SolStars Character Profiles: Part One

Hello, to all of your from the heat of the night!

The only reason I'm doing this post this week is because of that slight promise I gave from last week: to briefly talk about the characters who are going to be starring in my three (or four) animatics. I'll go in the order of the animatics' "release dates." All of the profiles have been done between last August & this week (well two of them were revised).

Enjoy the read!

Animatic #1: Mint: Conditioned

Ceasar "A. C." Southermire

A teenage boy who is often described as "too cool for words," witty and expressive with his actions. He can be considered a mutant, since he was blessed with psionic/ telekinetic powers and super speed through constant torment and ridiculewhen he was younger. He joined the SuperToons as a teenaged intern, until he became something of a force of nature & became a full- fledged member.

Stephanie Monroe

A teenage girl who majors in Journalism and loves dancing (in the "artful" way). She became more active in order to keep up with the crime fighting episodes of her best friend/ boyfriend Ceasar, who offers her many great tales of the city for her schoolwork.

Dr. Plago

An aging mechanic who was once viewed as one of Sunshine City's shining citizens. Years ago, a horrible accident took place during a bionic demonstration that forced his hired doctors to implant his own mechanical devices/ projects into the left side of his body to ensure his body's stability. Plago now plans his villanous deeds against the city in his subterranean ship, the Stromanga.

Animatic #2: Wigged

Revenda Domestic

A teenage kitten who is a science wiz with sharp sarcasm that often helps her way out (and away) from certain situations. She was hired as the SuperToons' first "young" crime fighter, as she keeps an eye on the doings of the schools that surrounds her own. 

Martha Clue

A nursing- major turned detective, thanks to her retired detective parents. Forced into the SuperToons thanks to her older brother John Clue being the leader, Martha had to adjust herself quickly. She relied on her tae kwon do skills, (seemingly) tough- as- nails attitude towards criminals... & her ability to handle two guns at once.

Geraldine Archer

A headstrung, yet coldly free minded rabbit who has been working with the SuperToons for years as a reliable detective. She hardly enjoys a working through a dirty case, and would much rather force herself though a daily gala hosted by the criminal minded.

Robert Miles

A husky, workaholic beaver who was promoted as one of the head detectives at the Sunshine SuperToon Services. He often has a dry sense of humor and has a worrisome trigger finger when it comes to anyone who seems superior.

Animatic #3: Game, Set, Magic!

RaiStar Twinkle

A wishing star from Rainboa, the floating village above the skies of Sunshine City. RaiStar, after years of granting beings their wishes & fighting nightmares, wished for himself to appear as a true hero to the city's citizens. He got his wish through his youthful bravery, obtaining psionic
powers, control of electricity & super speed. He joined the SuperToons through his acts & cuteness.

Cameron Comet

A wizard alligator who believes himself to be a "master sorcerer of the shadows." He gained control of a species of creatures called the Shadi and he uses them for his own crimes and experiments.

(And... if the fourth one is indeed made...)

Animatic #4: Rhapsody in Mopped

Rhapsody Rabbit

A forest- dwelling bunny rabbit who often runs & glides through Faithful Forest with her whirling ears to meet many new animals. Her dream one day is to become a successful electric guitarist with her band, the Black Canaries (she's the outcast of the group) & take their forest- playing band to the big city... all the while helping the SuperToons.

Moppy Gerbil

A manical gerbil who has had many experiments done onto him by Plago & his gang. In response, he often causes the SuperToons & the villains much headache even after going clean & joining the SuperToons. This was all courtesy of RaiStar, Mr. Mysterio, Ceasar & Moppy's cousin Aamoco Gerbil believing relunctantly in his crime- fighting skills.

Nitro

A former circus tiger whose training & induction into the city's armed forces left him under the impression that pushing aggression towards his foes (and many times to his fellow SuperToons as well) is the best way to handle his duties.

The animatics will be underway for the next two to three weeks, & hopefully they'll all be done once mid- August hits. And then comes the sound editing, which will include sound effects, some music (cited of course!) & yes: voice acting!

