Project #1 - Documentation for Rest in Peace

I already had respect for the animators in ACTLab. That respect has increased considerably with this project. After writing down what I saw in my dream, I tried to visualize how to put it on paper one image at a time. I bought tracing paper and #2 pencils. After drawing 3 iterations of the "curve1" drawing (note the naming format), I realized the scope of the project!

The opening road images came next. I decided to give it some 3-dimensional perspective with the angle, then had to determine how to make the road appear to move. Three images of the road with an incrementing center stripe would work. The jagged edges of the road would also add to the appearance of movement.

My HP Scanjet 4C flatbed scanner sports a resolution of 2400 dpi, and I exported TIF uncompressed bitmap files from the scans using HP Deskscan software. To get a monochrome image, I adjusted the contrast to nearly maximum and moved the intensity down until the grain of the paper disappeared and the line edges did not bleed. I did not want greyscale, but I found the black and white photo setting to give better results than the black and white drawing setting on most of the drawings.

Using Photodex CompuPic software, I cropped the bitmaps to 1600x1200 before again adjusting intensity and contrast to eliminate any grey. I also discovered that there was a difference in the scanned bitmaps due to the moisture from my hands on the tracing paper and that erasures come through as black blotches or may not erase at all due to indentions on the tracing paper! I was, after all, wanting monochrome images, so any grey or reflections would be black.