different types of storyboards?

5. How to make a storyboard

6. Wrap-up and next steps

So: what's a storyboard? Let's get started!

1. What is a storyboard?

Let's begin with the basics. A storyboard is a graphic portrayal of a narrative, concept, or script, divided into sequential scenes (panels). They are generally used to map out how a script or story will look once it is animated or acted out, but people utilize them for a variety of situations.

Think of the classic parable, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." If you were to create a storyboard for this tale, perhaps the first panel would show Goldilocks looking a little worse for wear in front of the bears' house.

The next few scenes would portray her eating different porridges with a sour look on her face, followed by a drawing with her eating yet another bowl of porridge, this time with a smile. The images break down the story into bite-sized scenes and help people visualize how it will come to life.

"Storyboarding" is simply the act of creating a storyboard. For the best results, you'll need to strike a balance between providing enough visual information to be able to tell the story so others can understand it and making it overly detailed.

Some storyboards can be very rough and simple; other times, they can be very elaborate. It depends on the situation, how much time you have, and what stakeholders (your team, clients, etc.) are looking to use them for (more on that later).

2. When and why do you need a storyboard?

Stories are an excellent way to communicate information. They make it easier for people to understand complex concepts and tend to be more interesting than informative text.

And, since graphics are more straightforward than the written word, a storyboard can break down even more communication barriers. Given their versatility, it makes sense that people use them in a variety of situations.

Who uses storyboards?

People typically use storyboards to map out scenes that comprise a movie or an animation. As a visual medium that's ideal for storytelling, video is incredibly popular for marketing and sales collateral, product use instructions, and even pitching internal strategies.

Marketers use videos to explain complicated value propositions, map out customer journeys, and entertain potential customers to boost brand awareness.

Storyboarding helps ensure the message is on point and achieves the intended goal, and that the scenes all work together fluidly before moving onto any actual film production-which can save quite a lot of money in the long term!

While storyboard use is rife across virtually all industries, the movie industry heavily relies on them, especially for animated films. Filmmakers use them to pitch to studio bosses, tweak storylines, and map out scenery, among other things.

Storyboards are also excellent teaching vehicles for educators, especially when young children are the target audience. They can be low-budget (poster board, anyone?) and easy to create without a lot of resources.

Even better, they can illustrate concepts that youngsters may have trouble remembering without a visual aid, like how to wash their hands properly or how to react in case of a fire or other emergency.

What are the advantages of using a storyboard?

A storyboard can help get everyone on the same page quickly. Humans process images a stunning 60,000 times faster than text , which means that no matter how brief you make your pitch or presentation, it will ultimately take longer for people to understand it because there are words involved.

In addition to communicating ideas faster, a storyboard is also a great way to hone an idea without going too deep into further production. A script or a concept can sound amazing in principle, but you may create a storyboard and realize it just doesn't translate well into visual scenes.

A storyboard is an especially important part of the animation design process. Just like for any video, it provides a visual map that communicates the script or narrative, but it can also include critical requirements that will give clients an idea of cost and time to produce.

Establishing these parameters before moving forward into the drawing phase will lead to a much smoother process down the line, trust us!

Finally, storyboards are also helpful to video editors, as they'll be able to use them as points of reference to ensure the final cut adheres to the original vision.

So now you know why storyboards are so important and who uses them. Now onto how to create them!

3. What elements make up a storyboard?

A basic storyboard's components are very straightforward.

In their basest form, all you'll need to start is a concept, script, or story-this forms the basis for what you are trying to communicate through the visualization. However, the most comprehensive storyboards will include several of the following components:

Dialogue or voiceover narration for each panel

Time frame for each scene, which are especially critical for animation and film because they set the stage for budget, the feel of the final product, and the resources necessary to bring it to life

Camera details, like the type of shot, camera location, and how to transition from scene to scene

Aspect ratio

Let's move onto the types of storyboards you can create.

4. What are the different types of storyboards?

Storyboards have evolved over time. What started as a way for Walt Disney Studios to explain the production process to animators in the 1930s is now a ubiquitous part of the film process and quite helpful in a multitude of situations.

Part of that evolution has included branching out beyond the traditional pencil-on-paper version to digital. So, what are the different types of storyboards you can create today?

Traditional storyboards

A traditional storyboard is probably what most people envision when they hear the term. The designer will typically use pencil to create conceptual sketches that form the basis of a movie or animation.

The panels are detailed enough for the production team and client to comprehend the narrative but are intentionally rudimentary, so if changes need to be made, the designer can complete them quickly and efficiently.

Thumbnail storyboards

Thumbnail storyboards are used to hash out details of a scene in a movie. Though tiny and loosely drawn, they are more granular and detailed than a traditional storyboard because they include the type of shot you want for each part of the scene and how to position the camera.

The actual drawings in a thumbnail storyboard don't have to be anything more than stick figures! You can draw several versions of a thumbnail storyboard and choose the best one to add to your full storyboard.

Digital storyboards

Many agencies and animation studios rely on digital storyboards to show what the final cut of an animation will look like. They design characters and scenery on computers, so by sharing a digital storyboard with a client, they achieve two goals with one output.

The client can see the character style and review the scenes, shots, and narration, all in one fell swoop. Pretty handy, right?

For inspiration, you can also take a further look at each of these four types in our guide to the best UI storyboard examples.

5. How to make a storyboard

For your first storyboard, start simply. You'll need to start by creating a script (or at least have a concept you can elaborate on with relative ease).

Once you have a script or some general notes on a narrative, you can start fleshing out ideas for portraying it visually in different scenes. A two-column chart can be helpful for this step. In one column you'll include the script; in the other, you can start jotting down rough sketches of what it could look like.

When you're satisfied with your chart, you can begin creating the storyboard, opting for either the traditional or digital version. If you want to get more detailed, first do your thumbnail storyboard and integrate it into your final product. Let the drawing begin!

For a more in-depth tutorial, check out this complete step-by-step guide on how to create a storyboard.

6. Key takeaways and next steps

So there you have it! Now you know what a storyboard is, how to use a storyboard in a variety of situations, why they are so helpful, the different types, and even how to create your own.

If you'd like to learn more about animation but are completely new to the world of design, it's worth easing in with a free introductory UI design course . At the same time, you can delve deeper into the fascinating topic of animation design with these articles:

This article is part of:

Contributor to the CareerFoundry blog

Marissa Sapega is a seasoned writer, editor, and digital marketer with a background in web and graphic design. She has written for a variety of industries including SaaS, hospitality, digital accessibility, and travel. Marissa holds an MBA in marketing and is always looking to push the limits of her creativity.

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What Is a Storyboard? A Complete Guide to Storyboarding

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Perhaps you've heard the term "storyboard" before from a character in a glamorous (and incredibly unrealistic) movie portrayal of an advertising agency. Or, maybe it brings to mind a flurry of sketches tacked to a wall surrounded by creative types squinting at them with lowered brows, fingers stroking visible-and invisible-beards as they analyze the work in front of them.

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Throught this media project, I have relied heavily on research. I began with a very loose idea of what I wanted to make as an end result, so research was obviously the key to unlocking those ideas for me. All I knew was, I wasn’t interested carrying on with creative synergies and that I was wanting to create something scary so that’s where I focused my research. Personally, I believe all my research was important in regard to this media project. Each step in the research process was so impactful on, not only my knowledge of the tests I was doing and my involvement with the animation process, but also my understanding of the horror genre and subgenres as a whole. One piece I particularly enjoyed researching was Stephen King, and films related to his type of horror. These were fundamental to the development of my media project because they allowed me to think outside the box. Another piece of research that ended up being the main focus point of the project was the Ghost Huns Podcast, as it allowed me to go wild with my imagination and try and create what I saw in my head listening to those stories but through an animation or piece of art.

My key insights from this research process, where to hone in on specific sub genres and their impacts on animation and film and what tests and drawing I could do to develop my own final project idea.

