Negotiated Project- 5105

Puppets

This module is designed to draw attention to your ability to take control of your creative thinking and processing. It gives you the opportunity to create a subject /s and activate ‘it’ to your specifications. This, in turn, will inform the autonomy that you will have over your work during level 6.

Brief:

For this module you must examine a scene from one of the following and respond using the broad platform of Puppetry to recreate a scene from:

• Any current news, TV, film, media event eg.
• BAFTA Awards
• Current News Events
• The Walking Dead
• Game of Thrones
• Period Drama - Downton Abbey / Selfridges / Call the Midwife

My first initial thoughts of this project is how much I love the Walking Dead television and Game series (although they're not directly linked.) Needless to say, my puppets will be based on this.

The Walking Dead;

The Comic;

The Walking Dead is an on-going black-and-white comic book series from america written by Robert Kirkman. It tells the tales of Rick Grimes, his family and other survivors from the zombie apocalypse.

It was first issued in 2003 by publisher Image Comics, the comic was created by Kirkman and additional artist Tony Moore (who was later replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 onward, though Moore continued to do the covers through issue #24.)

The series received the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series at San Diego Comic-Con

International. A television series bearing the same name premiered Halloween 2010 on AMC. The series has inspired a Kirkman-approved prequel series of novels prologuing the comic book's timeline.

  

Comic book Rick Grimes-

Rick Grimes, as depicted in the comic book series.

Art by Tony Moore.

Issue #1;

Tony Moore: #1–6 (2004) (interior), #1–24 (covers) (2005), collected trade paperback volumes 1–4 (covers).





  Issue #24 & #62, although both are created by the same artist, they have noticeably different art styles

The Walking Dead;

TV Series;

The Walking Dead is a horror drama television series from America, developed by Frank Darabont. It is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The series stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.

The Walking Dead Game;

is an episodic graphic adventure based on Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic book series. The game was developed by Telltale Games.

The game takes place in the same fictional world as the comic, with events occurring shortly after the onset of the zombie apocalypse in Georgia. However, most of the characters are original to the game, which centers on university professor and convicted murderer Lee Everett, who helps to rescue and subsequently care for a young girl named Clementine. Kirkman provided oversight for the game's story to ensure it corresponded to the tone of the comic, but allowed Telltale to handle the bulk of the developmental work and story specifics. Three characters from the original comic book series make in-game appearances; Hershel Greene, Shawn Greene and Glenn Rhee.

Telltale's art director, Derek Sakai, led the creation of the characters and their expressions. Sakai was told to not use symmetric expressions to help create more human-like expressions and help improve the realism of the game. Sakai drew inspiration from his own daughter to develop the character of Clementine
Clementine

	A screenshot from The Walking Dead (video game) (specifically near the start of Episode 4) showcasing the remaining survivors at this point in the game (excluding Clementine)

Looking at puppetry;

This image is from 'pinintrest' what I like about the image is the ghost like qualities it posses.


What I like about this style is its quirky use of paint on fingers, I could imagine this would be quite simple to achieve and if you create a video piece would be successful.

puppet making videos;

wooden marionette ;
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucy9zTelssA
scarf marionette;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6dv46ktzOU
how to make a puppet and pattern;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4jqGph9E2k



after watching these videos I decided I did not want to make my puppet out of wood, mainly because I a not very confident of using machinery, so I decided I would try either fabric/polystyrene .


I found this image on Pintrest, I quite liked the use of the left over sock and the originality of recycling to create a puppet.

polystyrene puppets google search;
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=polystyrene+puppet&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=FGwxU4KbC8urhQfG-4HYBQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1242&bih=612

youtube;

looking at Styrofoam ball stop animation puppets;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLv_qvuK7PI

Initial sketches of comic book style art;
I drew the images from looking at my own comic book of the Walking dead.

Initial sketch of main GAME characters;

Clementine 'Clem';

Lee;

Initial idea for presenting puppets;

Firstly create puppet characters that closely resemble those from walking dead(GAME).

