We’ve all seen roadkill. Poor little animals who’ve braved the path of pavement and lost.
Recently, I saw two dead armadillos who’d meet their fate just this way. It wasn’t a gory sight or anything, quite the opposite actually. They were both completely in tact and seemed to instead just be napping. I could hear my mom’s would-be response to this in my head, “Aweee poor widdle armys...”. And then I started thinking: Hmm… armadillos.
I know they got some kind of natural body armor and wondered how strong it is. Obviously not strong enough to withstand a vehicle but strong enough to withstand something. So I began doing some research. Turns out armadillos are quite interesting . Here are some fun facts about them:
Given these facts, I began formulating a silly short story in my head about a cute-looking lone armadillo seeking redemption. By the time I finished my research, the story had practically written itself. I’ve been on the lookout for a new property to delve into emphasizing a combination of action and cuteness. And so I present to you gentle reader, the newest BooRocka Production... ARMe of One .
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This is a working logo which will likely change completely in the coming days. I sat down and drummed up some quick sketches of what I had in my head. Here’s what came out:
Suffice it to say, this little guy will likely be appearing soon in his own mini-series. Stay tuned!
Sa-WEET!
Today I’d like to share a little about my process in creating Just Joel!
*big toothy smile -“DING!”*
Model packs (also known as “Character Sheets”) are a great way for an artist to establish the look and design for any character. This is a practice commonly used for character design in animation. It like a formal way of telling yourself and other, “THIS, is how the character is supposed to look.” It takes a bunch of creativity, a bit of patience and a whole lot of careful measurement to create an effective model pack. The result, however, is well worth the effort!
Let’s take a closer look at that lovable little rascal, Joely Boy!
Delving into different expressions helps me to really push my art. By working images out ahead of time, I can more easily imagine and execute a particular emotion/expression. The better the expression, the more effective the joke. So far, the eyebrows and mouths do most of the heavy expressive work. I’ve kept the head shape and eye shapes about the same though.
It drives me absolutely bananas when I’m scrolling through my archives and I see inconsistent art. For example, Joely Boy will always have that gap between his two front teeth. I don’t trust myself to remember that little fact every time so I jot a little note down on the model pack to remind myself. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist (which, remember kids, is the nice way of saying a person is OCD – “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”). When I’ve completed a model pack I print them out on a tabloid-sized (17″x11″) sheet of paper and thumb tack it to a wall in my studio. To see the model pack all together click here.
Work in vector is wonderful. I’ve taken full advantage of this format by creating symbols within the system (called “sprites”). It’s a lot like creating my own clipart. By using a cut-and-paste approach, I’ll store a library of basic heads without mouths, eyebrows or pupils (see below). I compose the bodies from scratch. If used properly sprites not only help the characters look the same but also is an effective time saver.
However, I’m currently changing gears. That is to say, I’m going to evolve my art to a new and hopefully better level.
I’ve been looking around and there are a lot of great comic strips online. There’s a lot of junk too, but whenever I see something that I feel gives me a run for my money… or is just flat-out better than my stuff, I get inspired. And I get competitive.
So now I’ve been re-illustrating every aspect of the characters (hair, head, eyes, nose- everything!) and using the sprit only as a reference that is deleted before the final posting. It’s a lot more work but I’m finding it brings the art to the next level!
I’ve got plenty more model packs! If you found this blog post at all interesting, let me know and I’ll post some more in the future! Thanks everyone!