Have a great weekend!

The Way of the Future

It's been two weeks?! Time flies when you're busy.

And yes, between hectic job hunts & off-&-on city treks, I've been gearing up for the inevitable: something else.

After my graduation (& when the year started), I've had thoughts of what's more to come, let alone what can I do within the time. It hit me: 'Aaron, create animations for your cartoons! You have enough characters & stories; DO IT.' Well. that's easier said than done. I have yet to acquire the proper character animating skills to go on with those projects. However, there's a newer, radical idea I had that definitely works in my benefit:

I can make animatics!

This is the rough cut animatic for my senior group project, Toll Freeze. Before this, I've never done animatics before & there's one thing I've learned from this: when in doubt, storyboard it & add sound.

This way, I can properly add more to my online portfolio. This August, I'll be creating three (possibly four) animatics based on a few of my Solstars shorts. That's why I created an event on Bookface for my friends to allow me to steal- excuse me- utilize their voices for my selected characters that I KNOW I can't voice! 

So without further ado, here are the posters & summaries:

Mint: Conditioned

It's late on a Thursday evening near sunset in Sunshine City. A nearly burned out Stephanie Monroe is wasting the last of her high-schoolday energy on Just Zumba 5, all the while waiting for her crime- fighting boyfriend Ceasar "A. C." Southermire to show up on her balcony with a treat he teased over the phone. Too bad the manical Dr. Plago forgot it was his day off!

Wigged

One day while the SuperToons are readying for more wild fighting sprees, Martha Clue & Geraldine Archer are trading hints back & forth in the headquarters' dressing/ disguise room. Meanwhile, teenage assistant Revenda Domestic comes into the back of the room & listens to them while they finish. Once they supposedly leave, Revenda sneaks over to the table where she sees all of their wigs. Wanting to pass the time by, she tries them all on... & decides to act a bit!

Game, Set, Magic!

Cameron Comet has it bad... very bad. The wizard who specializes in the shadow arts to create minions of his own has always failed at one task: catching wishing star turned SuperToon crime- fighter, RaiStar Twinkle. One day, his minions the Shadi give him a rather intriging idea to mix & mesh together his many magic spells in order to defeat the star. Will he succeed, or will RaiStar laugh his way back to the headquarters.... again?!

There you have it. The characters will be shown & briefly described in next weeks post.

Until then, folks!

The Notebook of Blast Processing

Hiya, people!

The title of this week's post is in reference to two things...... One of them has to do with the way I create my cartoon visuals! The other.... I'll let the retro video game fans figure that out. ;P But this week I wanted to answer the question some of my colleges always ask: "How do you get your picture to look the ay they do?!" The most recent question was asked after I completed this:

Behold! The hilarious (& sometimes, sensual) mis- adventures of my teenaged couple: psychic- powered cool kid Ceasar "A.C." Southermire & shy bookworm dancer Stephanie Monroe have lead them into a mismash of horrific creatures in an episode I'd title The Haunted Valentine. See, I'm not much of a holiday specific- type person, so I decided to mesh two of them together for comedic affect!

I drew out the preliminary sketch a month ago:

While none of the monsters changed in comparison to the finished product, A.C. & Stephanie did. How? Well... in facial expressions. A.C. looked too angry for me & Stephanie was too damsel- like. It wasn't... funny enough! So, that weekend I drew some facials through my own mirror observations (something I RARELY do!):

As you can see, their expressions were pushed much more & through that came the updated visual:

Now I feel the funny! So then it was time to color it. I started with the basics of coloring the two lead characters first:

The multiply paint tool is TOO good! Next, the eerie background:

I thought a pale light blue would make for a good contrast when the creatures are colored in:

Then, it was time to add in the finishing touches of lighting & shading the leads:

And, finally the signature & logo in the final product! I've began applying to this design layout for all of my visuals since May & it seems to work greatly. The point is, everyone has different philosohies towards the way they compose their artwork. I suggest to try as many different ways as possible until you find the one that works best. Even if it takes five whole years!

Until next week, folks!