28 March, 2007

Production Artwork....

While I begin to get my arse in gear for the next batch of filming here is some background stuff for the movie, One Day Removals.

I'm including some costume design and colour work I've done for the main characters mostly because it was my first attempt at using Manga Studio 3 (great prog). All the line work was done using manga then exported as psd to photoshop, really quick workflow and easy to use. Best of all it was actually fun and didn't make my skull explode like some software learning curves.

Another character in the movie is the flexible corpse in a bin bag (he gets everywhere). Mark Stirton, the director chap, had a smart idea of buying shop window mannequins and getting me to articulate them with the magic of hacksaw. It is a pretty quick fix to the age old problem of fake corpseiness, most home made ones (like my last attempt) always look a bit floppy and light. When they arrived at Mark's they freaked us out as they are a bit too lifelike, but we got over that and I took the first one home to work on.

36 hours and 3 saws later I had constructed a workable stiffie - while also inhaling 50 pounds of glass fiber dust. Before you all start screaming 'twat!' I was wearing a mask but the fine dust gets everywhere - not doing that indoors again! Anyway, corpse and me are doing well and he has already survived a 30 foot a fall from a bridge and a trip on a boat. The following photoset is from the shortened and less dull 'making of corpse' blog I was going to do.

Andy - costume design (Patrick Wight)
Ronnie - costume design (Scott Ironside)

6 Stages of corpse - final version is wrapped in binliners, but still has a lovely personality...

This is my very first play with Manga Studio 3, it's supposed to be me waving a tentacle at my mate, Graham (the sound ninja). I expect to be poked roughly with a sharpened Sennheiser after he sees this, he does love his manga though, so I may be ok! (and no, I have no idea why the tentacle is smiling and yes, it does look a bit more like a snake)

5 comments:

allen etter said...

Great illustrations. I too have had the job of cutting up corpses-uh-I mean manaquins. I used to work for a company called "Lifeforms Animation". We were always cutting them up and using bondo to patch them and then putting hydrolics inside to animate them. I was the rookie so I did all of the sawing. You could shower for an hour and still have fiberglass in your hair.

Your corpse seems well adjusted and happy.

allen etter said...

By the way...posted some new poster designs...let me know what you think. Hopefully next week I'm going to purchase "The Planet" on DVD.

Michael Grant Clark said...

Glass fiber dust gets everywhere, nice on rice pudding though.

I like mr corpse, he's had about 6 names so far in the movie, I'm sure he's bumping for a bigger part.

Andrew Glazebrook said...

I've had that trouble of walking around with a stiff all day :) Too many Anna Friel movies.
The concept pics look great !!

Michael Grant Clark said...

Cheers. I'm getting more into the manga studio drawing, just need a big tablet, I did those ones with a mouse.

Anna Friel is great isin't she. She'd make a great companion for Dr Who, or me - may have to duel you for her by the sounds of it though.