During this project I did a few tests in regard to taking steps to create my final project. Because I spent a large portion of this project unsure of weather, I was going to do just concept art or an animation the tests I did became samey. I did a lot of drawing which took up quite a lot of my time, as well as making those drawings into animatics, creating story boards and time sheets. A lot of the tests I did were heavily influenced by research, mostly because I wanted to learn as much as I could in the time I had about the animation process. I also did the timetabled workshops which I thought would help further my skills and knowledge, which looking back, I could’ve maybe gone further into - I was just a little too focused on making sure everything I did was backed up by research. These tests were very helpful when it came to narrowing down what I wanted my final outcome to be, specifically, learning about walk cycles and creating my own made me want to develop that as my final outcome. I think what I would do differently, is perhaps more tests. At the time, I thought this project would be better if I had a large body of research, because that worked well for me in Creative Synergies, perhaps I could’ve done more experiments to just push myself that little bit further.

The techniques I have employed to communicate ideas within this project, have been understanding who I’m making this project for. The audience, you. Also developing visual communication, colour schemes, scale, art style, rather than using descriptive language to tell a story, I’m attempting to communicate the meaning of the animation through environmental storytelling and movement. I feel like I communicated my intentions well. My intentions being, creating an eerie animation of a walk cycle of a character based on a fiction with support from environmental storytelling, like using sound, colours, tones and choreography. I did a small amount of research into a choreographer and sound designers so I could make sure my animation was authentic to my initial idea.

Feeding forward, I have learnt that research AND testing are very important part of pre and post production and how influential it is for the animation process to go smoothly. I have really improved my skill in researching into important elements to make my final project informed, and making sure it is all relevant and informative especially when researching part of the animation process like creating time sheets and storyboards. In regard to developing skills in programmes when creating tests, my main comment on how I could improve from my last project was to delve further into a programme and get as much out of it as I could, and I do feel I have tried to do this with Adobe Animate. When I decided to do an animation, I was going to use animate because I spent hours on it during workshops and in my own time, trying to learn how to use the bone tool, create assets, and importantly create an animation. I used tutorials from YouTube as well as advice from Anton and support from resources on blackboard. I included this lengthy process in my journal with images and a detailed explanation to why I decided to hand draw, and ‘recycle’ some of my already done drawings. Above all of this, I learnt a lot about animate and how to correctly make an animation using some of these previously mentioned tools, it just wasn’t right for what I intended to create. Though this was definitely my biggest challenge, I now have this tool to ready me up for next year so in my opinion no time was wasted. Overall, I’m really grateful to have had this foundation year to understand myself, what I want for myself and the types of animations I would like to create. I’m looking forward to getting some hands on experience in the animation process, and this project gave me that push to keep on perusing my goal to becoming an animator.

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SFX - Slow, Heavy, Long Breaths, Out Of Breath | Epidemic Sound

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Listen and use the track Slow, Heavy, Long Breaths, Out Of Breath. Sign up here!

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SFX - Creepy Haunted Winds, Distant Metal Impacts | Epidemic Sound

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Listen and use the track Creepy Haunted Winds, Distant Metal Impacts. Sign up here!

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SFX - Horror, Haunted Hallway, Light Footsteps | Epidemic Sound

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Listen and use the track Horror, Haunted Hallway, Light Footsteps. Sign up here!

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When it came to animating my final outcome, I was torn whether to use Adobe Animate or freehand draw each segment. I first thought I'd try out Adobe Animate, and if that doesn't work out, I have plenty of time to draw each scene; they would just have to be maybe less detailed. I separated each limb from my original drawing of Lynn, to allow parenting the layers together to be much easier - I also made sure to create symbols for these because I hadn't the first time I tried this out, and it made it very difficult to create the skeleton. I came across many problems, my background of each PNG would make it difficult to line up my drawing- I think this is because it was too detailed, this would've worked better if they were shapes. I also, for whatever reason, struggled to, once the layers were parented up to then, try and animate it; I would end up with a hand on the opposite end of the screen. I did have a go using the bone tool as this worked best when I first did the workshop on it, I also followed some tutorials provided to give me some more tips, but this was also filled with issues related to my assets and not being able to make the right parts of her body move in the way I wanted. I spent 2 days trying to make this work, because it would've been a lot easier for me and would save me a lot of time, but with the deadline in mind I was cautious of leaving it too late to t better my freehand animation so I have decided to do it that way instead.

I have attached some images I took of the process on Adobe Animate.

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Corridor and Animated Lynn Combi With Audio *Post Production

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Corridor and Animated Lynn Combi With Audio *Post Production

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Final Outcome

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Lynn Final Character Design (Full Body) *Production

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Lynn Final Character Design (Full Body) *Production

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Full basic design of Lynn, some hands, eyes and mouths for concepts through my drawn animation.

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Alice (1988) : Jan Švankmajer : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

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A quiet young English girl named Alice finds herself in an alternate version of her own reality after chasing a white rabbit. She becomes surrounded by living...

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Week 12- Final week, Finishing off projects and Research

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Week 12- Final week, Finishing off projects and Research

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I have chosen to put my animation against a background to allow the character to have the affect that I'm after, which is to be unsettling. I'm not sure I would be able to achieve that successfully without some level of a background. I originally wasn't going to use a background because I wasn't sure how much time I would be able to dedicate to that AND an animation- but I would rather have a more convincing animation than a boring walk cycle.

Above are the first few designs and some of the drawing process towards my final background. As you can see it's come a long way from the beginning and is reassuring me that it was the right thing to do brining a background into my animation.

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Corridors are used in many horror films to provoke fear from the viewer if used correctly. They are also used as figurative bridges between rooms and open spaces which allow you to comfortably transition from room to room.

In my animation it will be used to set the scene more for the viewer, and allow the character of Lynn to really embody the characteristics I have attributed.

This above is a book recommended to me with some really interesting knowledge and references around corridors ands their use in modern day and past living. I have particularly found this helpful when drawing the corridor background design.

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We spend our lives moving through passages, hallways, corridors, and gangways, yet these channeling spaces do not feature in architectural histories, monographs, or guidebooks. They are overlooked, undervalued, and unregarded, seen as unlovely parts of a building’s infrastructure rather than architecture. This book is the first definitive history of the corridor, from its origins in country houses and utopian communities in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, through reformist Victorian prisons, hospitals, and asylums, to the “corridors of power,” bureaucratic labyrinths, and housing estates of the twentieth century. Taking in a wide range of sources, from architectural history to fiction, film, and TV, Corridors explores how the corridor went from a utopian ideal to a place of unease: the archetypal stuff of nightmares.

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Pina Bauche is a German dance choreographer, who creates quite intimate neo-expressional choreography. I have looked into some of her choreography and it's an interesting point of inspiration for the movement of my animation.

I have attached a video where she creates some interesting movements, which could be adopted towards a creepy sequence for a film or animation.

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Altered States- In relation to my time sheet

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Altered States- In relation to my time sheet

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This scene from Altered States is choregraphed similarly to how I have created my character movements.

The way he contorts his body is how I imagine Lynn to be walking towards the centre frame. When I made my animatic of the time sheet, the video format worked better as a 9:16. This emulated the corridor aspect of the animatic which could be a really interesting was to display my final animation.

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Animatic Of My Timesheet  *Pre Production

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Animatic Of My Timesheet  *Pre Production

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Here is my more in depth time sheet for my animation. I have included the mannerisms in more detail to show how exactly I imagine Lynn to move through the sequence. I have also added some notes to remind me of how I want to compose the animation.

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Animatic Of My Storyboard *Pre Production

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Animatic Of My Storyboard *Pre Production

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Here I have made my storyboard into an animatic.

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In terms of my own animation, as I have storyboarded my character Lynn to walk towards the camera in a contorted scary stumbling was, to defamiliarize this I could make this funny. For example, after a few drinks your balance is off which makes you walk funny, you could either make it sinister or make it funny and this is what I would do to change the narrative.

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In today's session I had a look at defamiliarization techniques and strange-making. These are processes that allow you to see the familiar in an unfamiliar way, a strange way. This can allow you to reconnect with the text instead of almost becoming desensitized because of it's familiarity. This is called 'The Art As Technique'.

An example being an animated video of animals, voiced by a human interviewee. Making the familiar interview unfamiliar, by having it voiced by animals. In this instance it would make something ordinarily boring, funny.

