Kat Model: Progress Update 1

3 days of work finally pays off! Currently not UV-mapped, however. That is the next step.

Critique is encouraged. :)

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Helmet Design no.6

Another update on the helmet design. it seems as though Phil and I have similar tastes. I too liked designs number 7 and 8. I've grown fond of the he relatively simplistic and angular way the cheeks slope down into the muzzle. I also like the dagger-like shape of the end of the muzzle. I attempted to find a happy medium between 7 and 8 while also refining the design. I added strap-like formation down the center of the brow to make it look as though the respirator is hooked onto the snout like a restrictive muzzle. I also experimented with the, as Phil so eloquently and amusingly put it during the tutorial: "cheese-grater" design. I know it looks strange, but I can't help looking at it and seeing Darth-Vader instead of a cheese-grater.

So far I like this design! 

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Helmet Design no.5

During an enlightening drop-in tutorial with Phil about the design of my Shock Trooper, I was recommended towards images of muzzled dogs, stealth planes and overall angular designs. I also remembered the comments of my peers about the helmet looking like the head of the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, partially because of the upright ears. In these designs, I attempted to accentuate that feature and drag in some more references of Anubis. I also liked the idea of 'muzzling' the trooper because, like with all dogs wearing muzzles, the onlooker perceives the wearer of the muzzle as an inherently dangerous and vicious individual who has been tamed. This works well for the trooper as they are particularly brutal and vicious individuals who have been tamed and remain obedient to their master, Fat Cat.

Here are the images that were referenced to me as well as a few I looked up myself.

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Helmet Design no.4

Many thanks for the feedback, Phil! I took a look at the image you linked to Up's doberman character and the first thing I noticed was the brow. That feature was something I used as a basis for these five designs. I also attempted to utilize the light strips and arranged them in various recognizable facial features, particularly for number 3 with the snarl-like pattern of lights on the muzzle and the bags under the eyes.

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Design no.3

After looking over the feedback from my previous design, I did, in fact, notice what was pointed out: the droopy, sad eyes, the groove down the side of the muzzle which looked like a goofy smile; I got rid of those. I replaced the beady eyes with strips of red light, both to make him look more 'evil' and to match the rest of the lighting. I also decided to keep the quadruple eye arrangement to give the helmet that creepy aura of inhumanity about it: once the trooper puts on this suit, he is just another mindless, obedient, brutal drone in Fat Cat's personal military.

I also added some more detailing around the lower abdominal area, since it previous looked too plain.

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Design no.2

I very much prefer the simpler design of this armor over the previous iteration. The simplicity of the shapes and lack of crowding detail meshes well with the relatively simpler designs of my other characters. I also turned up the saturation on the colors and lessened the amount of contrast between shades of gray against one-another.

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Design no.1

I'm fairly pleased with this design, especially the collar and the torso armor. It flows nicely with the rest of the armor. However, I feel as though I've put too much detail into it; it might take a while to model. because of all the detailed geometry. I'll have to try and simplify it a tad. The color scheme I'm fairly fond of, too. in my animatic, there was too much green on the troopers' armor. Here, I tried to introduce black and grey and different shades of green. However, I feel like the different greens are distracting. Also,the contrast between the grays and blacks are too much.

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Inspiration

Experiment IX: Shock Trooper Armor Designs

Experiment IX Trailer - Finished Animatic

Minor Project: Trailer script draft

Trailer Music

EXPERIMENT IX TRAILER – FIRST DRAFT

INT. BLACK SCREEN

The sound of a helicopter gradually fades in

INT. CITYSCAPE OF JENNISBURG CITY

A helicopter flies over Jennisburg City

FEMALE NEWS REPORTER 1

Jennisburg City’s mayor, despite critical illness,

continues to make questionable decisions regarding the recent protests-

MALE NEWS REPORTER 1

-Fat Cat has called for yet another show of military force against the city’s civilians-

FADE TO BLACK

INT. STREETS OF JENNISBURG

A group of protestors face off against a line of militarized Jennisburg police and a tank. The police raise their rifles and open fire on the protestors.

CUT TO BLACK

MALE NEWS REPORTER 2

Many have spoken out against Fat Cat’s seat in office, calling it a ‘corruption of Government’.

FEMALE NEWS REPORTER 2

Recent speculations attribute the mayor’s ‘unnatural abilities’ to his iron grip on the city and his declining health.

INT. FAT CAT’S LAIR

Fat Cat’s hand hovers over a control panel where wires and electrical tubing infused in green psychic energy extent from his hand and into the console.

