Working on a new series concept called "Intelligent Life." It's about a small English lizard that moves to a nowhere town in Arizona. Aside from dealing with the creepy desert locals in a nearby marketplace, the lizard (Geoffrey) discovers that his subdivision-esque house has been built on an old technology research outpost property, and some mysterious force has brought the inanimate objects of his house (and in his yard) to life. It's more kid-oriented, but along the lines of an edgy Nick cartoon, like Ren & Stimpy or Rocko's Modern Life. There will be character designs to come, once I get the scanner back, but for now, here is some artwork (created ENTIRELY in Photoshop) for the show. It includes the main drag of the town, the outside of Geoffrey's house, and a collection of the more important rooms of the house. Enjoy.
Looks good, and the set up is solid, kinda suggests a [GOOGLE]The Brave Little Toaster[/GOOGLE] type reality. Looking forward to the character designs!
Tweed's Books is the only library in Rusted Rock. It rests in a dark corner of one of the market's many cavernous districts. Tweed is a gentlemanly jackrabbit of small stature. He has coke-bottle glasses, wears a tweed coat, bowler, and bow tie, and he smokes a tiny pipe.
Audrey's Tailoring Shop. Owned an operated by the daughter of Rusted Rock's mayor. Her fashion sense resembles that of Jackie O.
Damn, Vlad. You know your business, like nobody's business. Rock it on up. I see what you did with the color themes of the various businesses, and it really, really comes out in the bookstore and the tailor's shop. The anthropomorphic small appliances, too, that just really shows that you're a craftsman, and I dig that, sincerely.
Thanks, man, that means a lot. Yeah, I was definitely thinking "Audrey Hepburn" when I came up with the character, then the sixties fashion just took effect, and I ended up with a fox that has the personality of Hepburn and the fashion sense that's a little closer to Jackie O. Originally the tailoring shop was just pink and white, but that didn't feel like the Jackie O/Hepburn thing so much as a Valentine's Day shop, so I tossed some black in there and got exactly what I wanted.
I like the concept, but it sort if reminds me of Geico's Gecco. Any way to differentiate it a bit more? A non-Anglo accent might be a start (French or German, Spanish would be too lame in AZ).
You'll have to see the character design. I doubt it'll be any sort of issue. Much less detailed design, and he wears a turtleneck. Sounds odd, but trust me, it fits well. Different personality, too.
it's all very impressive, but I must say that that is the derpiest looking microwave I've ever seen, and I'm pretty sure the stapler is on PCP
Diggin' the artwork. The protagonist sort of makes me wonder, though, if you won't hear comparisons to the GEICO gecko. Frankly, I sort of like that idea anyway, so even if you do hear such comparisons, it'll only be a matter of time before the comparisons start flowing the other way anyway.
Got a scanner today, so expect character designs in the near future. Right now, I'm ass deep in a cover album design for Professor Elemental's new album, "The Father of Invention."
Here is a set of the major characters for Intelligent Life. Descriptions will follow beneath each picture. ------------------------------------------------- Geoffrey is a lizard from London's East End that has decided to abandon the city life and move to a peaceful piece of land in the desert of Arizona. Geoffrey is a simple creature that wants nothing more than peace, quiet, and a good book. A book that doesn't come to life, thinking it is the author, and narrates itself. Unfortunately for Geoffrey, his isolated piece of paradise in Arizona isn't as tranquil as he had anticipated. Between the backward locals in the marketplace and the incessant ramblings of his appliances and household objects, Geoffrey doesn't have time to enjoy what would have been precisely what he was searching for. Chap is a dull-witted cactus that gained sentience shortly after Geoffrey planted him in the front yard. He is so named after Geoffrey referred to him as, "A slow chap." Chap may have an obnoxious personality, but he is a loving creature, always willing to deal out bear hugs to Geoffrey and anyone else that happens to pass him, abbrasive though he may be. Geoffrey takes many opportunities to educate the simple cactus, but all Chap really wants is a friend to spend time with, so he goes along with Geoffrey's efforts, and tries endearingly to learn from Geoffrey's attempts. Puddles is Geoffrey's "pet" snowman. Well, a little plastic Christmas decoration that Geoffrey brought from England who, like everything else, came to life when Geoffrey moved. Puddles doesn't speak, but communicates through adorable squeeks and overtly emotional facial expressions. Puddles has simple desires-- food, companionship, and a little igloo-shaped dog house to sleep in. He spends a good amount of time begging for food from Doobs, frequently getting what he wants, as Doobs is quite fond of the little snowman, teaching him pet tricks for food. Doobs is the cool-tempered refrigerator. He loves funk music, prefers to be stocked with cajun food, and bears the voice of an old blues master. Doobs enjoys messing with Geoffrey by refusing to release the food within him unless a palatable barter is made, among other pranks designed to teach Geoffrey to curb his frustrations. Occasionally, however, Doobs just enjoys good banter, and gets Geoffrey going with phrases like, "What'chu gonna do, little man?" and referring to Geoffrey as "cold blood." Tweed is a desert jackrabbit, the gentlemanly cottontail that runs Rusted Rock's only source of education, the library. As you would expect, the library is tucked away in one of the market's various cavern districts, a ghost town most of the time, that only Geoffrey seems to visit. Tweed is the only educated citizen of Rusted Rock, so naturally he and Geoffrey get along famously. The major difference, however, is that Tweed has been dealing with the sentient pieces of literature for years, and knows how to handle them far better than Geoffrey. "You have to treat them like pets, you see. They have needs and desires just as all other creatures in this town, and to know these needs, you must know your lit'rature." Tweed has a voice much like Kelsey Grammer, but with a thick proper English accent-- a bit of humor given his diminutive stature. Audrey is the mayor's daughter, a spunky rich girl that is naive to the simplicity of the townsfolk, treating everyone as if they are on her educated and civilized level. She isn't condescending, she's simply aloof to the lifestyle of Rusted Rock's citizens, and truly enjoys the company of people in general. She is always wanting to be involved in the goings-on of the town, unlike her father, who carries a disdain for his daughter's pleasure in the company of the lower class. Welsey is a meerkat, a sleezy traveling salesman that seems to be the only connection that Rusted Rock has to the outside world. He returns occasionally with bits of junk and useless scraps from the dumps of other towns to sell to the proprietors of Rusted Rock's marketplace. Wesley drives an old traveling menagerie truck that he fills with his ill-gotten garbage. Skinner is the town's mortician, a vulture that runs all things death-related in Rusted Rock. He is the owner of the town cemetery, but somehow the bodies never seem to reach the cemetery. Skinner is always around when danger lurks, under the guise of a funeral tailor. Unfortunately for Skinner, he is always disappointed when Geoffrey overcomes the threat of death in his various misadventures.
One way to differentiate between Geico's gecko and yours might be to give him more of a Cockney accent instead of the refined upper crust Brit. With that turtleneck sweater he's a throw back to the 50's beaknik
Well the Geiko gecko actually has more of a south London cockney accent, something like Michael Caine, but with slightly less drawl. He just alliterates his cockney a little more than one would expect.
When Kelsey Grammer voiced the original Geico gecko, he had a more upper-crust accent. I preferred it to the accent they use now.
An animation of Geoffrey running. You will be seeing more and more animations, as I am taking 2D and 3D animation classes this semester.