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In relation to my project and what I could do to defamiliarize

an animation, I could take a comedy animated film and turn it into a scary animated film. For example, Toy Story but horror.

Instead of the toys coming alive and being friends to Andy, they pray on his downfall. This plays on the innocence of Toy Story and it gives it an edge that would be more likely suitable for older children to adults.

Here I have done exactly that.

I have added some visual tweaks to both Woody and Buzz's face to emulate that they have been fighting.

I have done this in an attempt to make this innocent film look sinister. This defamiliarizes Toy Story because it changes the idea of the narrative.

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Week 10- Defamiliarization, Strange- making 

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Week 10- Defamiliarization, Strange- making 

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Storyboarding, character designing and wrapping up details for project.

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Storyboarding, character designing and wrapping up details for project.

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Figure 21, Storyboard Rough Sketch for Animation

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Rough Storyboard Sketch Out for Animation *Pre Production

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Rough Storyboard Sketch Out for Animation *Pre Production

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Here I have storyboarded a very simple basic walk, cycle for the animation I want to create for my final project. I've used the design from the drawing I did previously to emulate what the animation will look like. I've done this quick because I want to make it into an animatic like I did for the previous project before I got to animate this.

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In the animation I plan to have Lynn walking slowly towards the front of the frame, having her face grow more visible through each frame. I've chosen to have her walk this way and gradually show her face, because of the characteristics of characters I have researched during and throughout this project.

I'm now planning on starting this animation, or maybe doing a fleshed out storyboard but that will depend on how much time I have once this is turned into an animatic.

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Lynn Detailed Character Design *Pre Production

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Lynn Detailed Character Design *Pre Production

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Summary of comparison and contrast throughout the four films researched. 

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Summary of comparison and contrast throughout the four films researched. 

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I have chosen here to do some research into some films from the horror genre that I feel would be some interesting research regarding my concept art and animation.

I have chosen similar films in terms of the premise, so they relate to the story I have chosen to draw from to ensure my research stays relevant and on track.

Ultimately these films all have a folk horror sense about them which makes them all quite similar, but they each have individual drives which make them different. The Babadook for example, preys on the fears of the mother and young boy, similar to how The Ring travels from the fear of who watches the video. This theory also applies to The Grudge. The difference with Carrie is that it verges on supernatural theories rather that actual fear.

I have taken inspiration from each of these for different reasons, art styles, pacing, message and medium. These are all key concepts to an animation.

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Here is another academic reading surrounding the horror genre and how powerful it can be when describing characters, surroundings and themes. Though this wasn't directly addressed to my theme currently, I still found this a really interesting reading experience and will take pieces from this throughout my work.

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Here I have taken a paragraph from an analysis of The Monstrous Feminine in Video Games.

I thought that this academic reading was a thorough take on the representation of women in games, and this peaked my interest as I found it interesting in relation to my project.

This particular paragraph details the representation of women in Bram Stocker's 'Dracula'.

The men being stylish, mysterious, smart to the parallel of the women being, hysterical weak and plain.

This is the case for most female stereotypes throughout the genre of folk horror, and particularly in the story that I'm creating art for. Although Lynn, in her story is "possessed" by something- It's assumed she's gone made, this is because of that stereotype that men put against women in the horror genre.

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Shrieking, Biting, and Licking: The Monstrous-Feminine in Video Games

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Shrieking, Biting, and Licking: The Monstrous-Feminine in Video Games

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In cinematic adaptations of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897), the vampires often follow the gender hierarchy established within the novel. As film theorist Robin Wood (2015) discussed, male vampires like Dracula are often portrayed as stylish, refined, seductive, and powerful, whereas female vampires, like Dracula’s companions and the female vampire Lucy, are portrayed as weaker and more emotional (p. 390- 391). Dracula and the male vampires designed in homage to him prey on everyone, whereas female vampires, modelled after Lucy, have traditionally preyed on other women and children (Zimmerman, 2015, p. 432; Wood, 2015, p. 395). Within a psychoanalytical framework, this hierarchy helps to negate the potential danger of the female vampire as a penetrative, phallic monster: as a lesbian or a child-eater, the female vampire is less of a threat to men who fear penetration by a more powerful woman. This gendered vampire hierarchy is upheld in The Witcher series: the only female “Higher Vampire” Geralt encounters, Orianna, is in The Witcher 3, featured in the downloadable content entitled Blood and Wine (CD Projekt RED, 2016). Orianna owns an orphanage full of children who she uses as her personal blood supply when her thirst overtakes her. Orianna is presented as simultaneously more monstrous and weaker than her fellow vampires, because she preys exclusively on children.

(Stang, 2018)

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Carrie, was originally a novel written by Steven King. The novel was how I was introduced to Carrie. Then there were a couple of films following, with the same story just different interpretations, my personal favourite being the one that came out in '76. The film follows an unpopular young girl, who is dealing with relentless bullying following her starting her first period in a communal shower space. As the story swells, Carrie realises she can do things without meaning too, pushing people off bikes and making ashtrays explode without doing ANYTHING.

She ends up meeting an unfortunate end with her mother, after having pigs blood poured over her at her prom. This visual before she ends up going into a rage is quite an inspiring look for my Lynn character design. In terms of what 'Horror' category this film fits into, I am unsure but I would argue it could fit into all three, Gothic, American, and folk. Stephen Kings writing is usually quite folk based- but this one, in my opinion tests the water on American, due to the gore and themes.

In relation to The Grudge and The Ring, they have strong female villains, which heavily relates to the story of Lynn, the peaking wife.

I cant see myself really using much from Carrie for my project, but this was a good point of inspiration for me, especially being a novel by Steven King which is why I have chosen to research a little into it.

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'The Ring' is an adaptation of the sister film, 'Ringu', based of off a Japanese hit film and a novel written by Koji Suzuki.

This film details an urban legend featuring a video with a plethora of otherworldly horrors, which if you watched you would be left with only 7 days to live. In this film, a reporter is sceptical about his tale, but when 4 teen's die, exactly 7 days post video it starts to raise suspicion.

I have chosen to research into this film due to its folk horror nature and the visuals of Amara, the main spooky character.

When reading the story of Lynn, the peaking wife the visual of Amara came into mind. For some reason, I watched this film a little too young and her face and movements have always unsettled me, which is the feeling I want the watcher of my animation or character design to feel.

When creating an animation, if that's what I end up doing I aim to emulate the characteristic movements of Amara. Particularly when she crawls out of the well in the video, how she contorts her body into an almost animalistic way crawling like a 4 legged mammal. In comparison to the 'villain' in 'The Grudge'

This might be a hard thing to try and animate in the now short space of time I have, but I'm willing wo at least have a go to see what I could make of it.

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The Babadook is an Australian phycological horror which tells a story of a single mother and her young son, having reoccurring night terrors. They both see this figure, 'BABADOOK' which they have to coax away using positivity.

This synopsis demonstrates our inner struggles manifesting into something bigger, real and intimidating. This story forces the watcher to look inside and urges you to face the darkness.

When I fist watched this film, I didn't fully understand the premise. Watching it a second time for this research, I can see the demonstration much clearer and I really like the deeper meaning. This film would fit into the gothic horror category, due to the meaning of this film, not being an actual monster but the manifestations of ones mind.

In relation to my final project, the drawing and animation of the Babadook is, dark, charcoal, and Smokey designed. The movement of the BABADOOK, is choppy, slow and unsettling which I think would work well with the desired outcomes for my animation project. If I chose to animate, I will include the inspiration from the Babadook choppy sinister movements, and if I chose to do concept art for a character design I will use the dark and Smokey design.

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Figure Nineteen, Unreal Blueprint Workshop

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Figure Eighteen, Unreal Blueprint Workshop

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Here I created a simple blueprint using Unreal. You can use a vast selection of programs to create a blueprint, Twine, Harmony and Raya. You create a Blueprint using Nodes. You simply create an action and link them together to form a playable story. When making my Blueprint, I simply made a door open using a static mesh- this has no shape, just what you put against it. You get whatever the variable you set it.

(Variable meaning whatever number you set.)

