Author: Jneyde Williams

Sketches of my character I will use in the walk cycle. This is 20 year old Kaner, a lifeguard on Canoia Beach in California. He takes his job very seriously. Its pretty simple: relax in the sun, save hot chicks and look cool at the same time. He is very charismatic and can be very oblivious to his “smart” jokes. He especially enjoys spending time with the quiet beach goer, Gooby. She finds him annoying.. in a good way.

I picked Wang as my character because I desire and think its important to have self representation in cartoons, because growing up this was something I didn’t have. To have a character you can relate to or feel your identity or story matters is beautiful. Wang is a regular black American guy who grew up in (Southern) China and has a mix of urban style. He embodies confidence and fun. Two things that are so important to have in life. To cherish everything and enjoy it all. This is what makes his other traits of being childish and selfish so positive because its what makes him a perfect human. Someone with no responsibilities. The most challenging part was having him walk. The logic of matching the anatomies joints as they move felt impossible but with the help of references and patience I soon learned. The coloring was fun because I understood which palettes looked right on Wang and I couldn’t decide on which one, but purple means royalty in African culture so I felt it best represented his black narrative and with Wang speaking Cantonese showed his Chinese (Hong Kong) identity. The music was the hardest to decide because he has so much swag, any beat would fit his style. My favorite part was definitely creating Bibe. I wanted to make her reflect Wang so I created Bibe with someone who values the opposites like school, religion, structure things of life where she gets a balance of life once meeting her new boyfriend Wang. Drawing women is fun because of the feminine details you can create with precision. Since Wang is more masculine his broad shoulders and whipped hair is suppose to symbolize a wolf, alpha type of approach and Bibe is a cat with the sharp tiny eyes and heart shape face and shorter stature. The music shows the humor and fun from both Bibe and Wang.

I was just testing out what are the possibilities with animating the type. I’m going to make a gradient background behind the type and just mess with the opacity. This was actually interesting because I do love typography and playing with type animation was new.

The particles will be hearts, hopefully I can figure out how to make them like that. I added a shine to the chain and a lens glare to the background also. The effects were easy to put in. I will soon add a filter to make the colors blend more.

I learned how to loop the background by tutorials and other readings. Im still trying to figure out how to make the background loop slower and will later edit the gradient. Also I want to fix how my characters figure is pixelated when zoomed in.

This was super challenging but fun. Afterwards I will add shading and tints to make his figure pop for the background. I chose the sweet and candy colors for Wang since he is a lover type of guy who is also stylish. I added the chain and bounce of his limbs more.

 

This was a fun assignment because I do coding for digital storytelling and directing gives the creator so much control and freedom with their work, than just illustration. Its a written animation of words within itself, like a written only comic. I want to simply the dialogue more, where the viewer understands the plot: Wang likes a girl but she doesn’t like him. This is why I used the flower as a tool for Wang to use to express his love for his crush. The landscape of Times Square was enjoyable, as Im more interested in improving my landscape art since reading more manhuas I’ve been inspired by their realistic paintings/ 3D digital landscapes. Its so important for animators to understand still life and capture this in illustration too.

After Effects is one of my favorite programs and decided why not create a story or PSA for the assignment. Here is Jackson Wang and Jimin, kpop singers who are here to bring awareness of climate change. I used the opacity, position, rotation, type, transition of my type and made the type 3D in a way too with a glow. I wanted to make the poster stylish with roses and flowers to give that nature approach. Protect our climate!

reference

This was a challenge but I will continue practicing on moving the joints smoother. My character is suppose to have a soft sway with his walk. For the next step I will make sure to add that. I used a guide to make sure the feet are balance. This reference helped me understand how to focus on the physics of the anatomy, left leg goes with right arm and right leg goes with left arm. Also the hips align with the knees as the person bounces when the feet touch the ground. The shoulders should also go up when the feet go down too.

Wang is a lovable and flirty guy, so a suit definitely fits his charming approach. But he is stylish and confident so the ‘W’ chain for Wang brings out his fashionable sense and how he is prideful, with his muscular chest out of his shirt. The tall and sharp shoulders give him a suspicious look. He is suppose to be cocky and arrogant so the lean back shows how confident he is. I really loved creating Wang Fang since creating male characters are always practice for myself who draws women.

Character Design Bio