"Mindy versus the Monsters" sketches

Here's some sketches and concepts for an unmade short film I wrote and boarded, entitled Mindy versus the Monsters. It was about a little girl who, left home alone watching old horror movies on Halloween night, fantasizes that she's being chased by famous movie monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein's monster (and originally the Wolfman, but he got cut from the boards for time). 

Because Mindy's only exposure to these monsters is through pop culture rather than their original novels, she's forced to use a series of unorthodox methods to defeat them (like rationalizing that the Frankenstein is only angry because his shabby clothes prevent him from getting a date - so she gives him her father's old checkered sport coat and sunglasses).

It was a lot o fun to design and board, but I had to change so many things to make it fit the brief that by the end I no longer felt entirely confident about the story, and withdrew it from that years pitches.

     

"Train Guy" sketches

Man, I'm lazy. Nevertheless, here's some sketches for the potential protagonist (alliteration - It's what all the cool kids are about) of a short comic collaboration (okay, I'll stop) between the writer/designer/animator, Simon Ashbery, and myself. He's doing the writing, I'm handling the drawing. You can check out some of Ash's stuff over at http://grinterloper.blogspot.com/  

The story revolves around a train the size of a city, and it's long, dangerous journey through a bleak and strangely empty world. The main character's an individual who's managed to parlay a free ride in exchange for his services, as a kind of freelance security advisor, to the city-train's hopelessly understaffed police force. Oh, and he really hates drama students. Wizard wheezes, Jolly japes, and misogynistic robots ensue!   

Sure is zombies in here all of a sudden

Y'know, I was looking through several years worth of old sketch books the other day, when I realised something - I have an unhealthily large collection of zombie drawings, not to mention numerous other assorted sci-fi/fantasy crap.

Anyway, I know it's not halloween yet, but here's three sketches that I'm loathed to leave rotting at the bottom of my wardrobe. Believe it or not, this one actually started out as a still life assignment at uni (I was supposed to be learning the human skull, but ended up getting sidetracked). Looking back, the poses aren't bad, the foreshortening is a little off, and the token bald space marine appears to be having some kind of stroke, from the look of his mouth. Still, I'm a sucker undead space-guys and their shenanigans.     

Can't remember the story behind this one. He sure looks happy though, so that's something.

Ah, this guy. Let me tell you, staying up all night to catch a 6am bus, and watching Wizards whilst speed-balling Irn bru and skittles does strange, strange, wonderful things to a man's mind. 

"Badly Animated" character stuff

Here's a few drawings and designs from the production of the grad film, Badly Animated. They're all for the final stage of the "Wolf" character.

Here's some drawings from the earliest stages of concept, back when we were considering the idea of having the character's whole face and body morph as he moved. We didn't go through with it because we didn't think it would work (or be readable) in such a short film.

These are some face sketches, trying to work out how his face would change from one pose to another.

And lastly, here's some more face morphing, with a drawing that would become the basis for the final design and colour scheme.