This gives the figure the ability to move.

When I was making this it became pretty complex quite quickly, so I just watched some tutorials to keep me on track, but in the end I didn't really finish it.

I found this interesting to learn about, and this might become helpful in the years to come of my degree, but I wont be using it for my current project.

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Here I have provided the story I am basing my final work on- I have done this, to go back through it for reference for my drawing and for you to also look on what I'm taking inspiration from.

THIS IS NOT MY STORY.

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"Christ" I whispered, as I finally saw what we'd missed. Under the bed, curled on her side, watching us with the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning, was my wife.

She held her hands together just under her chin, and they were shaking eagerly.

Now that she knew she'd been found, I could hear the quiet noises she was making. A sort of hiccuping sound in her throat, as if the excitement was just too much for her. It was unnerving to say the least. Wide eyes, and that same huge smile.

Everything in me told me to run, but I forced it away. This was my wife. No matter how twisted, she was still the woman I married. I had to help her.

"Lynn…"  I said softly. She didn't respond, but her head bobbed back and forth in two quick little movements as if she were nodding.

"Baby. I just wanna help okay? Can you…. Can you let me do that?" I asked. I had taken a single step forward, approaching her like some kind of dangerous animal.

"I love you, Lynn." I said softly, taking another step closer. She let a tiny moan escape her wide open mouth and I had to resist the urge to run.  Her shoulders were starting to quiver, and her eyes grew as large as saucers.

I crouched down so I could see her better, and immediately saw the blood. Her hands were covered in it. They trembled more the closer I got, as if she was barely able to contain herself.

"Lynn. Are you hurt? You're bleeding." I said. She bobbed her head again, her bloody fingers moving up and down as if playing an invisible piano. They occasionally grazed her chin, leaving smears of blood on her skin.

I wanted to recoil in disgust. The smell that was coming off of her was revolting. I could feel the vomit trying to climb up my throat.  Her lips were dry and stretched thin, blood seeping between the cracks.

I knew she wouldn't come out on her own, but I didn't want to leave her in the state she was in.

I scooted closer and reached out to her. The excited hiccuping sounds got louder and her hands shook, fingers flexing. It was then that I could see the blood oozing from in between her fingers.

"Oh my God, Lynn. You're bleeding." I said. Instinctively I reached out to take her hand, but before I could even touch her, her hand sprang out towards me. A sharp pain shot through my arm, and I fell back on my ass. My arm burned, and I could see the blood dripping down onto the carpet.

I looked back at her in shock and saw her grinning madly, her fingers clutching a large shard of glass.

"You alright in there?" Chris asked from behind me.

I turned my head slightly, and nodded to him, cradling my arm to my chest. When I turned back to face Lynn, I saw that her focus had shifted. She wasn't looking at me anymore. And she wasn't smiling anymore either.

She was staring past me, her eyes glaring at Chris the way a hungry lion might stare at an antelope. Her mouth was still hanging open but it was twisted into a snarl.

I got to my feet, and began walking backwards down the hall, afraid to take my eyes off her.

"Are you... bleeding?" Chris asked. The moment the words left his mouth Lynn started fast scooting out from under the bed, the glass shard still in her fist.

"Chris. Run. Go!" I yelled. He must have been too afraid to move because a second later I felt my back bump into him. He was still standing at the top of the stairs, staring at the horror that was my wife.

Lynn had crawled completely out from under the bed and stood in the bedroom doorway, her face twisted in rage. Her whole body was visibly tense. Blood ran down her fingers and onto the floor.

"Jesus, Lynn..." Chris said, "You uh… playing hide and seek?" I reached back and pushed him towards the steps.

"Move your ass Chris" I said as quietly but firmly as I could.

Lynn bobbed her head in fast, sharp motions, and began to grin, stretching her mouth open wider and wider so that her chin seemed to touch her chest. I heard Chris mutter a prayer and then he was running down the stairs. I stood at the top of the steps, stuck between the love for a woman who clearly needed serious help, and self preservation.

"I only want to help." I said, choking back tears. Her eyes focused on me once again as she slowly lifted the glass, holding it out in front of her. And then she started sprinting towards me, grinning with utter excitement. Thankfully my body took over and I flew down the stairs skipping two or three at a time. I made it to the front door before I felt her leap onto my back, wrapping her arms around my neck, her open mouth next to my ear so that I could hear those terrible hiccuping sounds up close. I shook her off me, knocking her to the floor. I felt a searing pain in my back as she went but I tore open the front door and bolted to my car.

Chris was standing in the front yard, talking on the phone with the police. I didn't say a word, I just ran to my car and jumped in. Chris took the hint and followed me, still on the line with 911

I watched the rear view mirror, sure I'd see her there, running after us. But I never did.

I went straight to the ER and got 11 stitches in my arm and 3 on my back. The police asked a lot of questions and went back to the house to do a search but of course, Lynn wasn't there.

They advised me to stay with a friend or relative for a while and to file a restraining order as soon as I could but none of those things would matter. Somehow I just knew.

I dropped Chris off at home, and went to a motel an hour away. I wanted to put as much distance between me and Lynn as I could.

This is where I've been for the last 4 hours. I thought maybe the police would find her, maybe they'd get her the help she desperately needs.

But now I don't think so. Because 40 minutes ago I got a text from an unknown number. Just three words :

"I found You."

And a picture attached. The picture was dark and grainy, but I instantly knew what it was. There was no mistaking my wife's eye.

I started typing this out immediately after. I don't know what to do. I'm alone and scared, and I can't help but feel that I'm being watched….

Written By Redit User ; Maliagirl1314

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So I did what any husband in my position would do.

I called her mother.

I didn't want to, believe me.

Her mother, Marianne and I were never on the best of terms. We'd never fought or anything like that.

She just wasn't a very warm person, and wasn't really easy to get along with.  She hardly ever smiled and when she did, only her lips would move into a thin lipped smile, leaving her eyes as blank as before. She gave off this aura that felt like she was permanently on the offensive.

I'd only met her twice and both times were for such short visits. I got the impression she didn't approve of me for her daughter. Lynn always ushered us out quickly, as she didn't want me to feel uncomfortable which I was grateful for. Being in her mother's company felt almost unbearable. Like walking on glass. I was glad when we moved three states away so we didn't have to see her often. I was happy to avoid the woman, but I needed her help.

I really didn't want to talk to her at all but I had to talk to someone and someone who knew Lynn better than I did. So I grit my teeth and did what I had to.

"Yes?" She answered, already sounding irritated.

"Marianne, it's me Ben. Do you have a minute to talk?" I asked. I could hear her cluck her tongue in irritation.

"I'm in the middle of writing some checks, but if you insist, I suppose I can spare a moment. What is it that you want to discuss Benjamin?"  She said, coolly?

"It's about Lynn. She's been... acting strangely and I was wondering if you had any idea whether there was something - " I was quickly interrupted.

"It's a bit difficult to follow your rambling Benjamin, what is that you want from me?" She asked. I could almost see her standing there in her thin sweater and slacks, tapping her fingernails impatiently on the table.

"I wanted to know if you'd ever noticed any odd behavior? Or possibly any mental health issues?" I asked. There was a long, uncomfortable pause  that I couldn't tell was because she was just thinking, or ….something else. Finally after a few seconds she spoke.

"I'm not sure if this is one of your jokes Benjamin, but if so I don't find the humor in it. Now I do have business to attend to as I've said,  so if you don't mind -" she said, but I cut her off before she could get rid of me.

"Marianne, it's not a joke. I'm sincerely concerned about Lynn's mental health. Her behavior has been very erratic lately. I'm very worried about her and I figured as her mother you would be as well." I said, my frustration evident in my voice.

"If you're truly concerned then I suggest you get the health professionals involved. I don't know what you expect of me." She snapped. I could tell she was seconds away from hanging up and for some reason I was desperate not to let her. I had the feeling that she knew a lot more than she was letting on.

"Please. If not for me, do it for Lynn." I tried.

I heard a faint shaky intake of breath, as if she were trying to hold her steely persona together but failing.

"Marianne? What's wr-"  I started.

