Character design for the old mender

I have got my final design for the old mender. He is pretty much based on the character Albert Arkwright from the classic 1970's series 'Open All Hours'. He has such a great personality and so many great features.

I just have to make up a model sheet for him and also decide whether I am going to make his clothes or sculpt them straight on to the body so it's all the same piece.




A very quick drawing to get the feel off the shape and detail in his face.

First draft for final


Final design

Disaster

I had a bit of a disaster. I made the mold for the practice casting of a head and when it came to split the two halves up, the sculpture inside also split in two and was stuck in the mold. I spent a few hours trying to get the stuck sculpture out but had no luck and had to bin it. I will have to take this as a 'Live and Learn' moment.

Head sculpture 1

I have decided I need a new mold to try something with a thicker depth to it, so I have sculpted a head that's based on this concept drawing







I then changed the sculpt a bit bit





I will be making the mold for this later on today or tomorrow

Latex diaries part 2

After a few more tests I'm starting to get the result I want with the foam. I have been using a lot less of the mix and adding more pigment as it thickens it up. It's pretty much the same as the last lot but is curing better and a lot less brittle. More test with ensue.

I have also got some liquid latex to try and skin the foam. I did a first try with this by just brushing it on, giving it a few coats. It turned out quite good but I am going to try and do some dipping tests.







I intended to try doing a layer of liquid latex on the mold and then the foam but ended up testing out whether I could actually cast with the latex. I added some of the thickener to the latex and poured that into one half of the mold and then added more thickener to the latex to make a paste like consistency and added that to the other half of the mold.

The half with the thinner latex took around 3-4 hours to dry where as the other half is still drying.

I think another lot of tests is in order.

Play time

I am currently playing with shapes to try and find something interesting for my characters. I have been doing quick 2mins sketches and using my cut out technique.

Character design

There will be an abundance of character design being posted up over the next week. Heres one to be going on with.

New animatic for the old mender

This is a new version of the old mender. this was done after a feedback session and receiving some constructive criticism.

The old mender New animatic from ben whitehouse on Vimeo.

Latex diaries part 1

Well, the past few days I have been teaching myself how to make molds and also I have been failing miserably at using foam latex.

Making the molds was fairly successful. I started by making an arm out of super sculpy and baked it for a little while.







For the mold, I started of with a bed of clay then built it up to half way around the arm. I inserted marbles in to the clay for keys so the mold could line up perfectly and I also put in some cocktail sticks to form channels for the foam in the casting process.





I then made a wall out of cardboard around the clay and filled in any spaces between the card and the clay bed, so the plaster wouldn't leak.




The plaster I use is Crystacal R it's a very hard plaster and drys pretty much like stone and gives your mold a good life span. It hardens and cures within hours.

After the plaster had set, I turned the mold over and picked out the clay. I had to do this fairly quickly as the clay I had used was air drying and wasn't sure how long it took to harden. The first half was a success. There was no air bubbles and everything had been cast properly.




I then built a new wall of cardboard around the mold and repeated the process for the second half. Also I put a light coating of Vaseline on the mold around the arm so when the second half had set the two would separate better.

Success!!!!!






Then it was time for my first foam latex experiment, which was a complete and utter disaster. After a few attempts I think It's not really a latex but just foam.

The foam I am trying to use is Polyurethane Expanding Foam Sometimes called cold foam.
The first test was just horrendously bad. After pouring each part of the foam, I started mixing, looked away for a moment then looked back too see the cup I was mixing in completely overflowing with foam. I panicked and threw some into my molds an quickly placed the arms armature in, slapped the two half's together and stood back to overlook the chaos. There was foam everywhere! I waited for about 20 minutes, whilst prodding bits of foam on the table to see if it had cured. When it was done I cut the mold from the sea of foam around it and pulled the two half's apart. It came out ok but was far too thin on the under side of the arm. Also there was a lot of bubbles in the foam. It just didn't look how I wanted it too and the seam on it was unrepairable.
I think I used far too much mix and got the amount of each very very wrong.




The second try was a bit better to start with. I used less than half the amount of mix then the first time. I also added some flesh coloured pigment to it. The mixing weent well, it looked right and poured into the mold perfectly. It still made a big mess!
I did the same as before, I waited for it too cure whilst prodding bits that had fallen on the table. But this time I noticed the foam was just smearing and crumbling.It took me 10 minutes to split the mold apart. The arm had been cast ok but as soon as I picked it out it just crumbled apart. So another failure but also a lesson learned. I also found out after this second test that the pigment I have bought is for latex not for polyurethane foam.








I thought I would also include a photo of the two cups I mixed the foam in comparing
the outcome of the two try's. The cup on right is completely dry and feels like a cushion!

Character design

A quick go at some character design for the old mender. This is only a first try.

Cut out

I have been playing with other techniques for my cut out illustration and thought I would post it up.

The old mender

An old shop that nobody comes too anymore, in a run down part of town, The owner is sitting waiting for a customer.

The old mender - Animatic from ben whitehouse on Vimeo.

Monster under my bed

"There's something under my bed!"

Monster Under My Bed Animatic from ben whitehouse on Vimeo.

-------On hold---------------

The phoenix from flames idea has been put on hold as it needs a lot more time to be developed, time which I have not got at the moment. I will develop it in my own time as a personal project.

Let the concept art begin!!

I am just starting the character design for my film. I thought I had a character ready but after studying it more I need to re-design his head as it's not too suitable for a stop motion puppet.