FADE TO BLACK

INT. STREETS OF JENNISBURG

Military police shove a struggling civilian protestor with a bag over his head into the back of a truck. Televisions in the window of a technical appliance store show Fat Cat talking to an interviewer

FAT CAT

Some might say I’m a monster. I disagree.

INT. ISSAC’S BASE OF OPERATIONS

Issac types at his computer and presses the enter key.

CUT TO STREETS OF JENNISBURG

The large digital billboards flash with static interference, briefly displaying the words: “Fight for Freedom” followed by the Molenov Initiative logo.

FAT CAT

The real monsters are those who aim to disturb the order I’ve created.

CUT TO TV SCREEN

Fat Cat is still being interviewed

INTERVIEWER

-and the online allegations of cloning for an heir to your seat in power?

FADE TO BLACK

INT. CLONING FACILITY

9 fluid-filled cloning tanks fill the room containing 8 failed, experiments and fetuses. All except one fully formed female clone.

FADE TO BLACK

CUT TO TV SCREEN

FAT CAT

Cloning is a fantasy.

FADE TO BLACK

INT. CLONING FACILITY

FAT CAT

If such things were a reality, it’s possible for such subjects to ‘rebel’.

The fully formed female clone leaps through and breaks through the glass, hands and eyes glowing with purple psychic energy.

SCENE FLASHES BLACK

FADE INT. ROOFTOP

Experiment 9 ‘Kat’ looks over the city

KAT

Who am I?

INT. JENNISBURG STREET

Kat, wrapped in tattered sheets, walks through the streets and rips a propaganda poster against the Molenov Initative off the wall.

ISSAC

I’ve seen the files. You’re an experiment. A clone.

INT. ALLEYWAY

Kat hides behind a trash can while military police force another bag-headed civilian into the back of a truck.

KAT

There’s so much injustice in this city. What can we do?

INT. ISSAC’S BASE

Issac turns around in his seat from his computer and looks up at Kat

ISSAC

It’s called the Molenov Initiative.

CUT TO KAT

Kat clenches her fist out in front of her as purple psychic energy flows up her arm.

KAT

How can I help?

FADE TO BLACK

FADE INT. CABINET

Two iron doors slide open, revealing Kat’s new superhero costume

CUT BACK TO ISSAC IN CHAIR

ISSAC

Let’s see what you can do.

CUT TO BLACK

FADE INT. TARGET PRACTICE FACILITY

Kat throws an energy ball at a target robot and disintegrates it.

CUT INT. JENNISBURG STREET

Kat runs out of an alleyway and leaps into a psychic-energy motorcycle in the shape of a cheetah as police sirens are heard in the background

CUT TO VIEW OF POLICE CAR

Two police cars collide. One flips over the other and explodes.

FADE TO BLACK

CUT INT. ROOFTOP

A helicopter hovers just off the rooftop’s edge as it fires on Kat, who has leaped out behind a wall, throwing two energy balls at the helicopter’s blades.

CUT INT. JENNISBURG STREETS

Kat fights hand-to-hand with a military policeman.

CUT INT. JENNISBURG STREETS

Kat, in ethereal tiger form, growls and stomps on a tank’s barrel before bending it upward with her hands.

          

          FADE TO BLACK

          FADE INT. ISSAC’S BASE

Issac is staring at his computer screen, stunned in disbelief.

ISSAC

Damn.

         

          FADE TO BLACK

          FADE INT. JENNISBURG STREETS

          An organized army of military police walk in lockstep.

FAT CAT

I want her found.

           

           CUT TO SCREEN OF FAT CAT

FAT CAT

-And she will sit at my side in this new era.

          

          CUT TO ALLEYWAY

Kat raises her hands as a pair of firearms form from psychic energy in her hands in her hands.

CUT TO STREET

Kat leaps out from an alley in her leopard form and, in slow motion, fires upon the military barricade in the middle of the road.

CUT TO ALLEY

A hooded youth spray-paints the roman numerals IX on the wall.

KAT

I know what you tried to make me into

CUT INT. ISSAC’S BASE

Issac shifts around some holographic displays.

KAT

A power-hungry monster.

CUT TO ALLEY

The hooded youth continues to spray-paint the roman numerals IX on a brick wall.

ISSAC

Today we take back our city.

CUT INT. ISSAC’S BASE

Issac shifts around some more holographic displays and hits the enter key.