"Benjamin, I don't know what to tell you. My only advice would be to seek professional help. Do not call here again. Goodbye." I tried to call out to her but she'd hung up.

I tried to wrap my head around the call and her refusal to help me. Even if she didn't like me, why wouldn't she want to help her own daughter? I couldn't understand that. I tried to replay the conversation, desperate to find something I missed.

After a while I almost gave up, until I remembered her last last words to me. 'Seek professional help' she'd said those words with a bit of urgency. I could have just been grasping at straws but no, I was sure her voice had changed ever so slightly when she'd said that. As if they were very important.

What had she meant? I assumed she'd been referring to medical professionals, but maybe she was referring to someone else. Someone that she didn't, for some reason, feel comfortable saying directly. Or maybe I was just desperate.

I waited for Chris to get home and after a very long and exhausting conversation with him and Rebecca, I convinced them that Lynn truly needed psychiatric help. I didn't tell them everything. I wasn't prepared to go into it yet, but I told them about our last encounter. How she'd hidden in the bathroom, peeking at me from the closet.

They were obviously shocked but thankfully they believed me. They too just wanted to help her. Still they didn't think it was all that serious. Weird, maybe but not dangerous. They just kept saying that Lynn had to be playing some kind of weird joke. "Maybe for YouTube?" Rebecca offered, if only half-heartedly.

Chris didn't think we should involve the police just yet. He offered instead to go with me, and I readily accepted. He reasoned that calmly talking to her, trying to coax her into going willingly was the best recourse. I agreed to do it his way. At least I wouldn't be going into that house alone.

We drove over this morning, just after breakfast. There was no way I was going at night. When we pulled into the driveway my stomach began doing somersaults. Her car wasn't there, but I still didn't let my guard down.

The front door was ajar, and for a split second I thought we'd see her eyes staring through the gap. I was shaking and starting to sweat. Chris however was fine. He waited for me to open the door, his hands in his pockets like he was going on a fucking stroll through the park. I envied his ignorance.

I pushed the door open and was immediately hit with the stench of rot. Chris smelled it too, and he walked in the house behind me with his nose scrunched up.

"What do you guys use to clean the floors around here, shit?" Chris mumbled.

"Shut up." I said, my eyes darting around for any signs of Lynn.

The house was deadly quiet and dark despite being 10 in the morning. All the curtains were closed up tight, refusing to allow any sunlight inside. If I hadn't left it just two days prior I'd have thought the house to be abandoned.

We moved through each room, carefully checking any place that she might hide, occasionally calling her name.

"Why the fuck are you looking under the couch?" Chris asked eventually. "Aren't we looking for your wife?"  He was looking at me like I was a moron.

"Let's just go upstairs." I whispered. He shook his head but followed me up the stairs to check the bathroom and spare bedroom. On the way up my shoes crunched over pieces of glass that looked to be littered over a few of the steps.

I noticed that one of Lynn and my wedding portraits that hung on the wall along the staircase had been smashed. The frame hung crookedly, all the glass removed. I stared at the picture, a lump forming in my throat. We had taken the photo just after leaving the church, after saying our vows. She looked so beautiful in her white gown. I looked at Lynn's beautiful face. I never dreamed her face would ever be a source of terror for me.

We climbed the rest of the steps and checked the spare bedroom, but it looked completely untouched.

I was hesitant to go into the bathroom, my fear from that night coming back to me all at once. Chris noticed, and offered to go in by himself but I couldn't let him do that. So we walked in together, checking the closet and the shower. The bathroom looked as if it hadn't been touched since the night I left.

"I don't think she's here Ben. Why don't you pack some clothes and we'll try coming back tomorrow or something." Chris said. I nodded and went into our bedroom and shoved some clothes into a duffle bag. When I checked inside our closet I came across the source of the smell and gagged.

Chris took one look and lost all color in his face. He had to go stand by the stairs to get away from the sight and smell.

I gazed down in shock at what lay Inside my bedroom closet. Soaking into the rug, were at least a dozen eyeballs, all carefully laid out in pairs. Some were as large as a quarter while others were as tiny as a marble. I stared down at the eyes she'd collected from small animals and I wondered how she'd gotten them, and shuddered at the thought.

"Man, I thought I had it bad with Becca's shoe addiction. But fuck me. Your wife's in here collecting eyeballs." Chris said, gagging.  "Ben, I think we should go."  He called from the hall. "I'm getting nauseous."

"Alright." I grabbed my duffle and shut the closet door on my new nightmare. I stepped out into the hall and took a deep breath of air. I could taste the rot on my tongue and I couldn't help but gag.

"Who the fuck lines up eyeballs in their closet like that?"  Chris mumbled.

"I tried to tell you she needed help." I said.

"She doesn't need help, Ben. She needs a fucking exorcist." He said. "You coming or what? I can't stand the smell any- " his words died in his throat, and his eyes grew wide with fear.

I didn't ask him why. I could feel it. Someone was watching me and I didn't think it was the eyes in the closet.  I turned around, my eyes slowly scanning the bedroom.

Written By Redit User ; Maliagirl1314

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I tried to sleep on their sofa, but my brain wouldn't let me sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Lynn's face staring at me from inside the closet. Knowing she'd been in there with me the entire time made my skin crawl. She'd never left the fucking bathroom at all. Instead she slipped inside the closet and slammed the bathroom door shut to fool me.

The mere thought of going back home gave me anxiety. I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Chris ended up giving me a sleeping pill so I was able to get a little rest. My sleep was filled with terrible dreams. All of Lynn's smiling face.

I woke up just as the sun started to rise. My sore body ached from the sofa, and I felt drained. I knew I'd have to call Lynn at some point, but I didn't know what to say to her. I wouldn't be going home unless she gave me her word she'd never do anymore creepy shit.

I just wanted my wife back. Her normal serious self never looked so good to me.

I was contemplating calling her and telling her that, when that familiar feeling came over me. I was being watched. I was staring at the ceiling, my heart in my throat. I didn't want to look away but the longer I ignored the feeling the worse it got.

My eyes drifted away from the ceiling almost on their own. Her face was pressed up against the window beside the couch, staring down at me with that same gaping smile. Drool dribbled down her lips, leaving two long streaks down the glass. I didn't know how long she'd been there, but something told me she'd been there quite a while, possibly all night.

I didn't bother screaming, though I was afraid anger trumped any fear I felt at that moment. I jumped up from the couch and pounded my palm against the glass.

"Lynn! Are you crazy? What the hell is wrong with you? Just go home!" I shouted. "Now!"

She didn't move, and her ghastly expression never changed. If anything her smile only grew, as if she had never been more elated.

I could hear Chris and his wife moving around upstairs. As if Lynn could hear them from her place outside, her head twitched slightly in their direction, and she began to close her mouth slowly.

Chris called my name from upstairs, obviously concerned. I turned to see him and his wife Rebecca hurrying down the steps. When I turned back to the window Lynn was gone. The only sign she'd been there at all was the two streaks of drool still dripping down the glass.

I tried explaining to Chris and Rebecca about waking up to see Lynn watching me through their window. They were skeptical, who wouldn't be? Chris and I went outside to the spot in front of the window but there were no footprints in the dirt, just a slight indent. Animal probably, Chris guessed, and I didn't argue. He and Rebecca assumed I dreamt the entire episode but they didn't understand, and I was too tired to explain it to them.

I called out of work that day and turned my cell off. I didn't want to face Lynn. Just talking to her was too much for me at that point. I really started to believe something was irreversibly wrong with her. That no matter what promises she made we'd never be the same again. The thought saddened me to my core. I cried most of the morning. By noon I figured I was ready to confront her. Give her one last chance to explain herself. I could at least give her that after 6 years I told myself. I turned my phone on and saw the dozens of texts she'd sent, all from a seemingly concerned wife.

"Can we talk?"

"I love you."

"Please call me."

"I'm really worried."

"Can you answer?"

"Just come home."

And more of the same. All texts telling me she loved me, and she wanted me home. How worried she was….Not a damn one addressing the crazy shit she pulled. Like she hadn't been acting like a character from a Stephen King book.

