Project: Whispering Woods

Part 1: Concept & Design

The idea for this animated short came from my fascination on fairytales, particularly Little Red Riding Hood as well as the werewolf legend. I researched on the works of Perrault and Grimm, before I came across this new fairytale about a boy who turned into a deer called 'Brother and Sister', also a work of Grimm's.

Our main protagonist is Rose, a character inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. She was named after the flower of the same name, had brunette hair and brown eyes. Her hairstyle is a bob with a cowlick, and her age is 6-7 years old. She is determined to help anyone or anything in need, as evidenced by her saving the Deer earlier in the story. I consider her a superhero who, after she became a savior ends up being saved.

Dashiell, the Deer is the deuteragonist of the short. He is a roe deer fawn who is later revealed to be a human prince by the short's end. Dashiell's character is inspired by the Brother from Grimm's 'Brother and Sister' story, who is also turned into a deer. He is 7-8 years old, has blond hair, blue eyes and a crew cut. Dashiell is the damsel in distress from the moment we first saw him, but he ended up becoming a savior at the climax. The reason why I made him blond is because of my love for a certain blond-haired Marvel superhero named Thor, as well as how I can imagine what my future boyfriend would look like.

Dashiell's deer form was inspired by the roe deer, as well as Disney's Bambi. In order to design his cursed form, I looked at Youtube videos and National Geographic documentaries about deer, studying the unique animal's movements and behaviors.

A story wouldn't be complete without a villain, which is why I designed Lon, the werewolf as the short's main antagonist. Lon is named after horror actor Lon Chaney Jr, who played the Wolfman in the 1941 film of the same name. He has brownish-gray fur, and a pair of yellow-green eyes. Lon's design not only echoes his real-life counterpart, the Eurasian Wolf. His design is also influenced by Mr. Tod, a character created by Beatrix Potter, as he also wears a classy trench coat himself.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my production, as I move on to the storyboarding process.