Faux-Fur Coat Stock Clip

Here is a quick stock clip I took last night, showing me walking around in the faux-fur coat I purchased. Admittedly, the lighting could have been better chosen, but as it is only a test, it is not desperately important in the long run. I may just have to take some more clips of me in it, from the camera angles and movements which I drew out in my storyboards. So, that’s next on the agenda!

Here are the original reference photographs I took as well (as seen in a previous post on here), just so you know what it actually looks like with decent lighting.

A Chat with Grandma Betty

Here are a few choice exerpts from a conversation held with my 90 year old grandmother: Betty. This was taken as stock footage with which I can produce some test animations, or even my final piece. I simply set my camera on record, and captured some topical stuff, some funny stuff, and some nostalgia which I think was quite sweet.

All in all, I think that this was a good session. I’m particularly keen on doing something with the section in which she talks about “Cells having legs”, because it seems like the nonsensical gibberish you would typically hear from Karl Pilkington on The Ricky Gervais Show.

The other voices in the background comprise of my dad, my auntie, and myself. It would’ve been much more ideal if I could’ve had a one-on-one conversation with her, or even one between her and my dad – a bit of family banter would be quite amusing I think! I’m going to attempt to get in another session of conversation with my grandma well before the deadline for this project, just to see whether I can get better topics or discussions from her. We shall see!

Thought Bubble Festival 2012

Through finding out about THOUGHT BUBBLE FESTIVAL (http://thoughtbubblefestival.com/) from my tutor Gareth Sleighholme (http://apopheniainc.wordpress.com/), I decided to go along and attend what was to be my first proper comic convention / expo. Originally, the aspect which clinched it for me, was the fact that the writer and artist behind my favorite web comic: ROMANTICALLY APOCALYPTIC (http://romanticallyapocalyptic.com/), Vitaly S Alexius, was going to have an artists table there.

So, with that on the cards, I decided to throw together a costume, comprising of what I could gather together on a student budget, and headed to Leeds on the 17th of November. As for the event itself, it turned out to be even more than I anticipated. I assumed it would be a relatively small gathering of enthusiasts and cosplayers (this assumption comes from only ever attending TOKYOPOP’s ReCon events which used to be held at Waterstones).

Walking to the Royal Armouries from the car, my expectations were drastically challenged. Hundreds upon hundreds of avid comic and manga fans were dressed to the nines in an all manner of elaborate costumes. Most surprisingly, was the wide spectrum of outfits – some being of classic characters, some being of the manga genre / graphic novel genre, film, TV, and more interestingly, independant web comic characters. I only wish I had taken the initiative to ask more people for photos!

Three Jokers, Harley Quinn, and a Batman!

Ezio, Homestuck characters, Reno, and an Army Man.

Light, The Mad Hatter, Alois Trancy, and Haruhi Suzimiya.

A Roller Derby girl, and Captain Hook.

Doctor Who and Amy Pond.

Have to say a really massive thankyou to my lovely friend Annis who was also attending the event with her friends. I bumped into her as soon as I arrived, and she managed to get a few really good shots of me in my costume – which actually manage to make it look much better than it actually was!

Here is the absolutely amazing moment in which I got to meet the guy who models for the ROMATICALLY APOCALYPTIC character: Snippy. I was somewhat gutted that the actual artist could not make it to the event in the end, but nontheless, meeting “Oggy” was lovely – what a nice gentleman!

As soon as he saw me in my costume, as the main character “Zee Captain”, he immediately took a photo and tweeted it – and it managed to get a fairly good reception from other fans and followers (which you can see here):

I would have to say that all around, people at the convention generally quite liked my costume. It was pretty surprising, granted that it wasn’t the best that it could’ve been, had I been given more time and money. I want to refine this costume a bit, give it a little tune up with certain apparel, so that the next convention I go to will see me looking fabulous. It goes without saying, that I definitely have to purchase a gasmask in order to complete the ensemble.

Walking around the con, I saw two other people dressed as Zee Captain – which filled me with a certain amount of giddiness. I suppose conventions are really one of the only places where it is socially accpetable to turn up in the same outfit as someone else, haha! I only managed to get a photo with one of the other Captains, but even so, both of them were nice enough people to have a bit of banter with me!