Even her texts were different. She normally texted novels just to tell me to pick up a loaf of bread! You'd think she'd have more to say to me after her bizarre shenanigans.

I know it probably seems childish to some of you who are miles away from this situation. But if you saw the way Lynn had looked at me, how she scampered away on all fours like some wild animal, grinning at me from inside the closet like a lunatic…..then I think you'd find my reaction was warranted.

I ended up staying with Chris and Rebecca for another night. I didn't wake up yesterday until after noon, and thankfully I didn't see Lynn's face watching me through the window.

"I don't want to pry, because it's not my place. But is this fight something that can be mended?" Rebecca asked. She'd made us both a sandwich for lunch and I knew she wanted to breach the subject without seeming to be nosy.

"I don't know. I just….. She's like a different person." I said, choosing my words carefully. I still wasn't ready for her or Chris to know the full extent of the bat shit craziness I had been dealing with.

"People change Ben. But she's still the same woman you married. Maybe you both just need to talk through your issues. Whatever's going on, I'm sure it can be fixed." She said, ever the peacemaker.

"I think it's beyond that now. I don't think talking would help. I just don't trust her." I said. The words stung in my heart. I missed and loved my wife. But how could I live with someone like that? Living in constant fear didn't sound too appealing.

"Lynn loves you. She has to be absolutely crushed." She said.

"I don't know about that." I said.

"Well she certainly seemed like it to me. I've never seen her so upset. Very much unlike the Lynn I know." Rebecca said, shaking her head sadly.

It took a full minute for her words to really sink in and when they did, I felt dread worming its way through my skin.

"Wait. What do you mean? You saw her? You saw Lynn?" I asked, my mouth suddenly dry.

Rebecca nodded casually as if that fact wasn't nightmare fuel. Maybe for her it wasn't.

"She stopped by this morning just after Chris left for work."  She said, cleaning the plates from the table. "I didn't see her car though. Maybe she took an uber or something."

"Becc. What did she say? Did..did she come inside?" I asked, sweat starting to break out on my forehead. I began looking around, examining corners as though a predator lurked behind them.

"No. She just asked if you were awake yet and I said that you weren't. I asked if she wanted me to wake you but she said no. Just said to let you sleep." She said as she washed the dishes.

"That's all? She didn't say anything else?" I asked.

"No. She looked awful though. Like she hadn't slept in days. I think you should call her."

I got up from the table and thanked Rebecca for lunch.

I felt a little bit better at the knowledge that at least she hadn't come inside. Still, I needed to double check that the doors were locked.

I sat for a while trying to figure out what to do next. I didn't want to go home, but I felt that I owed it to Lynn to help her if I could. Hadn't I swore an oath to love and honor her through sickness and in health? Clearly she was very sick.

If she was sick, which I truly believed she was, I had to try and get her the help she needed. But I didn't even know where to start. I didn't want to call the police, and besides, what the hell was I going to tell them? That my wife was peeking at me? That she was being creepy? As bizarre as she'd been, she still hadn't committed any crime. Not yet anyway. The police would have probably said that I was overreacting. But this wasn't some prank. It felt wrong. Dangerous even. Like something sinister lurked beneath her smile.

I knew as her husband I was well within my rights to have her committed, but what if she simply acted normal in their presence? She'd obviously been able to fool Rebecca into thinking she was just a concerned wife. As long as the doctors didn't find her a danger to herself or others, they'd have no choice but to release her after 72 hours. I felt lost and overwhelmed.

Written By Redit User ; Maliagirl1314

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Lynn left to go to a friend's, and I lounged on the couch and played a couple games on my laptop.

Around 9pm I hopped in the shower and as I was washing the soap from my hair, I felt that awful feeling that I was being watched. I slowly opened my eyes and almost had a fucking heart attack.

Lynn was peeking from behind the shower curtain, her entire head stretched into the shower, leaving just her body outside. Her long dark hair hung against the curtain, the ends dripping with water. Her mouth hung open in a terrible grin, eyes wide and red, as if she hadn't blinked in a while. I screamed and jumped back against the wall. She didn't move nor did her smile waver. Her makeup ran down her cheeks in two black streaks. She looked giddy and completely deranged. I was fucking terrified.

We stood like that for a few moments, neither of us saying a word. Finally after what felt like forever, she slowly pulled her head back out of the shower, and I watched her blurry figure  through the curtain as she moved backwards towards the bathroom door.

A second later the bathroom door slammed shut, hard enough to rattle the mirror. I screamed again, and jumped out of the shower to lock the door. I stayed inside the bathroom for over an hour. Maybe I overreacted to some of you. But joke or not, I wasn't going to put up with the crazy shit anymore. That's what I kept telling myself as I paced in my bathroom, stopping to listen at the door every few minutes.

Suddenly I heard a muffled sound, and I pressed my ear against the bathroom door, straining to listen. I couldn't hear anything but I envisioned Lynn standing on the other side of the door, giggling at her joke.

I felt a surge of anger. I was beyond pissed at being made to feel scared in my own house, and made to hide in the bathroom for an hour. All for what? Some joke? If it was a joke it was an awful one.

"What the fuck Lynn!" I snapped. "This shit is getting really fucking annoying." I waited for her to apologize, or to call me a jerk. But instead I heard a faint moan, so quiet I wondered if I heard it at all, and then complete silence.

"Lynn?" I called out, not able to even hide the shakiness in my voice. I got no response. Just my own heavy breathing.

"I swear to God, just fucking stop it!" I yelled, pounding my fist on the door.

I waited for her to cuss me out, something I would expect from me talking to her like that. I never screamed at her before.

But there was nothing. Just the occasional drip from the shower head.

I won't deny that I was scared. Too afraid to open the damn door and face my own wife. I waited another 30 minutes or so, which feels like a fucking lifetime when you're scared. Finally I decided I wasn't going to spend the night hiding in my bathroom, so I got down on my knees and peered under the door. I almost expected to see her face peeking back at me but thankfully I didn't. I could see straight down the hallway to the top of the stairs, but no Lynn. I didn't know if I should be happy about that or not. I looked for a few minutes, waiting to see her head pop up over the top step, but it never came.

I stood up, my hand hovering over the door and mentally prepared myself to open it. I slowly turned the lock with shaky fingers, and was about to yank it open when I heard a sound that still makes me feel nauseous when I think about it.

A moan, louder than before, but this time I was able to tell just where it was coming from. I turned my head to the closet door as if in slow motion, and locked eyes with my wife who was peeking out at me from the slight gap.

Her eyes were still wide as ever and her mouth was hanging open in the most grotesque gaping smile I'd ever seen. I didn't even scream. I was too scared for even that. Her hands were clasped to her chest, body trembling with sheer delight, as if she could barely contain her excitement. A short raspy moan bubbled up from her throat, deep and raw, sending a shiver through my entire body.

Somehow I found the ability to pull the bathroom door open and ran as fast as I could all the way down the steps, snagging my keys and phone from the table in the living room before running outside to my car. I could hear her shrill laughter behind me but I didn't hear her getting closer. I didn't bother shutting the front door. I drove away from the house faster than I legally should have, shivering the entire time, either from fear or the cold. Maybe a little of both. I hadn't grabbed a coat or even a pair of shoes. I was still in my boxers and my hair was still damp.

I drove straight to my brother Chris's house about 40 minutes away, ignoring any and every call and text I got. I didn't check my phone until I was safely parked in my brother's driveway. Lynn had called 4 times and sent a flurry of texts, all wondering where I'd gone and why I left "like that."

I threw my phone at the dash in a rage, furious at her nonchalant attitude. My brother and his wife were surprised to see me, especially dressed in just a pair of boxers, but told me to stay as long as I needed. Chris lent me some clothes and asked me what happened. I told him Lynn and I had a fight, but didn't get into the details. I didn't want him to think I was overreacting, leaving my wife over a prank, even if it was a strange one. I mean, hadn't I encouraged her for years to lighten up instead of being so serious all the time? I had wanted her to relax and loosen up, but this was definitely not what I'd had in mind.

