Jacquelyn Gallant
Feast Fight
In “Feast Fight” I separate my work from the typical violent nature of fighting games by focusing on the fun and child-like nature that a food fight can bring out. “Feast Fight” shows the fun and playful world of food battles, where sentient food from around the world competes to be the best. Unique cultural landscapes and food are transformed into fighters, bringing a sense of humor and joy into game play. Initially, the focus of this project was concept art creation for the characters and stages, but it quickly evolved into an animated trailer. My goal is to make people smile with these characters.
Artist/Thesis Statement
Food is a universal experience that is a focus of this world. Everyone has experiences with it, either in terms of survival, family memories, culture, or passion. For most people, food can evolve from a basic need to a symbol or icon of their life. Food can represent certain countries, cultures, or memories. Throughout my life, I have found that one of the best ways to connect with communities outside of our own is to learn about their food.
My inspiration comes from classic fighting games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, along with more modern ones like Skullgirls. To me, the characters in these games have always stood out. They are iconic, recognizable, and timeless. I want to create characters that will be remembered and are filled with a depth and complexity that viewers will want to learn more about. I seek inspiration in elements of camp and kitsch, and take guidance from my favorite childhood cartoons like “Chowder”, a show where a food-themed world comes to live. I look towards bringing elements of my inspiration into the work while still creating a unique feel.
“Feast Fight” is digitally drawn in Photoshop and animated in Adobe After Effects and ToonBoom Harmony. The character animations were hand-drawn in ToonBoom, providing more flexibility in animation. The overall project was created in After Effects which allowed me to create the look and feel of a trailer. I spent a significant amount of time creating the concept art for this world. I have a passion for concept art and I found that it gave me an environment to explore and rework the characters and engage in world building before animating. Concept art interests me greatly because I have a personal goal to work as a concept artist in the future. To me, this job really allows you to form the environment and characters of any piece and watch them come to life. The process of creating concept work is also very experimental, you’re able to make mistakes and try different things, something that many jobs take for granted. What started as fun and creative characters expressed through concept art morphed into a whole playful world and story in “Feast Fight”.