Create videogame style video using interface for viewers interaction.

Initial Tutorial with Dem;

My idea was too ambitious, feedback follows:

- Original idea ambitious (technically)

- Opportunities in considering analogue alternatives to the digital interface originally considered

- Define what a puppet is to you or in the context that you are exploring 

- What other ways can you look at troubleshooting decisions? Currently, a digital interactive interface is too ambitious. 

- Consider that puppets aren’t just three-dimensional: what other forms can a puppet take? i.e. air, light, smell, sound, 2D, tactile, spiritual 

- For next week: have a definition of how you wish to visualize you puppet. Have an idea and a realistic action plan as to how you tackle this. Remember to consider your abilities and be aware of how you will produce your final piece

After this tutorial, I decided that I was going to see how I could create a puppet and if it was suited to the particular art style I wanted to achieve.

Creating my first puppet head, polystyrene; 

Zombie;

I have used the pen to identify the carved areas in the face, after this attempt, I decided that I will buy liquid latex to coat the heads/bodies as I want the puppets to look as realistic as possible.
Here I have also used small polystyrene ball (5cm), the one I will use for my final pieces will be bigger 10cm.

On realisation the carving knife I was using was too big, a smaller knife wold have seen more detail and would have ben easier to use.

After showing Jo the art style I was aiming for we decided that my art style would potentially have more of an impact then me trying to create a puppet in the style I want.

 We decided that I should make a game case using my art work/illustrations and create a free collectable figurine, that can sit easily in the case.

Game case ideas;

My idea for this game case is to incorporate the way the main character 'Clementine' looks in both of the games, since the last game Clem has grown up on her own after her confidant and care-giver Lee died/became a zombie.
this is a rough example of what I'd like to do using photoshoped images.

I quite like the contrast between the black and white and colour with this case, it also reflects back to the initial style of the comic books.

font research;

Here I have looked at the types of font used for all three of the series (comic, program and game)

I particularly like the game font the most, to find out the font used, I searched 'font used for walking dead game' into google search.

I found this website that uses a similar font, this is the font I will have to use to make my game case.
http://www.dafont.com/dead-font-walking.font

I have also looked at a blurb for the game case, the text I have selected says;


Firstly I need to measure a game case.

XBOX 360 GAMES CASE MEASURES;

191.6mm x 136.4mm x 14.5mm/ 7.5 x 5.5 x .5 inches

My illustrations for the game case...

Black and white pencil sketch, showing both sided to clementine, (season 1&2)

Comparison of both the images together, colour and black and white.

I decided that I would use the colour image to create my Game case, I particularly choose this image as I thought it was the stronger out the two, I also prefer how the faces are much more inline then the pencil drawing.

Making my Game Case;

 Firstly I open up photoshop and created a blank canvas to the size of a games case
I then scanned my illustration on to photoshop and adjusted It to fit the one side of the canvas,

 I then added simple backgrounds using gradient effects, I decided to use the diamond gradient to draw attention to the main image and I used the dark to light fade gradient to link the two side of the case together (this is where my text will be going)

I then added a title and the production teams logo 'Telltale Games'

I then created the main features to an Xbox game by using various vectors 'logo, teen graphic image, barcode and the small text at the bottom'. From here I created the green edging around the box by selecting one of the green tones from the logo.

I then copied and pasted the text I had already source and played around with the text, changing its colour position, and size I had already approved on.

to finish the case, I added a title going down the spine of the case

 which I hand painted red in photoshop.

My Finished games case, and booklet;

The booklet inside the game case is actually blank, I have layered pieces of paper inside each other and printed my image on it, I wanted to give a play-by-play of chapters during the game, but because the game is based entirely on what the viewer decided there would be far too many possible outcomes to cover.

 


Ideas for figurine;

cereal toys, free gifts given away with selected cereals, I like this as an initial idea, however, I  know they wont fit in my games case.

