The Making of Growlford

I'm kicking off the first post in a while with something I made just for you! Here's a look at my colouring process in

 

Final Year Project - Children's Furniture

In previous posts (FYP - Children's Furniture: Chair Designs, and FYP - Furniture Design Sketches, and Final Illustrations) , I've mentioned that I wanted to design a children's furniture set as part of the merchandise tying into my book project. After a search for a skilled joiner to bring it from paper to reality, I have these photos to show you!

These are the raw, just-delivered furniture pieces. Shortly after these were photographed, I bought the necessary supplies to turn them into my character pieces - including wood putty for some imperfections in the wood. Right now, I'm letting the putty cure before I sand, clean, and prime these pieces for painting. Anyway, on to the photos!

FYP - Buttons Test-Run, and Feedback Poll

Hi, people! I know I haven't been here in too long, but I've been busy with a number of behind-the-scenes work. Part of that has to deal with illustration and making my buttons for my merchandise. The last time I mentioned those buttons, I did so in my FYP - Button W.I.Ps! post. Since then, they've been coloured and I've also done a printing test run at Labels and Supplies Ltd, a local company.

Eraser present to show scale.

The buttons are approximately 1.25" in dimension, which was decided upon based on the results of my Pin-Back Button Poll on my Langi Lala Studios Facebook Page. The poll is still open, so please feel free to participate in it. The more feedback I receive, the better. I also have other news to share, but I will leave those for this Friday's post! Yes, pees, I am striving foir a once-weekly post from now on - and what better way to kick off the weekend? See you later!  

EDIT: Just to clarify, Labels and Supplies didn't have 1.5" button options available, but I will contact them for the nearest available size ASAP.

FYP - Button W.I.Ps!

Still brainstorming for the furniture, but I've just finished sketches for half a dozen character pin-back buttons.

The Whole Gang!

From left to right, we have Ramesh Goatee (Goat), Pree (Parrot), Countess Whiskeria (Cat), Growlford Barkley (Dog), Lizzy Rexxy (Lizard with the shades), and our main girl Charlene 'GirlChile' Robinson. :) I might tweak Pree some more, but I'm satisfied with the designs overall.

What do you guys think?

Edit: While looking at furniture, I see that many manufacturers are still stuck on the 'pink/pastels and princesses for girls' mantra. The unisex ones (according to my Google-search anyway) tend to look bland, while the boy-specific designs are just full of bright colours, great characters, and just plain fun. :(

FYP Character Sketches - Countess Whiskeria

Countess Whiskeria is one of the first animal characters to make their appearance in the book. She's a sassy diva with a heart of gold and an eye for fashion. Yes, fashion as in clothes. Don't let the animal nekkidness fool you; Countess and the gang will be wearing clothes. :)

Countess Whiskeria - Initial Sketch

This was the very first sketch that I did of Countess, and it's quite rough. ^^; Countess would require some cosmetic changes before she was ready for her close up.

Countess Whiskeria - 2nd and 3rd Sketches

The second and third sketches for Countess came closer to being 'Countess' than the first, but they still lacked something that would make me go, "Aha! Now she's finished!". I had been looking at some photos of cat breeds and was trying to incorporate physical characteristics of the Abyssinian and the Colourpoint Shorthair (the long, sleek body, with a bit of the ears and facials features). However, I still wasn't quite feeling it. She looked great here, yes, but was more 'fashion magazine' than 'children's book'.

Countess Whiskeria - 3rd Sketch feat. possible hat, scarf and dress design options

The final is dead close to being Countess' final design. After looking at images of cats as well as my own live-and-breathing house/yard puss, I noticed that their hind legs are thicker than their forelegs. Which makes a lot of sense, since much of their hunting relies heavily on sprinting after and pouncing on things as well as the occasional climbing exercise. She has no bust, since I'm not going that anthro/furry route for this project, but I did play up her feminine traits with her hips. Since cats also walk on their toes, so does Countess - which is why her feet aren't flat on the ground as one would expect with, say, a human. She's still smooth-coated, as I find this type of fur easier to work with in a project of this scale.

FYP Character Sketches - 'GirlChile' and Pauline

Just to set the record straight - my main character will not be called 'GirlChile' forever! Nope. No way. The problem is that I have quite a list of potential names for her and none of them seem...right. I knew I couldn't possibly plot out the story by calling her 'She' throughout the whole thing, so the 'GirlChile' nickname was born.


But fret not. She will have a proper name one way or the other, even if I have to host a poll right here. *hint hint*

In the meantime, I'll show you the initial sketches that I made for 'GirlChile' Robinson and one of her best friends, Pauline Richards done up in Col-Erase Pencils*!:
*Makes me feel all...animatorish and shiggity. :D

'GirlChile' Robinson

These aren't the very first sketches I've done of 'GC', but these are the ones I'll show because the initial sketches were some crappy stuff. I consider those my detox excretions, and who in their right minds want to see those? In the book, she's a very tall and skinny little country girl who's bright, highly imaginative and loves life. I did a full body sketch and several facial ones to try and get her character to match the way I've envisioned her. The one with the darker outlines closely represents 'GC' the most, but the design process is far from over. It's getting there, but she's not quite 'GC' yet.

Pauline Richards

Next is the smart Pauline Richards. This is the very first sketch I've done for her...isn't it odd how some supporting characters are just easier to put on paper? Weird. In any case, this isn't her final design either and I realized in retrospect that she looked similar to 'GC' in the face. I'm still trying to balance my characters being distinct yet being cohesive in overall style and design. I've made some notes on Pauline as to how I could distinguish her features more the next time I attempt to sketch her.


So, what do you guys think?