Chapter 152: Character Design Sketches
Xiao Yanyan left Yin Chengjue's office, looking back every few steps. Then she realized that Yin Chengjue really hadn't looked up at all from beginning to end, not even giving her a single glance!
Xiao Yanyan looked down at her carefully chosen outfit today—beige platform shoes that wouldn't make noise, an elegant little floral print maxi dress, a short white mink fur cardigan, and a small floral earring.
Because of her inappropriate attire last time when moving things, Xiao Yanyan thought Yin Chengjue probably liked this kind of simple, elegant, and innocent style, so she deliberately dressed like this today.
Xiao Yanyan felt that if only Yin Chengjue would look up at her, he would definitely change the previous, not-so-great first impression.
However, she had been busy all morning, going in and out of the office. It was almost noon, and Yin Chengjue still hadn't looked up at her once!
Xiao Yanyan couldn't help but feel resentful. Shoes that made too little noise were also a kind of torture because they simply couldn't attract any attention!
"Don't waste your energy. Haven't you seen the boss's Weibo?" A voice came from behind. Xiao Yanyan turned her head and saw Liao Fei's face.
Xiao Yanyan frowned: "What Weibo?"
Liao Fei: "The boss has been taken for a long time, and they're very much in love. So stop trying to be that kind of... unspeakable role."
Hearing this, Xiao Yanyan looked disdainful, snorted coldly, and said, "So what? It's not over until it's over. Who wins and who loses is still uncertain. Didn't you see? The boss's hands were empty, he wasn't even wearing a ring. It might just be a fling, something for novelty. I still have a chance."
Liao Fei's mouth twitched: "...You're really planning to be the third party? Do you think the boss would actually fancy you? I bet he doesn't even know your full name yet."
Not only did he not know her full name, Xiao Yanyan had never even heard Yin Chengjue call her by her surname...
Yin Chengjue finished reading all the submitted proposal plans before the afternoon meeting started. They were all about how to produce the animated version of "Blood Mist."
The new company's priority when recruiting was to hire programmers specialized in animation production, and they hired employees with several years of work experience. So now the consideration was for illustrators.
The company could handle the animation production itself, but illustrators could be hired externally. Illustrators each have their own style. If dedicated illustrators were hired, the style might become too monotonous, and viewers would inevitably get aesthetic fatigue after a while. It would be better to openly solicit submissions on relevant websites for each animation produced, selecting the best, and adopt a strategy of public submission. Finally, the illustrator with the most votes would be hired to participate in the storyboarding for that particular animation.
"...If we're pressed for time, we can also outsource the scene composition beyond the character designs. As long as there are no issues with quality and originality, the speed can be greatly increased." Liao Fei stood in front of the projection screen, quickly explaining her proposal plan: "The company is just starting, what we need most are works, and high-quality works at that. This will attract more original projects to our company in the future, as creators will trust us with their production. It creates a positive cycle of growth."
Yin Chengjue sat below, nodding slightly. Actually, he thought the same, this proposal was one he was quite satisfied with.
The main drawback was the inherent inefficiency. Since the company lacked in-house illustrators, they had to source a new artist for every project, a process that always required considerable negotiation time. Furthermore, finalizing the character design sketches was never achieved in just one or two revisions. When an illustrator was geographically distant, forcing all communication online, even more time was inevitably consumed.
Just as Yin Chengjue was considering this problem, he heard someone interrupt Liao Fei's presentation.
"This wastes too much time. First, there's the online submission and voting, then contacting the illustrator. What if the finally selected illustrator has poor quality? Won't that just slow down the production progress? It would be better to hire a few dedicated illustrators. Never mind their personal style, just find those who are good at imitation. Find the most popular fan art online and then just base the character design sketches on that. It's easier to manage internally within the company, and the progress will definitely improve greatly..."
"What do you mean by this? Are you suggesting directly copying?" Before Xiao Yanyan could finish, Liao Fei frowned disapprovingly. "Do you think everyone else is blind? This isn't the way to rush progress, throwing away credibility just for the sake of speed?"
Xiao Yanyan glanced carefully at Yin Chengjue. Seeing that Yin Chengjue didn't speak up to reject it, she thought her suggestion had gained silent approval. She couldn't help but flick her hair, looking quite pleased with herself: "What do you know? Nowadays, with drawing and such things, similar colors and similar inspirations happen a lot. Who can say for sure what's copied? As long as you firmly deny it, isn't it just fine? Look at the several hit dramas released in recent years. When plagiarism scandals arose, readers from both sides fought fiercely, but didn't the shows still air? Didn't they still make money? After the storm passed, the artists who acted in the plagiarized shows became popular, and the shows themselves became popular through the fighting. All the commotion just generated heat. The production side still made a fortune. After some time, people forget about the matter. Aren't the people who stood to profit still profiting?"
