During The War And After.

Just a study on sunlit green.

Part 2/6 - Adapting a Classic (Style)

        Part 1 - The Family | 3 - The Sicilian Assassins | 4 - Buttercup and Westley | 5 - The Prince and the Count | 6 - Florin Castle

One of the ideas behind this project was about bridging the gap between the old and the new. I wanted to express the vibrance and colourful quality of a medieval (nearing renaissance) setting while using contemporary techniques, to appeal to a modern audience, with a nostalgic undertone.

Adding some browns to the palette also helped pushed it towards that slightly nostalgic direction. I shifted the other colours slightly, like using mustard or yellow-orange instead of just yellow, vermillion instead of just orange, and throwing in some violets, all to add that dash of quirky-ness to reflect the fun and witty tone of both the movie and the book.

Another idea is that this version would be a series. This gives us time and opportunity to see and experience the characters' past, like in the book.

I was figuring out how light would interact with the characters while pushing the role of line. I did studies on how to make a line express form, colour, and light. From afar, the line can be reflected light, but up close the "line" expressing reflected light would spread in a stylized manner. This creates the feeling of an increase of detail when we look at something up close all while strengthening the colourful quality of the project throughout.

Jiro.

As I continue to get to know Jiro over the past few months, I continually discover more and more wonderful things about him and so I’m very excited to finally get to fully share such a wonderful person with everyone. I hope you find him as interesting as I find him wonderful.

Jiro’s story is the story of the supporting character in everyone else’s. 

One of the most defining characteristics of Jiro, and one of the things I admire most about him, is how great of a support he is to those around him. He may seem scatter-brained and out of it most of the time so he doesn’t come across as reliable (in fact he’s probably coming across as the character, the child, who has to be taken cared of). Jiro isn’t an unyielding rock in the face of adversity. Jiro is the kind of person that spend every moment feeling his surroundings, the sunshine, the flowers, the trees, the air, the heat of the kitchen - everything. He has an almost childlike wonder about the beauty of the world around him and because of his curiosity and awe, he is actually very much in tune with everything that flows around him. His reliability comes from how he has learned to bend with the energy around him. 

Jiro’s earnestness, consistent work-ethic, and humble countenance is what opened doors for him as the perfect supportive member everyone would want on their team. He is subtle and sometimes unnoticeable but the presence that elevates everyone in the team. His personality (and lack of ANY male arrogance) is what allows him to be a wonderful life partner to someone as bright as Danielle and the perfect Sous Chef/Creative partner with a visionary Thai Chef I have yet to name. 

I love talking about my characters so ask me anything about them. I’m afraid to put too much here that it would bore people to death but I have various word files dedicated to each character and their relationships with everyone in their lives when I’m working on them so sharing whatever it is anyone is curious about them is fun.

A sketch of a young Tom Dixon.

Aki-chan ☀️ and Reiko 🌙

The first two party members of the After School Demon Fighters Club Project.

(I made the draft months ago and forgot to post it. sorry)

Akira Hideyoshi often referred to as Aki-chan, is the Twin Protagonists’ childhood best friend. He didn’t have siblings yet at the time, so he treated them like a younger brother and sister. Aki-chan is half American and half-Japanese. He lives with his single mom and much younger sister in Osaka. Although his family isn’t well off, due to his talent in multiple sports (starting out with Baseball and eventually branching off to Tennis and Lacrosse) he was given a full scholarship to the prestigious Tennoji High School. Although not the most academically intelligent, he does dream of eventually going into Sports Medicine.

Aki-chan is the healer of the party but isn’t the traditional kind. He wields a staff with a blade at the end so that he can cast spells and defend himself because he stays in the front lines (and won’t die easily because he’s pretty tough). Apart from his own healing spells, he heals passively creating the ultimate defence with Reiko, the party’s Tank.

