Friday 5 February 2016

Fleshing out some characters


 Starting with the rubber ducky pirate, i wanted his entire design to be pretty daft, so i gave him a peg arm and knackered converse. Theres absolutely some GIF potential here, i can see him now, struggling to turn a page of the book he's holding, with his peg arm. Note to self after making this guy though, don't use just fine liner for outlining, it looks pretty naff. Moving on i really wanted to experiment with the lightbulb idea i had, so i started with some felt pens, making block shapes that resembled something of a lightbulb. After making these, i just had some fun, filling them with different features and expressions.



Next up, i tried giving cap blob a bit of time, even starting to thumbnail a possible gif outcome for him. I thought about what it would be like for him to sneeze, just imagine it, all those strands wobbling about, his cap falling off,very possible outcome. After that i decided to take heed on the tutor advice and work with the shape of my Mr Holmes design. I do quite like the bug looking thing and the dinosaur, but couldn't see these characters warping in to each other like the bulb. So the only thing i really noted down in thumbnails for a gif was the bug walking, i dunno, not thinking i will use these.


The Bowler Cap Bruiser, i gave him a body, and all ideas kind of ran out after that. In honesty i did try to force it, drawing the face in different angles, drawing him in a fighting stance, painting some of his details up, and even changing his design to a Bowler Cap Blob, but nothing came to mind for him. Another time maybe.


I returned to dodgy haircut lady because i felt like it, and got some much better results this time in terms of her design, but again didn't have any ideas as to what i should do with her... That was until, on a whim, i drew the big, dumb, ugly, yellow bastard towering over her on the right page i simply call "The Beast". This guy let me do exactly what reading "The Divine" made me want to do, draw a detailed being with folding elements of the face that are detailed, work with a unconventional body form, but have it consist of very little range in colour tone, just bold primaries. I made it look like a big confused and angry primal animal, a creature for my dodgy haircut lady to hunt.


As you can see with these pages, i attempted to move on and experiment with other characters, drawing the cock and a pig based on napoleon from Orwells Animal Farm (Technically Stallin pig, as that was Orwells inspiration for the character). But the lack of work on the pages probably gives away that i was too hung up on the beast and Ms. Dodgy Haircut, so i just moved on, back to the duo.


If i'm gonna be using the guy, i better make sure he's up to snuff, so i started to experiment with a range of different facial elements, deciding upon the ones i squared off and eventually implementing them on the face design to the top right. Knowing i was happy with this, i thought it would be smart to draw the beast from different angles, seen as i could be drawing him in those angles within the animation. As a side note, im super happy with the body angle drawings, the quality of line is exactly how i wanted it to be, i need to get back in to exploiting that element, refining it. Hopefully the next project offers that opportunity.


So i watched a pretty poor quality but funny series of youtube animations that feature a stoner Sasquatch called "Sassy". I decided to attempt a character inspired by him, but pretty much ended up with just him, so no more will be made of that. The next page i finally got round to putting down the lightbulb and Rubber Ducky Pirate gif ideas, but i was pretty certain now that i wouldn't be using them, being caught up with other characters and all that.


So, starting to thing of some GIF options for the Beast and Ms. Dodgy Haircut, i instantly went back to my first beast concept, with the two squaring off to each other. This will most likely be my digital outcome, moving their bodies in a heavy breathing cycle, as the adrenaline pumps through them ready to fight. Next my mind turned to a possible 3D outcome, thinking of using a 3D card puppet of the Beast, with thumbnail'ed ideas of a camera swooping around the subject, centring on the face as it opened and let out a scream, unsure of this one at time of creation.   


Making making making gif ideas, i decided to work from my gif artist link with the simple scene and lighting orientated work. Seen as i feel the introduction to the Beast, and fight/ build up to it will be covered in digital and 3D, this seemed like the perfect option for the victor resting after the fight. First idea features Ms. Dodgy Haircut sat watching the television (being the lighting source) and the severed head of the beast atop the set. Next was Ms. DH in a large room, filled with tanks containing various monsters. The closest tank would contain beast with  Ms.DH as an onlooker. The tanks would be the light source. Next a close up of Ms DH face, hair blowing in the wind as though she is riding a bike and then her stood triumphantly on a slain beast. Finally some tightening of her design.

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