ca-book Chapter 208 The Achievements of the Animation Club
Chapter 208 The Achievements of the Animation Club
Half an hour later, Lu Ran appeared in the animation department's office.
Zhou Xiao'ou was already waiting at the door. Upon seeing Lu Ran, she quickly greeted him, "President Lu, over here!"
He led Lu Ran into a small conference room. As soon as they entered, Lu Ran was startled.
The walls were covered with design drafts, densely packed, like an art exhibition.
Rainbow Cat, Blue Rabbit, Sally, DouDou, DaBen, TiaoTiao, and DaDa—the seven swordsmen, each with a large picture and annotations next to them describing their personality traits, weapon settings, and fighting styles.
Lu Ran leaned closer to take a look. Rainbow Cat's sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes exuded a sense of righteousness, Blue Rabbit's ice-blue dress was elegant and otherworldly, and even the scar on Sally's face was drawn perfectly, neither detracting from the beauty nor diminishing the chivalrous spirit.
The villain lineup is equally detailed, including characters like Black Tiger, Pig Wujie, Bull Whirlwind, and Ma Sanniang.
The picture of Hei Xiaohu is particularly outstanding. His eyebrows reveal both the sinister nature of a young master of a demonic sect and a subtle hint of a sycophantic nature.
"This little black tiger..." Lu Ran stroked his chin, "It's well drawn, and the temperament is captured very accurately."
Upon hearing Lu Ran's praise, Zhou Xiao'ou exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Mr. Lu?"
"Yes, the drawing is indeed quite good. You can tell at a glance that the tongue is very flexible." Lu Ran changed his tune without changing his expression. "I didn't misjudge you."
Zhou Xiaoou also understood the meaning behind Lu Ran's words. Hei Xiaohu in the script was indeed a complex character, and it was not easy to design him well.
Along with the photos, there were also scene designs: Jade Toad Palace, Golden Whip Stream Inn, Yellow Dragon Mountain, Ten-Mile Gallery... Each one was full of detail, and even the plum blossom tree in Jade Toad Palace was drawn in three different seasonal versions.
Lu Ran looked at each one, becoming more and more satisfied with each one.
The employees under my command seem to be really dedicated. With that kind of enthusiasm, you'd think they were making hundreds of thousands a month.
"How much is your salary?" Lu Ran asked.
Although Zhou Xiao'ou didn't understand why Lu Ran suddenly asked him about his salary, he still replied, "Seven thousand a month, what's wrong, Mr. Lu?"
"It's okay, just do your job well." Lu Ran patted him on the shoulder.
Zhou Xiao'ou nervously observed his expression, unable to discern why Lu Ran was asking about his salary. She cautiously inquired, "Mr. Lu, what do you think of the design?"
Lu Ran did not answer immediately, but walked to the design drawings of Rainbow Cat and examined them carefully.
The rainbow cat in the painting exudes heroic spirit, holding a long rainbow sword with a resolute gaze. Flame patterns are faintly visible on the sword, and his clothes flutter in the wind, giving him a chivalrous air.
Rainbow Cat is the name in the script, but its appearance was designed independently by Zhou Xiaoou, based on his previous male rabbit.
"This Rainbow Cat is not bad," Lu Ran nodded. "His eyes have a sparkle, he seems like the right person. But aren't his clothes a bit too new? A martial artist, who lives a rough life, wouldn't they have a few tears in them?"
Zhou Xiaoou quickly pulled out his notebook and wrote it down: "Understood, understood, I'll add two patches later."
He then pointed to the blue rabbit beside him: "Look at the blue rabbit. We took into account your description of her as intelligent and clever, and designed an ice-blue outfit for her. Her swordsmanship is the Ice Soul Sword Technique, and the moves are designed to be agile and graceful."
Looking at the picture, Lu Ran suddenly recalled the feelings he had in his previous life when he sat in front of the TV, waiting to see Lan Tu appear.
He was young then and didn't understand anything. He only knew that every time Blue Rabbit appeared, he would stare intently at the screen.
"Good." He patted Zhou Xiao'ou on the shoulder. "Well done. Especially the eyes, you captured the feeling of Blue Rabbit."
Hearing Lu Ran's praise, Zhou Xiao'ou smiled like a primary school student being praised by a teacher, and even seemed a little embarrassed.
He knew that his design was far inferior to Lu Ran's previous "That Rabbit." Although Lu Ran didn't say it, he felt that Lu Ran was definitely encouraging him.
But Lu Ran's praise was genuine. After all, the art style of "That Rabbit" is more than a decade more mature than that of "Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit," so they can't be compared.
At the same time, Zhou Xiaoou's designs already show a touch of grandeur, and with a little more effort, he will surely achieve great things in the future.
Lu Ran asked him about his salary earlier because he was planning to poach him. Although it seemed unethical, Xingyao was just his old employer, while Tutu Technology was his home base.
Unless... Starshine gives him shares.
However, Lu Ran shook his head at the thought of this possibility.
Although he has produced quite a few works in the past six months, he probably hasn't reached the point where Xingyao would give him shares. Even if it were a share of the profits, it would be difficult for him.
"Oh, right," Lu Ran suddenly remembered the important matter, "can you make 3D models of these characters?"
Zhou Xiaoou was taken aback: "A 3D model?"
"Yes," Lu Ran said. "I'm making a game and I want to include characters from 'Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit' as game characters."
Zhou Xiaoou's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Games? What games?"
"A martial arts combat game," Lu Ran explained simply. "Nine types of weapons, real-time combat. Players can use Rainbow Cat to fight Black Tiger, or Blue Rabbit to fight Pig Wujie. If it's done well, we can even hold an e-sports competition or something."
Lu Ran briefly explained the game's mechanics.
Zhou Xiaoou was somewhat surprised after hearing this.
Why is Mr. Lu suddenly playing games again?
Weren't you working on a social media platform before?
However, Lu Ran's words piqued his interest as well.
Making games?
Esports competitions?
Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit are playing e-sports?
I'm really excited to use characters I designed myself.
"However, Mr. Lu," Zhou Xiaoou asked, "Are you sure this will work? This is an animated film. If you show children Rainbow Cat defeating people in the arena with combos, won't that affect the animation?"
"Why are you so dense!" Lu Ran was speechless at Zhou Xiao'ou's dull question. "This is called edutainment. I'm letting kids experience the spirit of chivalry through games! The villains in games can be consistent with the villains in animations."
Zhou Xiaoou thought about it and it did seem to make some sense.
"Can you do 3D modeling? If not, I'll outsource it."
"We can do it!" Zhou Xiaoou said quickly. "Our animation department just hired a few 3D artists, and they're quite skilled. It's just... it will take time."
"how long?"
"If it's just a character model, it'll take about a week. But if we need to rig the skeleton and do the animations..." Zhou Xiaoou scratched his head, "it might take more than a month."
Lu Ran nodded; this time was about what he had expected.
"Okay, you guys start by making the character models. We have the motion data ready-made, so we can just use it. Oh, and you need to make the weapons too; each weapon needs to be modeled separately."
"Okay, okay." Zhou Xiaoou took out her notebook and wrote down what Lu Ran said. "Should the character styles be consistent? For example, should Rainbow Cat's swordplay movements be designed to be a bit more unique?"
"Okay." Lu Ran thought for a moment, "But don't make it too complicated. The core of the game is player control; the character is just a shell. As long as the movements match the weapon's characteristics, there's no need to design separate movements for the character. However..." He paused.
"It would be even better if we could add some of the characters' signature moves, like Rainbow Cat's 'Rainbow Piercing the Sun,' and make them into special effects for his ultimate move."
...