"It's gotta have a robot!"

First look at the Pirate's raiding craft, I wanted it to have a very high performance custom feel to it.  Maybe I've been watching too much Fast and Furious...

I was actually quite influenced by the anime "Outlaw Star" when designing this mech.  I wanted to make something that felt like it had been customized a bit for racing.  I imagined that when these asteroid miners weren't busy mining asteroids for precious metals, they were racing through the tunnels they had created for fun.  Of course this comes in handy when they are forced to turn to piracy to survive.  I really do love mecha and I felt like any sci-fi project I work on HAS TO have a mech or robot or even both.  So here you go!

Stay tuned for more,


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Kiki

Let's face it... Kiki was never that great at flying to begin with...

Speaking of "Kiki's Delivery Service," have you heard that there is a live action adaptation of the movie set to release in Japan next month?  Here is the trailer:

I don't know what disturbs me more, the creepy CG version of Jiji the cat or the overly aged appearance of Kiki... or the fact that there is a live action adaptation at all!!  Personally, I find the original animated movie to be a beautifully craft film, and I don't know what the purpose of such a live action adaptation accomplishes.  Perhaps it's an attempt to reach audiences who normally don't watch animation, or maybe the film producers figured that today's kids haven't seen the older animated version and will see this version as new and amazing.  Regardless of the reasons, if you haven't seen the original animated film, "Kiki's Delivery Service," I highly recommend you check it out.  If you happen to see this live action version, I'd be curious to hear your review.

Saraba!!

Leather seats optional...

The interior of the Pirate's ship was pretty challenging and a lot of fun.  I wanted to put in details like exposed panels and wiring to show that this ship is designed with a function over form mentality to contrast the streamlined clean look of the Nobleman's ship.  Also, I designed this ship with zero gravity in mind, this allowed me to have a bit more freedom in how I arranged things like hallways and where I mounted seats.  In the "Interior Details 005" image you can see those seats are mounted in a cylinder.  That cylinder is mounted to the ceiling and allows the user to orient the seat in any way they like.  The docking hallway actually extends vertically from an opening in the top of the bridge.  Even though mechanical design is still challenging I had the most fun working on these sets.  Look forward to seeing them in action soon!

Stay tuned!

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Hand to mouth on the edge of the Universe

We're finally to one of my favorite designs of this project!

The Pirate's space ship is something I wanted to be really utilitarian.  No wasted space and very functional looking, unlike the Nobleman's ship.  I included the extra detail of this particular ship having an older style warp engine that required the core be exposed to the low temperatures of space as a way to rapidly cool the engines and keep them from overheating after going into warp.  I really like the way this ship turned out and I can't wait to design more ships in the future!  Keep learning.  Every new experience is an opportunity for growth...

Stay tuned!

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Always have an escape plan...

This week, we're going to take a detailed look at the escape pod airlock and the massive cargo bay.  Again, I wanted the Nobleman's ship to feel big and excessive to the point of there being wasted space, which is why I left the cargo bay empty.  He's so rich he doesn't need to haul any cargo and has plans to convert this area into a ballroom.

Stay tuned!!

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Continuing our tour...

Continuing our tour of the Nobeman's ship, this week we're going to have a look at the external and internal details of the ship's docking airlock.

Stay tuned for more next week!

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The life of the New Nobility...

Last week we took a look at the exterior of our Nobleman's ship.  This week we're diving inside to have a detailed look at the ship's Bridge.

After finishing the character designs I went back and re-read the script so I could get an idea of what exactly needed to be designed when it came to the sets.  You can see the results above in the post. You can't truly understand the sheer amount of work that goes into any of your favorite anime productions until you actually set out to do something on your own.  Our "one shot" is only 10 minutes long and still there are a tremendous amount of designs that need to be done.  It really puts into perspective the mind blowing amount of work that goes into one episode, let alone an entire series.  Keep coming back for more and if you like what you see, share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr etc..  The more the merrier!

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