These are just quick fiddles

Animatic and much needed help

I have pretty much finished my animatic. I'm just stuck on the very end. I could really do with some help from people. Let me know what you think and any constructive criticism would be most appreciated. Also please note that I was not going for the best illustrations ever in the animatic, I know there awful!

Rough Animatic from ben whitehouse on Vimeo.

How not to do a video pitch

Here is my first attempt at doing a video pitch. This is really really really bad. I will be redoing this very soon and I will be putting a lot more thought and time into it. I am sure this will be used in the future as an example of how not to do a video pitch. This is very boring and would not get me idea sold at all, not ever!
I sincerely apologise to those that watch it

Hair

Last night I had a quick play around with how I can do the hair for my main character. I tried to do it like I have drawn in the concept art but couldn't get what I wanted. I will just have to wait until I have finished the character design and play about more. At least I know to try and keep it simple when it comes to the design.

Foam latex

After days and days of researching which foam latex to buy and the whole process of doing it, I have finally ordered myself some Polyurethane Flexible Expanding Foam. I have opted for this as it is self setting (Cold foam) where as the most commonly used foam latex's need baking and I do not have the facility to do this. I have also ordered some plaster for the mold making. Things are going to start getting messy!

I have also ordered Kathi Zung's "Do It Yourself! Foam Latex Puppetmaking 101" DVD (Found here)
This will probably take a while to get to me, maybe even after I have finished the puppet fabrication but it will still be very useful.

Rough animatic

Heres a really rough animatic for the first half of the film. The timing needs tweaking and the angles changing a bit, I'll get there eventually...hopefully

Inspiration

I was watching Suzie Templeton's Peter and the wolf for the billionth time earlier today and found my inspiration for the sets in my film. I know I am not going to be able to make them as detailed but I also don't want them as detailed as my characters are going to be quite over exaggerated.

It's the lighting on the first shots that has inspired me.

concept art

Here's an illustration I did to help me visualize the mood and setting of the film. I am very pleased with how this came out and it will help when design the rest of the film.

Click to see full resolution

Phoenix From Flames

'Phoenix From Flames'


A short film about a boy who is woken up by a bright light at his window. the light disappears in to a forest. The boy grabs his camera and follows in pursuit of the mysterious light. After a few close encounters and failed pictures he finally catches up with the light.

New idea summary

After talking about my first idea, I found that it was going to be quite complicated to do within the time we have. I have given myself a set amount of sets and characters too have in my film to enable me too spend time on them and make them look as professional as possible. At first I looked at adapting a children's story but after a lot of looking and reading, I couldn't find anything that would stick to my set criteria.

After talking with one of my class mates, he suggested I turned one of my songs in to an animation. This sparked a light in my head and I instantly thought of a song I wrote in 2004 called 'Phoenix from flames' The song was written for my grandad who taught me all about birds and got me into ornithology and wildlife. This film will also be dedicated to him as he sadly passed away in april 2007. The song can be heard HERE
The lyrics are:

" A walk in the woods should be easier than this, but were on a mission to find the phoenix, I'm armed with the secret of where it may be. You've got the camera, the films loaded and read.

Chorus= Please rise from the ashes and become those beautiful flames and show us how its done and burn the fear in our eyes or we'll fade out to black out again.

When we get there too that secret place we found that someone was watching whispering our names. and there it was down by the creak in betweeen the dark old oak trees, a grave of ashes. Letting the pattern repeat.

Chorus= Please rise from the ashes and become those beautiful flames and show us how its done and burn the fear in our eyes or we'll fade out to black out again.

So take out camera and get in frame. And keep that trigger finger ready cus it's time for our phoenix to rise from it's flames.
And we've seen it with our own eyes, they say that cameras dont lie. Please let the development go alright so our picture will turn out just fine "

The lyrics seem a bit cheesy and inconsistent looking back at them after five years have passed but I feel there is a good idea in there.

I have turned this into a story called 'Phoenix from flames' Slightly based from my song. It wont be an animated music video but a short film.

Aim

My aim is to make a children's stop motion animation. The film will be based on song written by me over four years ago. The film will be titled ’Phoenix from flames’

The animation will be fun and exciting. The target audience will be aimed at children aged 4-10.

As stop motion is my specialized study I will get to put all of my knowledge into practice and also try to utilize it accordingly.

I will also send clips of the film as it’s being shot, to professional stop motion animators to get their opinion and critic. These contacts will also be used for research as well as using the stop motion community on the Internet.

I am doing a children’s story, as there is more work for stop motion in children’s television than film. A strategic method.
Also this story has no speaking parts in so it could easily be viewed in all countries.


I will try to achieve the look of the film to have professional sets and puppets with the limited resources I have and will be unique and fairly stylised.

Another one

I spent last night and this morning doing this. It is so much fun.


Click the image to view it Hi-Rez

Concept

Over the few months of holiday I have been constantly racking my brain for a nice story for a short film in my final year at uni. I'm still not quite there with ideas but I have fallen in love with this little chap. I am going to keep on developing him and see where it leads me.

Click the image to see it at its best.

Fantastic Mr Fox & stop motion magazine

I have been away for a few weeks and when I get back I find they have finally released shots and a trailer for Fantastic Mr Fox!!!!! It looks amazing and I can not wait to see it.

Click here to see the trailer


Also while I have been gone the first issue of the stop motion magazine has been released. It has some great interviews in there.

Check it out here