 Finger puppets;

 using material I could make finger puppets, they'd be able to fit into the game case and could be stored anywhere. I could also make them quite cheaply by using felt, googly eyes, however this might take away the illustrative effect I would be going for...

I could however try this type of puppet;

With this style of finger puppet I'm free to design my own puppet, use my illustrations and make the objects be used to play. However, I do feel they look too 'childish' and 'babyish'

Pogs;

Pogs is a game that was popularized during the early 1990s. The game is played using discs The name originates from POG, a brand of juice made from passionfruit, orange and guava; the use of the POG bottle caps to play the game pre-dated the game's commercialization. The origin of the game is uncertain but it possibly originated in Hawaii (Maui, Hawaii) in the 1920s or 1930 or possibly with origins in a game from much earlier: Menk, a Japanese card game very similar to pogs, which has been in existence since the 17th century

What I like about pogs is the flat surface, I could easily draw my own images and just have them stick or, or have them digitally etched using a cad software.

What I also like about the pogs is that they can have two sides, so my clementine could be printed on both sides, (season 1&2)

I could also have an image of Lee printed on one side and what I think he'd look like as a zombie, I could also do this vise versa for a zombie (what I think they'd look like before they turned)

sketches for pog idea.

Zombies;

Clementine;
For my pog ideas of Clementine, I felt it was best suited that I used the drawings I originally had as they are strong illustrations, I also thought this would give me more time to look at other aspects.

I scanned these images onto the computer then enhanced them using photoshop; this is the result of what I got;

in-reflection I think these images has been too over developed, I will edited this image again and keep the tone more dulled down.

To use cad software, I had contacted our cad technician on multiple occasions and never received a response, due to not knowing how to use cad myself (even after asking fellow peer to help)or having the relevant technology at home (with workshops being closed). I felt that this may be too out of my depth. I was left to struggle with an idea of how to create my pog, it is here I turned to making badges.

Pros of badges;

• Cheap to make (brought a badge maker)
• I can use my own designs 
• Will fit easily in to games case
• Can be worn as a fashion accessory 
• Can be used as collectable 

Cons;

• One-sided so only one design can be printed 
• unsure of the actual size I have brought

Initial trials with badges;

The first thing I did when receiving my badge maker was to take out parts of it to see what I'd have to work with, I was quite disappointed that the badges were so small but after wasting numerous other attempts at creating a collectable item, I decided it's worth giving it ago.

In the 'kit' there was a circular tool which is used to draw around the images to cut them out to the correct size, I noticed that the small hole in the middle would be where the main image would fit, which meant my images/illustrations would have to be very small to fit perfectly in the centre.

The pack also came with various premade images, I thought this would be the best way to test the badge maker out before using my own drawings.
my first attempt was extremely unsuccessful, the plastic badge back never even stayed attached to the image.

Using another pre-made image I tried a second attempt, this one was more successful, however, the plastic wrapper used to preserve/laminate the badge is a bit loose.

My third and final attempt saw the badge fit perfectly with no loose bits, it is here I am going to start creating my badges using my illustrations.

Images I have selected to use for my badges;

I have chosen to do 2 images for each character sort, I have two Zombies, 2 illustrations of Clementine and 2 illustrations of Lee, I narrowed these down from a potential three each.

The circumference in the middle of the badges is exactly 4cm, the out side diameter it 6.5cm,

I have created 6 badge designs using illustrations that I thought would work the best.

My Badges;

I had over estimated the size of my printed out images, however, I think the badges are good for what I wanted to try and do with the idea of putting my images/illustrations on to a 'pog'/flat surface.,.

Looking into other aspects;

After producing my Badges, I felt they just weren't enough and  I wanted to produce something else for memorabilia purposes, it was here I came up with making my own t-shirt designs.

I wanted my design to be simple yet effective and run off the same themes as my game case, here are the two designs I made;

 This image can be printed on to black t-shirts

and this one can be printed on to white t-shirts.

Packaging;

Unfortunately I didn't have time to make the packaging, however, here is my white shirt with the Walking Dead image.