FADE INT. STREET

Issac’s silhouetted face is on a digital billboard in the city’s center. His voice is masked and deepened.

ISSAC

This monster is responsible for the deaths-

FADE TO BLACK

FADE INT. DARK ROOM

Issac is tied up to a chair with a single spotlight on him. He looks up in anger.

ISSAC

-and disappearances of hundreds of people.

CUT TO FAT CAT ON-SCREEN

FAT CAT

They will learn NOT. TO. QUESTION!

CUT TO ALLEY

The hooded youth continues to spray-paint the roman numerals IX on a brick wall.

CUT TO ROOFTOPS

Kat is running across rooftops, leaping and flipping with boundless agility.

KAT

It’s time we finished this.

Kat leaps off of a building to avoid an explosion

CUT TO INSIDE OF BUILDING

Kat roundhouse kicks a knife-wielding military policeman before another enters the fray.

FADE TO BLACK

CUT TO STREET

Kat revs her psychic-energy motorcycle and makes a U-turn in the road. before driving up the front of a police vehicle, doing a backflip before landing at the entrance of a tunnel and driving down into it.

FADE TO BLACK

CUT TO ALLEY

The hooded youth continues to spray-paint the roman numerals IX on a brick wall.

FAT CAT

You have no idea what you're dealing with, child.

CUT TO FAT CAT'S LAIR

Fat cat turns around from a computer as tendrils of metal, claw-like appendages descent from the ceiling.

FADE TO BLACK

CUT TO FAT CAT'S LAIR

Kat stands at the entrance to Fat Cat's lair, her hand swelling with purple energy as she prepares for battle.

CUT INT. STREET

A line of military police raise their rifles and arm them.

FADE TO BLACK

FAT CAT

(Mocking) So you consider yourself a hero?

CUT TO OUTSIDE WINDOW OF SKYSCRAPER

A tendril claw shatters the window, pushing Kat out with it in its grasp

KAT

This city doesn't need heroes. It needs hope.

CUT TO ALLEY

The hooded youth continues to spray-paint the roman numerals IX on a brick wall, finally finishing it.

KAT

I am that hope.

CUT TO BLACK

Everything cuts to black except the spray-painted IX which ignites in a purple ethereal fire. The word 'Experiment' forms in the same way in front of it.

Some Major changes to the Minor Project

So I heard that one of my fellow students, Urvashi, is using the whole year, both Minor and Major projects, to create an entire animated short based upon the Owl and the Pussycat children's rhyme. I previously thought that we weren't able to do such a thing until the news struck me. After consulting with Phil, I proposed to him that I do something similar with one of my previous ideas: a proposal trailer for a movie of my previous project: Experiment 9

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Phil seemed very much on board with this saying, quite rightly so in my opinion, that it 'makes sense'. I'm very much on board with this too as I've wanted to create this trailer ever since I came up with the characters featured in the poster. Phil and I agreed that I should get started as soon as possible and that this Minor Project should be focused mainly on pre-production: creating a script, animatic and character and set modelling and rigging. I should also start looking for voice actors to play the parts of Kat, Issac and Fat Cat. I cannot describe how excited I am to begin work on this. That said, let's get started, shall we?

We have lift-off!

Minor Project: Forming new ideas

A talk with Alan brought to light that I was still floating about in a cloud of vague ideas with nothing to grasp at but vaporous, generic concepts, so he suggested that I try and find some kind of specific fact or concept within science to build my idea off of, which is a fair point. After a bit of browsing and researching for interesting facts regarding science while listening to some music in the background, my music playlist stumbled upon this-

An idea then struck me. At last, a possible light at the end of this inspiration-less tunnel! Perhaps I might be able to relate this music to Astrophysics and the formation of the Earth. Even more specifically, I could create some type of psychedelic music video depicting the formation of the Earth with a colorful art style. I am unsure if this would best be done within Autodesk Maya or Adobe After Effects after effects, however.

Examples of said art style.

Minor Project: Completely Stumped for ideas

The title says it all really. Ever since I've had a talk with Alan, my mind has been (almost) completely barren of ideas that aren't already fleshed out starting points like my previous ideas.

However. a few points that I -could- potentially start out with are Astronomy, Cosmology, Science Fiction, or Extra-terrestrial life, since those are the subjects that I'm most fond of and that I know will motivate me in this project. I'm also fond of 3D modelling, environment and character design, though that may also sound like it's all ready limiting the spectrum of ideas that I could come up with in the future.

In any case, here are a few images that have inspired me so far.