University Final Major Project Part 1: Animal Studies

Some scans of drawings that I did over the summer that I hadn't got around to uploading until now. In order to come up with an original character design, I decided to create a hybrid of two animals. After much consideration, I decided to go with a lion an turtle combo, mainly because I liked the idea of a land based mammal being able to swim. 

To begin with, I studied each animal separately to begin with in order to understand their motion and movement. As my character is supposed to be a teenager, I studied lions that hadn't quite grown into adolescence yet. All of these images were drawn from original web-based pictures, but I think I managed to get varied poses for the lions and turtles.

After these studies, I started combining them together to make new animals. I was unsure about what theme to go with, but after designing the one on the top right, I wanted to emphasise the creatures speed. I then decided to reign in the creatures design in the final scan, and came up with the design on the top right.

I then decided to experiment with the final design in a variety of poses. I think I got the balance right between the lion and turtle design. My next phase will be designing the animal to be anthropomorphic. Check back for more news on my fmp later on.

Polar Opposite Characters No. 5

Here's my final polar opposite characters, for this project anyway. The aim for these two characters was to sample two different positions of authority. Lionheart is supposed to represent an order of control and order, passed down to him by his commanding officer.

Here we have Typhoon, a character meant to represent pure power. I created him mainly as a plot twist to represent Storm's alter-ego when he gets angry or stressed, which he rarely ever does. He is also different to Lionheart in that he is not bound by limits or restrictions. I particularly liked the cape as it represents authority.

Here's the final design. I'm not quite sure what to make o him to be honest, as he was created due to time limitations. I also think it may limit Storm's emotions and could be out of character for him. I might replace Typhoon with a different character, but for now he's being shelved for possible future use. 

Wolf and Gang Logo Design

Now for something that relates to my Graphic Design background. Having contacted the animation studio Carse and Waterman, they asked me to create a logo for electronic group Wolf and Gang. I have to admit this felt a bit alien to me at first since I haven't done anything with typography in years. I decided to approach it like I would with character design, and experimented with typefaces and wolf designs.

Here's my proposed final logo that I finished yesterday. I've sent it to Carse and Waterman, and now I'm waiting for feedback from the band to see if they'll use it. I'm excited by the prospect of it being on an album cover, let's just hope they like it...

Btw, here's a link to Carse and Waterman's website, enjoy:

http://www.carseandwaterman.com/

Polar Opposite Characters No. 4

Next up, the birds. This time I want to focus on the differences within a family. I decided to focus on a son and mother relationship, as I currently don't have any characters that focus on the differences between a boy and a girl.

Here we have Birdbrain, the mad scientist of the crew. After investigating with his design numerous times, I realised his first design was fine as it was. Apart from a thin neck, his design didn't change at all when completed.

Here's Birdbrain's overbearing mother, Featherbrain. Unlike the other girls who looked somewhat tough, Featherbrain had to look sweet and innocent. Her design also had to look like a housewife and fairly traditional, unlike the other characters who looked futuristic. I think I succeeded, and overall I'm happy with her design.

MORE experiments...

Time to show off more of my 10 characters me thinks. As with Storm and Blade (the fox), I drew out the characters first and then scanned them into Photoshop to experiment. Circled designs are ones that I chose to put into further development.

Here we have Hooves, a muscular anthropomorphic horse. His design had to show power and evil qualities. I particularly liked this one as it vaguely reminded me of a rugby player. His hair colour will be different in the final design, at the moment he looks like a zebra without its stripes.

Next is his polar opposite, Marco, a flying lion cub. He had to be cute, even more so than Storm. However, he also had to look cool. I chose this design as it made him look up to date with technology while still making him look cuddly. His design will change in the future, as at the moment his ears look a bit too mousey.

Last of all, Lieutenant Lionheart, a brave and valiant soldier. In the first few designs, my original thought was to make him an American. I then decided that because the show is set in the UK, it might be better to give him a British origin. I made an amalgamation of a soldier and police officers uniform, with patches of silver to reflect his rank. I chose this design as it looked like he's ready for battle.