Xiao Yanyan thought she made perfect sense and became more enthusiastic as she spoke: "The same principle applies to character design sketches. There are formulaic articles, formulaic tropes—since none of them have patents, anyone can use them. Filing plagiarism lawsuits over this kind of thing definitely can't be won. It's the same for character design sketches. Who says color schemes can't be similar? Who bought the patent for a certain character's line art? As long as you insist it's a coincidence in ideas..."
"Enough!" Yin Chengjue slammed the table hard: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Xiao Yanyan was startled by the yell and quickly shut her mouth.
She didn't understand what was wrong with what she said, because the company she worked for before did exactly that. She had even seen them fight several lawsuits, and they won every time. So not only did she not see anything wrong with it, she thought this method was very effective.
Liao Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Yin Chengjue had agreed with Xiao Yanyan's suggestion just now, she felt she should consider resigning.
To actually speak about plagiarism so righteously, even devising various handling methods for after being discovered and reported... She wondered if her conscience been eaten by a dog.
Yin Chengjue looked at Xiao Yanyan seriously for the first time, his eyebrows furrowed tightly: "Don't think that just because theft can be handled properly, it gives you the right to plagiarize freely and without restraint."
Xiao Yanyan was frightened by Yin Chengjue's look and quickly stated that she had been mistaken earlier and would absolutely never again propose such improper suggestions.
Although interrupted by Xiao Yanyan, the meeting fortunately still smoothly finalized the execution plan.
The animated character design sketches for "Blood Mist" opened for submissions across the entire internet. The voting area was set up on a drawing website with strong public credibility. The official website then linked the voting website to several social platforms with high traffic, including Weibo.
The submission deadline was half a month later, so the call for submissions needed to be spread quickly. Platforms with high traffic were the best means of dissemination.
Fans of the original novel were thrilled to see it not only adapted into a live-action series, but also into an animation whose character designs would be chosen by a public vote. They came out in droves to show their support. This excitement was amplified by the recent conclusion of the live-action "Blood Mist." The final black screen, marked only with "Season 1 - End," had left viewers on a cliffhanger, eagerly searching for a new way to engage with the story.
The first season of the web series "Blood Mist" ending here was indeed maddening. First, because of the plot, and second, because of Rong Yu's acting skills.
While watching the series, everyone was immersed in the plot. When they finished this last episode and watched it again, they would discover that Wu Xiaoye, who was kidnapped, was tied up from head to toe with ropes and tape, his mouth also tightly sealed. He couldn't speak, only his eyes and eyebrows could move.
But even so, it didn't stop everyone, on their first viewing, from interpreting "defiance" from the half of Rong Yu's expression that was visible, and then understanding why the serial killer was provoked.
Precisely because the process of interpretation was so smooth that most viewers didn't immediately realize how good Rong Yu's acting was—because they were too absorbed. At this moment, Rong Yu seemed to no longer be Rong Yu, but the dangerous alternate personality, Wu Xiaoye.
Wu Xiaoye was arrogant, narcissistic, cold-hearted, and unfeeling. Apart from the primary personality, Wu Xiaoqing, he was indifferent to everything, looking down on everything. He was like an existence floating above all living beings—this description might seem a bit chuunibyou and exaggerated, but that's exactly how the Wu Xiaoye personality was designed.
Original book fans once jokingly said that this was clearly a modern urban suspense and mystery novel, but the character Wu Xiaoye somehow managed to give off the vibe of both a supernatural story and a fantasy novel.
This statement was agreed upon by most reader fans.
But to return to the point, drama fans who rewatched this segment repeatedly had their own realizations.
The first time they watched it, they were immersed in the plot. The second time, they carefully examined the actor's performance from an omniscient perspective.
Some people directly captured this segment as a GIF and posted it online with the caption: An actor who could make you want to hit him just with his eyes [GIF].
The comment section was full of jokes, as people were genuinely afraid that anyone who clicked in could leave without laughing.
Comment 1: Confirmed the look, it's the one that makes my hands itch [clenches fist].
Comment 2: You throw a punch, I throw a punch, let our brother debut and earn money.
Comment 3: Others need to talk trash before a fight, or at least crook a finger. Your brother here? Just one look from him makes me have the urge to sacrifice my frying pan.
Comment 4: First time seeing someone who's tied up with only his eyeballs able to move, yet he still appeared so arrogant. Fists are hardening, really hardening.
A certain Yuxiang Rousi: Brother, act with peace of mind, the fish fans have already pooled funds to bulk-buy Yunnan Baiyao plaster!
The fifth case of the web series "Blood Mist" remained trending for two days, which effectively promoted the character design submission campaign for the animated version.
Yin Chengjue had anticipated this development, which was why he instructed the animated version's official Weibo account to publish the promotional post at that precise moment.
Borrowing the the east wind of the web series "Blood Mist" Season 1 concluding, the animated "Blood Mist" character design sketch submission and voting also launched in full swing. Many reader fans and drama fans went to tag the illustrators they liked, asking them to submit their work for the contest.
[借东风 (jiè dōngfēng): lit. borrowing the east wind; fig. leveraging a favorable opportunity or external force to achieve one's goals].
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