Grave Designs

These are some quick grave designs I created for the out skirts of the building. I created a variety of designs so that the group could pick if they wanted to use all or any of them.

Brief Change

So far the group I'm currently connecting for has been working towards a brief based around gothic terror. Now the entire brief has changed and they had the choice of three options. Out of the three the group has decided to go with Whitby so the next few days are going to be spent researching Dracula (as Carfax Abbey which is featured in Dracula is based on Whitby Abbey), the history of Whitby and the structure of the Abbey encompassing how it has decade over the years. Best get cracking then...

Manor so far....

As I've had a bit of spare time tonight I thought I would make some changes and additions to the manor. I now have a clearer picture of what I want the manor and surroundings to look like so over the next few weeks when I get the chance I'm going to start clarifying my idea and adding detail.

Laboratory Jars Concepts

Here are my initial sketches for the jars in the Laboratory. I created a variation of Jars in the form of thumbnails so that there was a variety of shapes and if needed there could just be liquid in some of them to save time modelling. For others I created more detailed designs so that the lab would be more interesting as the gamers explored it.

Strange Plants Concept Sketches

In the greenhouse it was specified that there would be an array of strange plants that had taken over, with broken pots and smashed glass. These are some of my initial drawings of the plants that could inhabit the green house.

Fountain Concept

Heres a quick fountain concept I created for the games collar project. It was created fairly quickly and although it looks a little bit unfinished in places I'm pretty happy with it.

Games Art Collaboration

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be working on a different project for games art. I'm going to be creating a range of concept art based around the theme of gothic terror from the asset list I have been given. I will be posting up my sketches and paintings so keep checking back for updates on my work!

Owls

So I've changed my story slightly and I'm a lot happier with it now. I have a better idea of the characters and I now have a rough story outline for the pilot episode. Some of the characters are going to have to be changed and there is a lot more development needed, so heres just a few quick doodles I did today of a new character I'm going to be working on for Rascalé.

Angry Pie and Sick Pie

I was bored and ended up drawing pies, just shows how northern I am at heart ha ha!

Life Drawing at Cardiff Museum

These are some drawings I did at Cardiff Museum of animals that could possibly feature in my animation. I haven't been able to do a lot of life drawing recently so it was nice to go out and do some sketching in my free time.

 

Sketchup Manor

So this is how my manor that I have been creating in Sketchup is looking so far. I am now going to try and do some paint ups in Photoshop using these layouts. I'm still not entirely happy with the manor and I think it would be good for me to do some doodles over the top of these so I can get a better idea of how my final manor is going to look from the outside.

Initial Mouse Desings

I really like the idea of having a taxidermy mouse on a music box in the living room as one of the characters. I think there could be a great story built around that character. Below are my initial designs for the mouse but I haven't yet started designing the music box.

Moose Initial Designs

These are my initial moose designs. I created some quick sketches just to get an idea of where I wanted my idea to go. I like the idea of this character being like Eddie Murphy or Mr T and I'm now going to develop him with that in mind.

Google Sketchup

I have recently started learning how to use Google Sketchup to help me with my layouts, perspective and background painting. I really like the software as it is free and fairly easy to use. It took me 3 days to get used to using it and now I'm fairly competent with creating basic shapes and buildings. Below is the first manor I created but after doing so I found I was having a lot of problems, and that it would be easier to start again than to try and fix them.

Here is the second manor I have created so far. I have designed the manor itself using the layout I created, and the added the gate and car using the 3D Warehouse of objects that other people have created. As I am only going to be using this model as a guide I don’t need to spend lots of time putting unnecessary detail in. I will however be creating the grounds and houses surrounding the manor over the next couple of days.

Rascalé: Manor Layout

The Hawethorn manor is the focal point of Rascalé and is the main location where most of the action takes place. In the past I've had a lot of problems with my layouts, specifically the view that you would see through windows and remembering the position of items within the room. Therefore I found it helpful to do a floor layout for the manor and then I could create it in Google Sketchup. Below are my designs.

Initial Deputy Frog Designs

Initially these started out as designs for Rascalé, but after drawing them I new I didn't want him to be a frog but I loved the design. I therefore thought maybe he could become a background character that turns up every now and then as Rascalé's deputy but is too gormless to do anything.

Learning Zbrush

I bought Zbrush a couple of days ago and I've been having a play with it. I don't know why I decided to sculpt a man who needed the toilet but I have, and this is where I am so far with it. I found Zbrush really over complicated, especially when you only really need it for simple things. I'm sure as I get used to it I'll find the controls a lot easier, but as it's so different from any other software I have used I'm struggling to get to grips with it, particularly how to zoom. I do however find it a vast improvement from Sculptris as I am now having no problems with the mesh, symmetry can be easily toggled and obviously it can do a lot more things that will come in useful as I learn to use it.

Quackamolé Logo Design

These are some logo designs I created for a new brand of mexican sauces called Quackamolé. I was asked to create a duck with a sombrero in a cartoony style like Daffy Duck. It became obvious from the initial sketches that this was going to be a lot harder than it sounded, as a lot of the characters I was drawing resembled Donald duck. It took me a while to get this design but I'm pretty happy with it. The only thing I don't like about it is the silhouette perhaps isn't as clear as it could be.

Rascalé: World, Format and Style

This is the world, format and style of the animated series I am currently doing the pre production for so you can get an idea of how the final animation will look.

World

Rascalé is based in an old English town that has been over developed. There is no greenery left for miles bar the small patches of grass in front of some people’s houses. The manor is the only house with a garden around and is a relic, being that hasn’t been modernised for miles.

Format

Rascalé is a 2D animated TV series set in an old English town. It’s a comedy/mystery show from the eyes of a weasel made for children age 6-11. Each episode would be 20 min long with 20 episodes per series.

Style

Rascalé is a 2D animated cartoon. The designs reflect mainly the 1930’s and a modern slightly futuristic age. The inside of the manor will be a lot of browns, turqoises and pinks, the outside will be very clean cut and blue. The animation will appear hand finished but will actually be digital.

Rascalé: Character Outlines

Here are the character outlines for three of the characters in Rascalé. Eventually there are going to be more, but as I'm only just developing the story I haven't decided who the key characters will be.

Rascalé

Rascalé starts off as a young cocky weasel only looking out for himself. Living in the manor he becomes a caring thoughtful weasel, looking out for the animals in the home and helping them in a detective like manor. He comes to love living there and wants to help protect his home and friends.

Sarah Hawethorn

Sarah is the snobby inheritor of a large mansion but no money. She likes to live the highlife, but lives beyond her means, often ending up in dept. She has had to sell some of the mansions land through development pressure and greed but still wants to maintain her heritage and lifestyle.

Alexander Hawethorn

Alexander is Sarah’s husband taking her name to preserve her family’s heritage. He is very supportive of his wife sometimes working long hours to cover her debts. She is controlling but Alexander loves her regardless of her faults. Unlike Sarah, Alex is willing to embrace the 21^st century.