 To create this image, I used my own illustration scanned it onto the pc, using photoshop, edited it, turned the text around because it would have printed back to front, I then ironed on the image using  transfer paper.

Overall I think my project was a success because I tried different techniques, I made a game case from scratch, and used different media's to create different outcomes.

After further realisation, I have been made aware that I have actually drifted too far from the initial project brief.

I have been instructed to look back at one of my potential ideas and develop it further and refine.

After looking back at my work I can see there is only one idea that was clear and done to a more professional level, and that would be my games case.
I have looked back at my tshirt idea and although I had thought it was a good idea at the time, I realised I was just deviating away from my original ideas of the pogs because I had become stuck and was unsure how to further them professionaly.
With them being the size they are, I feel there's nothing more I can do with them, I could try to mount them, or try to present them differently, but I don't feel this is the right thing to do because I feel they're inadequate as a piece.
I could even try to improve on them, and although this might be a good idea, I would have to resize my illustrations which would make them that small the image wouldn't be sufficient.

What I'd like to reflect on and Change;

Due to making such a strong games case, I decided that, I should have stuck to my original idea and I still wanted to create a puppet to go with it. I have now looked at various collectors editions of games and how they give away free figurines.

Who is my target audience?
I want my illustrated games case and figurine to go out to people who are fans of the Walking Dead or survival type games, with the second season release of the Walking Dead Game just being released I feel this could be an effective way to advertise my work as a "collector's edition" in which you'd recive both games (season 1 and 2,) a poster and the figurine all packaged in a collectors edition box.

Dark Souls 2;

 Is an RPG (Role Play Game) game where the user traverses a dark and difficult world where each death is a learning curve. Made for the Xbox, Microsoft Pc and PlayStation, set in an open world environment it is the third in the series, (demon souls1&2) although it has the same world as Dark souls 1, they are not directly linked in any way.

Fallout 3;

This game is set in a post apocalyptic world with a futuristic/40s theme. The player is thrown into an completely open world where he is free to make his own decisions on how to play the game.

Here I have found to examples of the Fallout3 game which gave out two different figurines, depending on which collectors additions you brought.

What I like about this is how the graphics for both of the games case are completely different, thus making a more 'child-friendly' option (even though the game is rated 18+) and a more adult version.

 here is an image of other collectors items that can be purchased separately;

 I quite like the quirkiness and simplicity of the male figurine with yellow hair, although simple I feel my work could benefit from this style of figurine style. (also pictured above left of the image)

Halo Reach; This game is a first person based shooting game that puts you in control of john 117. A genetically altered super soldier. There is also a new Halo television series directed by Steven Spielberg due in 2015.

I like how with this collectable the box for it has been made only to fit the object.

Other styles of figurine memorabilia; 

Pop! Vinyl Characters;

Muppet 3.75" Pop! Vinyl characters, each are purchased separately, retailing at £5.99- £14.99

The mutant ninja turtle figurines come as a 4 piece set, for $34.99, roughly £20.59 in British pound.

Vinyl toy figures are made by FunKo, it is a company that produces and manufactures a varied collection of toys, best known for it production of over 1000 different bobble head toys, in addition to making plush toys, vinyl figure, action figurines and various other merchandises.

Some vinyl's feature bobble heads and are models in a Japanese chibi character style '(Chibi is a Japenese slang term used to describe a "small person", "small child".

 The word is mainly used amongst Manga and Anime fans. It can be translated as "little" Chibi's are often depicted as Characters with oversized heads, with big eyes these can be either human or animal.)

over 300 characters have been manufactured; Star wars, Marvel comic series, DC pop! Game of Thrones, Disney pop!, Tv pop! refers to popular culture television/cartoon shows such as the Simpsons and pop movies!

The figurines come in a variety of sizes most commonly 3.75 inches tall, there are various other sizes such as 6" figures 'Giant figures' are 9" and 2" 'mini' figures.

