mike's sketchbook

Evil-doers, beware: there’s new hero in town: the great Blast-it! Hound, and his Hypersonic Howling Device!

Cloaked in mystery — and some big, floppy crime-busting ears — Blast-it! Hound can precisely control the frequency of his bellowing howl. And with the aid of his high-tech amplifier cannon, he blasts a sonic superforce that topples over bad guys like an auditory bulldozer. Blast-it! Hound also possesses super dog-like hearing, which alerts him to danger far away, making him ever-vigilant, and practically never able to get to sleep. The noise in his head must indeed be maddening.

Hadrocodium was a tiny, tiny early mammal. In actuality, they were smaller than a paperclip (though I may be taking some creative liberty with that).  Still, he is so tiny and harmless, that he is completely ignored by his dinosaurian neighbors, which means he really doesn’t worry about being eaten.  …Getting stepped on is another matter.

As one of the first mammals on earth, he is, (in my story, anyway), the predecessor of all kinds of future mammals.  So, he’s kind of a rodent, but I also I tried to subtly reference both feline and canine features to suggest that he is an amalgam of many, many species yet to come.

In terms of his character, he’s clever and curious (bigger mammalian brain), also friendly and loyal. An all-around lovable little guy.

OK, honestly, I struggled with this one. This is revision #4. I did not make the required 15 poses on this assignment, because at the last minute I changed the head, which meant throwing out three-quarters of what I had done.  But I felt that was a necessary design decision, as the former head was too complicated and peculiar.  I think the main bad guy needs to be simple, while all his henchmen can be as peculiar as we want.

Overall, I found it really, really hard to come up with a look that simply says, evil. My instructor only commented that, “he looks mad, but not necessarily evil.”  I agree.  I was trying to work in a feeling of deviousness (is that word?); with a plotting, sinister mind. He’s cunning more than strong, and he’s a trickster more than a brute.  I was influenced by the creepiness of Gollum.

Now that we’ve established our main character, it’s time for a sidekick.  He is a Protarchaeopteryx.  He has a huge ego.  The ability to fly is new, and extremely rare.  So he thinks he’s just plain more important than anyone around him.  He’s not out to put others down; he just knows he’s special — and he acts accordingly.  But he is also aware of the fact that he is smaller than a modern turkey, and he could easily become a tasty snack for somebody, so, he relies on Tiny T to handle anything dangerous (like hunting).  In return, he’s a great scout and an overconfident optimist.

Most of the poses are my own, but several poses are a direct copies of Zazu from The Lion King. This was actually my instructor’s suggestion, but I am glad that I tried it.  Copying poses from a character with a similar body type taught me a few things about proportions.  Like when to simplify. And when to just plain cheat on physiology.  Feathery fingers are tricky, but I love the energetic lines they give to the character.

This is my first project for character design class. The assignment was simply: “Draw that guy you’ve been doodling and noodling around with for years. The hero can be anything, just go with whatever you like to draw.”

I like dinosaurs, so I just decided to run with that.  This guy’s name is Tiny T.  He’s a one-year-old T. rex who is just getting out into the world for the first time.  Not sure if he has a family (…backstory to come…), but he is learning how things work on prehistoric planet earth.

Tiny T - model sheet (draft)

Tiny T - model sheet (draft no. 1)

Some sketches and roughs…