There were all sorts of fascinating and crazy people there, who were all imcredibly friendly! What a nice crowd! Everyone who asked for a photo with was really receptive about the idea! I probably think that my favorite was the “FemJoker” that I bumped into towards the end of the day. Her outfit was amazing – when I first saw her I was genuinely a bit gender confused (until I managed to get up close, and heard her speak!).

Me and The FemJoker.

Me and Caboose (Red VS Blue).

Me and Judge Dredd.

Being the shameless merch fiend that I am, I just had to buy some goodies for myself whilst I was there. I found so many new comics and artists that I now absolutely adore! Perhaps the best discovery which I made during the first hour or so of the convention, was the fledgeling comic series “Ladies & Gentlemen” by Colver and Worth (also known as Water Closer Press).

I was browsing their stall and they asked if I was actually able to see through the goggles on my outfit. Upon taking them off they were a bit baffled about what I actually looked like…so they gave me a free copy of their comic! I was ecstatic! The artwork is lush, and it has some really good humor throughout the pages – and a few really good original concepts too! So, now, I have vilumes 1 and 2 of Ladies & Gentlemen – and I urge you all to give it a read!

I also had a wander around the other hall in which the festival was being held, and came across my tutor Gareth and his friend, on the “Iron Shod Ape” stall. Having had a rather cheeky sneak preview of his comic with my classmates at University the previous week, I bought myself a copy of his comic book, “The Indian Fighter”. The writing is fantastic, and the artwork is unique and incredibly expressive.

Finally, the icing on the cake: The goodies I bought from the ROMANTICALLY APOCALYPTIC booth. The poster, in the photo below, is rolled up, but it is essentially the image at the top of this article, with the words “Property of Zee Captein” written across it. It is fantastic! Really glossy quality. I’m going to frame it eventually and stick it up on my wall at home.

I also bought the fantastic companion soundtrack CD for the  ROMATICALLY APOCALYPTIC web comic, “O CAPTEIN! MY CAPTEIN!” which was only released recently. I managed to get it signed by Oggy, who assumes the role of  Snippy at conventions and in promotional photoshoots.

The album is a collaboration between various contributing artists to the comic books, and musicians worldwide. It was actually funded through an online fan-funding project, which you can see here: http://www.indiegogo.com/ra-books. It was originally created in order to fund the production of the physical books, but because the funding goal was exceeded, they have been able to start priducing a potential TV series, a soundtrack, and many more projects which are yet to come.

Mini Brief November / December 2012

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Animation / Games Design Mini Brief – “Bus Stop”

Open to all students, all years: None mandatory but can be used to support your portfolio, and assessable project work.

Visualization / Design – Environment (Characters if appropriate).

Sketches and final image (full of colour or line work) of the following:

A pre-visualization (PreViz) for a scene / environment in a digital animation / game.

Preliminary sketches / and final image to be produced in sketchbook. Any colour should be digital, worked over a scan of the sketchbook and posted to your blog. 3D models or in game engine creations should be accessible via fly through embedded from Youtube or Vimeo to your creative blogs, and a link emailed to hesir@hotmail.co.uk.

The theme of your Pre-Viz / Design Work is:
“BUS STOP”

For the purposes of this brief, a BUS STOP can be interpreted as “any place at which people might gather to board transport of some kind”. Your submission can encompass any genre, any historical time frame or period, any style…and in ANY MEDIUM (pencil, ink, paint, digital, 3D; digital or trad’).

…a list of influences / artists who you have looked at should be submitted with examples of their work on your creative blog.

DEADLINE – 15TH DECEMBER 2012

Working on this project cannot and will not be accepted as an excuse for not completing mandatory college project work.
– BE WARNED! GET YOUR OTHER WORK DONE FIRST!

Faux Fur Coat Purchase

Trawling through a few charity shops at the end of last month, I managed to come across a quite nice fake fur coat. I bought it for two reasons: first and foremost, for reference material for the “Design Against Fur” competition which we have been asked to take part in at University. Secondly, I bought it because I am in desperate need of a winter coat.

Because my piece will be predominantly circling around a woman in a fur coat walking home, I think that getting some video footage replicating roughly what I want to do shot-wise, will be a massive help in the creation of this video. With this in mind, I took a few generic photos of me wearing the coat, jsut to see where abouts it would sit on the body. Next up: the video tests!