Hey there friends, Martin here!
Today, I’d like to tell you a little bit about what I’m currently working on. The majority of my time is currently devoted to a new, comprehensive course that I’m once again working on for CGBoost.com. And while my last course was a bit more technical, focusing on all sorts of ways to make environments in Blender, this time I am going to teach something different.
I will dive deep into cinematic storytelling, and try to relay everything I know about making nice composition, lighting, how to use colors, contrasts, cinematic effects and how to string together shots, to create a narrative. All that, using free software like Blender and Krita, with hands-on exercises and a short film as the final outcome of the course.
I am having so much fun preparing the course, and I hope it will help you when making your own films and animations! I will be sure to inform you in this newsletter, as soon as there is new info!
Building the world
At the same time, the work on Heroes of Bronze steadily continues.
In short - I am writing a story. A multi-part story, that lies underneath all the visual material you may have seen from the Heroes of Bronze project. In fact, it feels like I'm building a whole world, full of characters, backstories and historical events. All that, I do to create a “backbone” for the future videos and a possible TV series.
The setting
As you may know, the story takes part during the Ionian Revolt and the first Greco-Persian War (513-479 BC), when the complicated relationship between Greeks and Persians reached its breaking point. People from both sides were dragged into a prolonged conflict - and those characters, both historical and fictional, Greek and Persian, are what my story is about.
What’s important: I intend to show the point of view of both sides of the conflict. No narrow minded glorification of just one side here.
Two types of stories
There are two types of stories I am working on. First, short stories. Those help me build the backdrop for the world, sort of a scaffolding for the rest of the story. They're focusing on various characters, from the Persian brothers Arynam and Behnam, to the tyrants Miltiades and Histiaeus, and the protagonists Nikephoros and Philippos.
Second, there's the "bigger" story. The story of Nikephoros and his family, one that I teased in "The Memory" shortfilm. This is the main narrative that I want to eventually transform into an animated series. I have already completed writing the first, introductory book called "Waking the Titan". Now, I am making illustrations for it, and preparing to write the second one.
Where to read the stories
First of the short stories, complete with illustrations, I've already published in its work-in-progress stage for all my Patrons. It’s called “A Few Steadfast Friends” and anyone who supports me at Patreon can read it. Throughout 2023, you'll find more stories there, so if you’re interested, definitely have a look at the various benefits you may get from supporting the project.
I'd love to hear your feedback on the stories that are already out and also for the general plan of the whole narrative. What are the topics that interest you the most? Which events, nationalities or characters from the period would you like to know better?
