Monday, June 23, 2014

Wiplala - Pigeon Flight

Another sequence I did to boost-up my portfolio. This one is based on a chapter from Wiplala, a children's book by legendary Dutch writer Annie M.G. Schmidt. For my designs I used Philip Hopman's amazing illustrations (from the 39th edition, published in 2008) as inspiration.

The Blom family (the father, known only as Mister Blom, daughter Nelly and her young brother Joe) find a small, elfish guy in their house. This character called 'Wiplala' has been abandoned by his friends because he can't control his magic and keeps causing problems. Together they encounter some wonderful adventures.

This sequence happens after Wiplala shrinks the family to his own size in a (succesful) attempt to save them from a dangerous situation. Unfortunately he can't remember how to get them back to their original size afterwards. At the beginning of this sequence they find themselves stuck in their own back yard, where Wiplala gets them a ride from a local pigeon.

The pigeon's flight over Amsterdam is geographically correct, we see them fly over the Rijksmuseum, passing the American Hotel at the Leidseplein before they end up at the Royal palace at Dam Square (Or the Dam, as it's known by Amsterdammers). 

I adapted this chapter to a screenplay format, translating, adding and adjusting dialog and drew this sequence in five days.

Digital storyboard with Photoshop.

As before, click on the first image to view the whole sequence in the lightbox picture viewer. You can move through it by clicking the panels or using the arrow keys on your keyboard.