Written By Redit User ; Maliagirl1314

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My wife "Lynn" and I have been together for six years and married for 11 months. Our entire history together has been very normal and never once have I noticed any weird behaviours or red flags. I can't stress enough how out of character this whole thing is for her.

Lynn is very kind, intelligent and thoughtful. She's always been the no nonsense type of person. Being childish, or trying to scare me is not something she'd normally do. She doesn't even like watching horror movies. When we first started dating she agreed to watch The Shining with me because she knew how much I loved horror. She was so scared that she didn't even make it through half of the movie before we had to turn it off. She isn't into anything creepy, and has never been into pranks. It's just not her cup of tea. And that's fine. But that's what was so strange about this. It's just so unlike her.

I should also add that she never had any mental health issues and as far as I'm aware it doesn't run in her family. I know some people are able to hide their mental health problems, but in the six years we've been together I think I'd have seen some sort of sign. Two months ago, I was in the kitchen making myself some coffee before work. I was running a bit late that morning and knew I wouldn't be able to make it to Dunkin Donuts for my usual morning fix.

I took a sip of my coffee as I hurried down the hall towards the front door, when I happened to notice Lynn peeking at me from around the corner ahead of me. I could only see her eyes, and a  strand of her long dark hair hanging against the wall. The rest of her body was concealed behind the corner. I nearly spilled my coffee when I saw her. I did burn the shit out of my lips. "Geeze, Lynn." I said, wiping a few drops of coffee from my pants. "You scared the shit out of me."

She immediately popped out of view like a little kid that had been caught. I heard her scurry off towards the living room, and by the time I got to the front door she was out of sight. It was really weird, and just totally out of character for her like I said, but I also found it kind of funny that she was being more playful and a little less serious. I shouted that I loved her, and called her a weirdo. As I shut the door behind me I heard her laughing.

Her behaviour was a bit odd, but it certainly wasn't something to call a priest over. I forgot about it by lunch and by the time I got home she was her normal self. I didn't bring it up and neither did she, and life went on. The next incident happened three days later. It was around 2am and I had woken up to get a drink. I was standing at the kitchen island, jug of Oj in hand, when I felt a strong feeling that I was being watched. For whatever reason I looked down at the floor and saw my wife's smiling face staring back. She was peeking at me from the other side of the island, staring up at me with wide unblinking eyes and grinning. Grinning like the Cheshire cat. I screamed, I'll admit it. Not out of irritation but fear. For some reason at that moment I was scared.

At the sound of my scream Lynn scuttled backwards out of my view, her hands and feet smacking the tile floor as she hurried out of the kitchen on all fours.  I didn't run after her, or even yell after her. I just stood there frozen in shock, wondering what fuck had possessed her to do that.

It took me a little longer than I'd like to admit to go back upstairs, but I eventually did. When I got to our bedroom, Lynn was lying on her side, asleep. Or at least pretending to be. I stood there for a while, watching her breathing to be sure she really was asleep. I had the feeling she might jump out at me the moment I got into bed. But she didn't. I climbed into bed and she didn't even move. Her breathing was soft and deep and I was starting to wonder if I'd dreamt the whole thing.

The next morning I waited for her to come down for coffee and after handing her a mug and kissing her cheek I decided to ask her about it. "What was that about last night?" I asked, keeping my tone light so I didn't offend or embarrass her.

She frowned over her cup of coffee, shaking her head like she had no clue what I was referring to. "You were peeking at me again. From over there." I said, pointing to the spot on the floor by the kitchen island.  She followed my gaze, and when she looked back at me she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that I couldn't help but join her. "You creep me the fuck out sometimes, you know that?" I said. She giggled and set her cup on the counter and wrapped her arms around my neck. "You creep me out all the time. So I guess we're even." She teased.

We said our goodbyes and left for work. As I drove I kept thinking about how creepy it had been seeing her grinning at me from behind the island like that. The sounds her hands made on the floor as she crawled away. I told myself she was just trying to be silly. Just trying to join me in my love of all things horror…. It's not like I was afraid of her. But it still didn't sit right with me.

I started seeing her peeking at me more and more. Sometimes she'd be peeking out from behind the couch or living room curtains. Once she even managed to get inside her grandmother's old trunk that sits at the foot of our bed. I might not have even known she was there at all had the trunk's old hinges not given her away.

She'd had the lid propped up just enough so that  only half of her face peeked through. She'd been grinning like an excited toddler. It was unnerving. I didn't even know what to say to her. All I could do was stare. When I finally found my voice, I asked her why on earth was she doing this. She didn't answer, but she had slowly closed the lid, shutting herself inside the trunk. I just walked away, feeling disturbed.  I didn't understand why she was doing it, but it clearly made her happy. I just hoped she would tire of the game quickly. Lynn didn't peek at me for the next two weeks. I started to think she was done with her weird prank and I was relieved. We were watching a show on Netflix one night and I jokingly said that I hadn't seen her peeking at me lately, and that she must have given up on her spy game. She looked up at me with a small smile and said, "Maybe I've just gotten better at it." I didn't say anything but I wondered whether or not she was joking.

For the next few days I couldn't stop thinking about what she'd said. Was she still peeking at me when I wasn't looking and I just hadn't noticed? And if so, what the hell was she getting out of this? I started to feel paranoid, constantly checking whether she was watching from around the corner, or behind a door.  I was jumpy whenever I was home and she wasn't in full view of me. I felt stupid and a little crazy. But after a few weeks without another incident, I began to relax.  I stopped checking behind furniture and walls and told myself it was just a bad memory. Then a few days ago things got so much worse....

Written By Redit User ; Maliagirl1314

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The 'no sleep' subreddit, on redit, is where the Ghost Huns Podcast get the vast majority of their stories from.

This redit is full of peoples (mostly) made up stories. It's where a lot of people go to tell their darkest stories, making it a great place to pluck inspiration from.

The reason it's called 'nosleep' is because when you read them, they're supposed to be so scary you get no sleep...

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The Grudge is a visual horror film, depicting a Japanese curse which basically is born when someone witnesses extreme death, sorrow and sadness. Once a person watches someone with the curse die, they will inherit the curse and also meet their fateful end. In comparison to the Babadook, this is a visual horror that isn't a manifestation of someone's fear, although it could be interpreted like that, it's not what the original intent of this film was.

I haven't yet fully watches this film all the way through, but it's something I intend to do in the coming weeks.

Post watching this film, I'm not 100% sold on the story. Most people I have asked have told me to watch the first version as i's much scarier and gives the vibe I'm looking for a little better. I felt like this feel didn't translate as well as I originally hoped it would, but that's okay as I have more ideas in terms of character design ideas for Lynn.

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This is a drawing I have drawn inspired by Alice from Alice In Wonderland. I have taken inspiration from Tim Burton's art style to create this.

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Folk Horror is a sibling of Gothic Horror. It's a sub-genre that plays on and explores the surroundings of forests, the terrifying possibility's of the unknown. This genre is often tell but no show scare, and explores the fears people already have, preconceptions of what the scary 'thing' will be and what it would look like.

Moral panic, witches and religion are common themes in this genre.

An example of this genre would be the film 'Midsomer' a film about a woman who travels with some friends to a Swedish summer fayre, which turns sour. It turns out that this group of people are a cult, with many things being uncovered throughout the film. This is one of the best films I have ever watched. It perfectly encapsulates the folk horror theme.

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Opposed to gothic horror, American horror doesn't play on morel torment, or issues of the mind. It focuses on visuals, cultural misalignment, conflict and violence.

These stories often involve an obscene amount of gore, violence and fighting. There is a wide range of how this genre can display American horror, a great example being American Horror Story- which literally delves into various themes and displays of American horror. Another example being the 'Terrifier' series, which mainly focuses on women's fears, gore and fighting.

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Gothic Horror is a genre of literature and film that unveils forces of evil, the unnatural and the supernatural.

These gothic horror stories are usually characterized by dark, gloomy cloudy settings, often set at night time- or the unnatural occurring's happen in the dark. (This then plays on the reader or watchers fears of the dark.) Pathetic fallacy is often used to communicate this also.

Examples of gothic horror would be, Dracula, Frankenstein, and Pet Cemetery.