What I like about the Vinyl toys are the cute 'Chibi' like features they all have, I like how the head is dis-proportionate to the body and this gives them that bobble head affect, I feel this would be a much better idea for my puppet/Figurine

Vinyl Game Characters;

 Assassins Creed Vinyl Figurines;

Mass Effect Vinyl Figurines;

My initial "Chibi" style drawing;

I have never drew in chibi/anime style drawing before so for me this is a new test that could set me out of my comfort zone.

Lee;

Firstly I looked at the style the vinyl figurines take and started to use this body shape as a base to start the drawing.

after adding small details and re-sizing the hands, I rubbed out the legs to make them more proportioned to the top half of my drawing.

I then added details, such as, rolled up cuffs on sleeve, damage/ wear tear to the axe,

Finally I coloured the image I using pencils, both the pop vinyl figurines and chibi art styles use block colours with no variation, all the characters look 'clean cut' which is very opposite to the style of illustration used. I thought this might make it difficult for me to add the detail I want because of the distinctive colour changes used on the characters, however, I have still added various details, such as, the wear on clothes, black outlines to the images, lee's frown lines.

Clem; 

I used exactly the same process drawing this image of Clementine.

Zombie;

I've drew 2 zombies taking inspiration from the Walking Dead Television show, the top image is on 'bicycle girl' a featured zombie character from the first episode.

For the second zombie I have used part imagination part established imagery.

I also found this image on pintrest that shows you how to create cartoon/anime characters using various coloured clay, I have only brought white clay so my figurines would need to be painted after they have been put together.

Clay trial 1;

                 

The head for this piece was a bit too top heavy and kept toppling the figure over so I created a square base that weighs equal amount to the head, the figurine is of Clementine holding her walkie talkie.

I feel this is a very successful first try, I had wanted to make the figure 3d all around but noticed the more I sculpted the front the flatter the back got.

For my second attempt I think I will create two halves and stick them together, this way they should be able to stand alone and be 3d at a 360.

I wanted the figurine to be for ornamental purposes only, I had thought about animation but decided against it, thinking that I wouldn't be able to use clay and I'd have to create the figurine another way

Trial2 clementine ;

With this trial I managed to keep the figurine more 3d and rounded. I am really pleased with this outcome and believe this is a really strong figurine.

After painting;

 There are a few things/areas I'd like to touch up on this figurine painting wise, however I am extremely happy with the outcome of this figurine.

I also felt clementine's hair was just a little too flat to fit in with her character profile so I added extra to 'poof' it out

out

Before making my second clay figurine, I decided whether I wanted to make a 3d cardboard sculpture, I was going to print&stick my illustrations on to them as a way to test this as a sufficient form of different medias, but I felt that although I do like my illustrations, I feel I have accomplished a lot making a 3d model.

I also think that my illustrations have been showcased extremely well in the form of my games case.

However, I did also think of how I would make a 3D cardboard trial, to make a fully 360 3D model, I think I would layer various size cardboard pieces.

After creating my clay figurine I asked a few people I know who like the Walking Dead to give me an honest opinion/critique on what they think of my character figurine.

Joanna, age 27, Birmingham;

This Model is an amazing likeness to the character. I would definitely buy this as I am a huge Walking Dead fan, I would also recommend to ANY Walking Dead fan I knew I think it would be a great addition to any collection.

Nathan, age 21, Birmingham;

I would totally buy this item as it is beautifully handcrafted and very detailed and it would go well with my Walking Dead collection. I would highly recommend this sculpture of Clementine out of The Walking Dead Video Game to a big Walking Dead fan such as myself. You should create a business, you could sell them or promote them on that website that's used for handmade stuff, 'etzy.com'. I would actually buy that Clem one.

Laura, age 21, Birmingham;

I would buy this figurine because it is a very good representation of the character Clementine. It looks handmade which I love and very innocent like a little girl.

After such positive feedback I decided to also created the 'bicycle zombie' character

Photographing both figurines together.

After receiving such positive feedback I decided that my project is a huge success, and I am now completely happy with the outcome  of my project.