Developing the Monkey

So as I thought of my 'M for Monkey' thing, (I have to try and think of an alternate title so it doesn't clash with Dexter's Lab's segment, 'Dial M for Monkey'), I did what noone in uni thought I'd do...actually develop several designs. =O



I went and tried various styles, some involving cubish looking characters, some with rather cutesy figures, and others slightly influences by the fact I was watching South Park at the time. However, the one that stood out the most in the end was this one.


The insanely happy motorbiking monkey! His style was something that was striking and original, yet still had a hint of 'me' in there (it's gotta have at least some of that. Asking me otherwise is like getting David Firth to draw anime.) So as I opted to go with this character, I continued to sketch him, thinking of various ways to adjust him, such as trying him out with different M activities (magic, maracas, etc.), showing different expressions to trying not to give him a face that would scare small children.




After about a billion of these sketches, I drafted up a CG look, this one being done in Photoshop.


I had contemplated using Illustrator to make some assests, drawn with a pencily/brushed outline like you see on shows such as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. However, I can't figure out the best methods of drawing (it is not freehand friendly) and I neither have the time nor the patience to learn. So it's good ol flash for me.



Here is the model I eventually came up with, currently avaiable in cowlick and biker helmet flavours. There's quite a few layers going on here, and various symbols, such as the eyes, mouth and chin, have multiple keyframes that I can change on the fly.

There are particularly specific specifications for the competition, wanting it to be in NTSC 1080i (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution at 29.97fps (since the ultimate goal is to get this broadcast on TV), meaning everything will have to be drawn quite big, and at least have an outline that'll stand out once shrunk to a smaller Youtube friendly definition. Face details were drawn at 200% zoom with a size 3 brush, before going over the outlines at size 4 to give them some girth. The other aspects were drawn at size 3 at 100%, so I can easily add stuff on the fly.

Not quite sure of the best way to animate, but here's an early test. The starry eyed expression was also kinda influenced from Samba de Amigo (or more specifically, it's characters victory pose from Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing).

http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/34a40475101b1424dd7ead39a7e3a25a

Now to work work work.