This genre plays on faith and religion which usually means the unnatural happenings in these stories is a manifestation of the characters worries, wavering faith or love. A character example of this is 'The Priest' In the Steven King novel, 'Salem's Lot'. This story is about a vampire epidemic that takes over a small town, Jerusalem's Lot in Maine. In the story the vampires can effectively brainwash the people of the town to do as they wish, but this shouldn't effect a man of god..

Unfortunately, the priest has been struggling with his faith, in turn he gets taken by the vampires. This demonstrates a key theme of the gothic horror genre.

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Here I have created a further narrative for the story I'm planning to use for my final project. I enjoyed this because I feel like I have way more confidence when drawing the character, I think that's because I now have more understanding of the narrative than I did before.

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In relation to animation, table top role playing games (RTRPG) are super helpful for generating narrative, constructing a stroyline and relationship between characters

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These are the types of tones and shades I would like to use when making my final project

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Animation gif of character design *Pre Production

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Animation gif of character design *Pre Production

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Here I have animated an 11 second clip of my character design of Lynn (From the sum-redit story) of her turning her head and raising her eyebrow.

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In today's session I played around with Adobe Animate, animating an armature model.

I began importing an asset into adobe animate, played around with sizing and made sure to name each of the separate layers. I did this just encase I lost my place, I knew which part of the body I was working with. This proved to be really helpful and made my life a whole lot easier in terms of adding null's to the rigging process.

Once I was happy with the size, I went ahead and rigged all the limbs together. I did this by selecting the bone tool and click+hold to each limb/body part. This creates a Skelton for the asset, allowing the whole thing to move as lifelike as possible when the animation begins. This is the process which makes the drawings come to life in animation, is the same with physical media but instead of them being digital anchor points, they are real anchor points with a scaffold like look to them.

When making my anchor points I had to make sure I was being careful where I put them as you cant have more than one anchor point in a layer section. For example, two anchor points on one arm. When it comes to making NULL points, it allows you to create more movement to the rigging process, but sometimes this can be unreliable. A solution to this would be separating your layer, so, the hand from the arm, gives it its own anchor point witch gives you the freedom to control the arms properly.

Once I was happy with how many points I had, I arranged them in each section, frame by frame to make an animation. I kept it basic, just having the character dong a dance and then standing still again, but I am very happy with the outcome. I was cautious going into this I would find it really difficult and I wouldn't get on with it but I have impressed myself with how much I enjoyed it.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this session today, I feel like I've come away wanting to explore it further into my own designs which is a refreshing feeling.

My next step with this programme is to explore it further, making some NULL anchor points to make my drawing more mobile and give it some more life. I definitely want tot have a go at doing this with one of my own drawings.

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Junji Ito is a Japanese manga artist and animator, best known for his dark horror drawings and animated series on Netflix, 'Black Paradox'

I'm not particularly into the anime/manga animation, it isn't really my thing, but I can appreciate the work and dedication it takes to animate a show, and draw so well.

I wanted to look into Junji's work because, he's an animator and an artist who uses scary stories to display his artwork.

I really enjoy his style of drawing and the way his animation flows so well.

I have taken inspersion from his art style to experiment with character design for a separate scary story.

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I have developed this drawing while listening to the Ghost Huns podcast. I would like this to be a design for Lynn.

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Figure 7, Character design sheet example

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What Should I Include in a Character Design Sheet? Inspiration is taken from this article.  

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Character design sheets are used as a blueprint for a character. They become the most important part of your early development for your animation, and throughout because they allow you to maintain your characters' physicality. The character is drawn in multiple ways, poses and stances so it's important you have a design sheet to reference back to throughout the animation process. Sometimes, it could be just facial expressions for the characters on a design sheet it really depends on what medium you are animating the character and how consistent you want your character's expressions to look.

The ultimate aim for a character design sheet though, is to keep a consistent and concise look for the character or characters you are designing. This is a common practice, among animators and illustrators.

I briefly used a rough design sheet for my previous project, so I am familiar with its layout and process but I can see myself needing to use this process more in my media project.

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What Should I Include in a Character Design Sheet?

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Why Should I Create a Character Design Sheet?I have a story, a team, and a deadline. We’ve divided out the shots amongst our team, but I am concerned about our project coming together into one…

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Wanna Hear A Scary Story? SNARLED Research

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Wanna Hear A Scary Story? SNARLED Research

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Wanna hear a scary story was a series of videos on YouTube account called SNARLED, narrated by a woman named Sapphire.

Since I watched these when they came out, around 5 years ago, the episodes are now on other streaming services.

This video series is around scary stories. These story's are then animated and the narrator voice overs the story being read out.

I have known about this video series from when it came out, so this was what first inspired me to maybe animate a scry story myself.

I have attached above a sequence of these story's as an example of what it is, and what the animation style is like.

This seems to be a simple digitally drawn animation on Procreate or perhaps Adobe Fresco, which are both platforms I am very familiar with.

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Something Scary Vol. 8 Part 2 - Scary Story Time Compilation // Something Scary | Snarled

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The Ghost Huns Podcast, is a video podcast created by Hannah BycKowskie and Suzie Preise that has been streaming on Spotify since 2022. Hannah and Suzie are both 'Up and coming' comedians, Hannah has also been a series 1 contestant on the Traitors.

I have chosen to document this as media research because it has heavily influenced my idea for creating art around an existing story.

In this comedy podcast, Hannah and Suzie have segments where they each tell a scary story they have each sourced. As this podcast has developed, they have introduced more segments like 'Creep Of The Week' and 'Tarot Reading'.

They also have a Patron where they partake in actual ghost hunts, but that isn't as important to me as the actual stories.

I have always really enjoyed being scared, as I have mentioned in the 'Wanna hear a scary story?' research, and this is just another example.

What I would like to do is take one of these story's and draw either a character design of one or multiple of the protagonists, or perhaps try to animate a scene from the story using some of the skills I have learnt at uni, or that I have researched into myself.

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🎙👻weekly creepy stories with comedians Hannah Byczkowski and Suzie Preece

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Figure Twelve, Unreal Mapping Screenshot

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Figure Eleven, Unreal Mapping Screenshot

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Figure Thirteen, After Effects Unreal Mapping Screenshot

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Here I have added the green screen video into Unreal Engine.

I first had to remove the background for the video on after effects before importing into Unreal, and set up a folder on Unreal to store my 'Green screen' in.

After I made the folder, I added in the files that I made from After Effects and made a shape for the green screen lady to go onto.

Once I did this I used the new media source to add a video texture.

This then added the lady into my Unreal world.

I then videoed this and added it into the space above.

I found this lesson quite difficult, as its a lot to remember, but I found the multiple video tutorials helpful to follow along with throughout. I'm glad I took part in this session and have learnt this skill but it definitely hasn't been the easiest workshop I have taken part in. I can see this being helpful when doing digital animation in the future.

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Here I had a go at doing some 3D tracking using after effects.

I began with an imported video of an explosion and a video of the cantor corridor, I tracked and stabilized the track camera.

Once it had brought up the colourful axis, I clicked on one which become the 'second camera'.

For some reason, from here it went a bit pear shaped and I couldn't attach the explosion to the 'second camera'.

Because we had to move onto Unreal engine, I didn't quite have time to figure out what was going wrong, but I have still documented this process even though it was unsuccessful.

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Week Five- Research Tasks, Independent Learning

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Week Five- Research Tasks, Independent Learning

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Like Stephen King, Tim Burton's fanbase creates artwork inspired by their works or styles. I've decided to create my own character design from 'Alice In Wonderland'.

I've chosen to do this because, as a child this book and film used to really unsettle me so I thought it would be an interesting idea to create a scarier version of Alice.

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Figure 6, Knowing Darkness, Artists inspired by Steven King

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This is a book I found which details some of the work that people have done inspired by Steven's work.

I found this super interesting to look through and see how each artist takes inspiration from Stevens writing and articulates it through a drawn image, I also enjoy some of the character design from some of the books which have been made into films, for example IT.

I can see myself taking great inspiration from this book.

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Figures list And Bibliography Media Project Development

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Figures list And Bibliography Media Project Development