Reiko Ishiyama is the “too rich and too good for anyone Student Council President.” Top of her class, Kendo varsity team captain, and rich daughter of the CEO of a security company. She handles the pressure with grace and shines with it. She is logical and practical but is caring and has a genuine want to better the lives of those around her. The problem is that she can be very difficult to approach due to being on the intimidating side and has difficulty connecting with those she is meant to lead. Her best friend Na-chan helps with that. She has a soft side for her best friend in the world Na-chan. The Kimono style-Rayon jacket in her summer outfit was a gift from Na-chan, a metaphor meant to symbolize that the moon, Reiko, will not be alone because she will be surrounded by stars (like Na-chan).

Aki and Reiko become friends due to often encountering one another during sports festivals and tournaments. When their games and/or matches are over, they usually share a nice cold drink. (Sometimes after training in school too).

Part 4/6 - Buttercup and Westley

      Part 1 - The Family | 2 - Style | 3 - The Sicilian Assassins | 5 - The Prince and the Count | 6 - Florin Castle

I wanted to make it very clear that the man in black / Westley is a pirate. So I used loose billowy clothes that also made him feel bigger and intimidating.

Horse is a Jutland horse, native to Denmark (which is what’s in between Sweden and Germany). It’s a draft horse, so good for farming, which is where Buttercup grew up, on a farm. I also wanted Horse and Westley’s design to somewhat mirror each other. Since Buttercup grew up on a farm, I did not want her to look dainty. 

Buttercup’s story is more than just about love, it’s also about freedom. I realised that freedom was the core to her character. Her horse riding, doesn’t care what others think, and wild personality is all about freedom. I wanted her hair to flow with the wind, for her and her hair feel full of life. In the book, Buttercup had red hair. For her to have such a bold hair colour, especially one that in Europe during the medieval period was not considered desirable, felt right. Her hair and her personality is a defiance to the standard of beauty and of how a woman “should” be. That someone as bold as her would be considered the most beautiful woman in the world felt pretty badass. Having red hair (kinda vermillion) also provided opportunity to work with Humperdinck’s more blood red. When wearing her presentation dress as Princess of Hammersmith (despite the title of Princess, it is a title that does not sound dainty), Humperdinck’s red on her dress subdues the boldness of Buttercup’s red hair. Combining this with a restrictive design for her presentation dress and of her hairstyle, her design become reflective of her situation as a prisoner.

But when on her daily ride her dress can flow and her bright, bold, red hair is free.

Goodbye old friend this is the end of the man I used to be. For there's been a strange and welcome change in me...

 (For Once in my Life - Dean Martin’s version)

Part 3 - The Sicilian Assassins

      Part 1 - The Family | 2 - Style | 4 - Buttercup and Westley | 5 - The Prince and the Count | 6 - Florin Castle

With Vizzini I was trying to combine the feeling of baby angels from old renaissance paintings, sinister-ish expressions, and ringmaster, plus dash of gaudiness. I made Vizzini prominently red so that there would be a transfer of association from Vizzini in the first half to Humperdinck in the latter half. The colour red and the pawns on his design apart from being on theme for his character can also serve as foreshadowing, that he is not the overarching antagonist.

Sometimes due to Fezzik’s backstory of working in Greenland, people mistake him for being Greenlandic but it was clearly stated that Fezzik is a Turkish wrestler. It was important that his design made it very clear that he was not European. In the books, he is described as hairy, large, and gorilla-like in appearance. By dividing his head into three sections (upper head, cheeks, and mouth-chin) keeping the graphic shape of his head across different angles was made easier. To determine the direction of Fezzik’s overall design the emphasis was established (his arms), inspiration was taken from circus strongmen, then combined with a strong but soft and lovable feeling.

The general direction of Inigo’s features was clear early on, but his head shape did undergo many iterations. His final head shape design has a clear and readable graphic iconography even in different angles. Its iconic integrity is easily maintained but can be difficult to draw, because of that a diagram was made to show how the structure of his head.

It was important to make sure Inigo and the man in black's silhouettes were distinguishable from one another. So I tried to pull their designs in opposite directions. Inigo's leaning towards a more slender swish-flick feel and the man in black's to a larger, billowy, and intimidating direction.

2015.09.04

Sketches from Aventine, a gig I went to with some friends a few weeks ago. It was really fun.

September 1, 2001.

“Want a little warmth but who’s gonna save a little warmth for me?” - Vampire Weekend (Unbelievers)