How would one make an Animated custom?

[Jonnydark]

Hey... i'm really into this new animated look. I was wondering if anyone has perfected a scratch build technique for mimicking the animated style.

I really want to build a Mirage and a Devastator... So any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Nemesis Predaking]

Have not seen anybody try a Animated scratch build yet. Maybe try over at TFW. a lot more scratch builders there.

[Jonnydark]

cool i was just thinking of posting over there too.

I like how active this customs board is though.

[Nemesis Predaking]

TFW is even more active. check out Superquad7, Plowing, Redline. Lobo, Warmachine, AutobotX23, Vector & So many more great Bashes over there.
You can check out mine, Dak's & TTT's work here on Cybertron & TFW.

[dak]

I think the Animated line might be kinda fun to make. Nothing would need to be proper, and there are little amounts of straight lines. There is such a distinct style to it that scratch building one of them would take a lot of thought... or very little depending on who you are.

That being said, I don't think there is any "technique" anyone can come up with to ensure that style. It comes down to your concept idea's and how well you can change a smooth animated drawing into a physical 3D object. again, a little harder than taking a comic character and making a toy out of it, but with a very similar way of thinking needed.

so I think, if you can create a 2D image into a 3D object perfectly, then you have the beginnings to create an animated character.

[Jonnydark]

nemesis predaking I will totally check those customs out!

Dak that's exactly my problem with the animated line... it is deceptively simple... But all those curvy bits and stuff will be really hard to tool out of styrene. I was almost thinking of doing it out of super sculpy but if you mixed styrene in there would it bake well? Hmm.. I'm not sure..

There is actually a 3d print house in my town... but i'm not enough of a wiz at 3d modeling to come up with toy designs. (besides from everything i've read about transformer design they don't use 3d programs anyways... or at least they didn't)

btw Oakville rules! i was taking art fundies at sheridan ... Now i'm on the waitlist for illustration... i want to go into technical so i can learn how to draw transformers. (or toys in general) If i don't get in i might go to ocad and take industrial design... I freaking love designing things.

[dak]

I think with a lot of thought, it can work. I like the idea of using a sculpting material to form the parts, but i would not use styrene with Sculpy. Don't put anything plastic in the oven. lol. here's the method I would use, and what I'd prob use if I was going to make one. Use Ball joints from TF's or Bionicals for articulation, use Styrene to form the general body, and then use Bondo (car body filler) to sculpt into to form the body. You could also use Styrene for the whole thing, but make sure it's thick enough that you can take a sander dremel bit to it and round the edges.

I think the the one thing to think of when designing and executing the character is to exaggerate the features. and because of that in your design, you need to make sure all your pieces fit with the exaggerated shapes.

As for the 3D printer, I'm sure there are times when they do use one for the initial concept of the design. There was a guy who made the Hearts of Steel optimus Prime by 3D modeling. Turned out very well too. For me, I like to take the make it with my hands method.

Oakville does rule! lol. I was at sheridan about... 4 years ago??? I took Art fundies, tried to get into Animation, then found out as good as my skills were, they weren't good enough for Sheridan. My style was not their style. So I needed to find another path to follow and ended up where I am now! I love taking an existing design or my own and making it real.

[StarFire]

Use silly putty ;)

[jacobot]

Ya, my kids have been making Animated figures out of Play-Doh since January... Comes in all the right TF colors but they all end up getting squished into proto-form for their trip back into the can :rolleyes: lol

[Jonnydark]

I think with a lot of thought, it can work. I like the idea of using a sculpting material to form the parts, but i would not use styrene with Sculpy. Don't put anything plastic in the oven. lol. here's the method I would use, and what I'd prob use if I was going to make one. Use Ball joints from TF's or Bionicals for articulation, use Styrene to form the general body, and then use Bondo (car body filler) to sculpt into to form the body. You could also use Styrene for the whole thing, but make sure it's thick enough that you can take a sander dremel bit to it and round the edges.

I think the the one thing to think of when designing and executing the character is to exaggerate the features. and because of that in your design, you need to make sure all your pieces fit with the exaggerated shapes.

As for the 3D printer, I'm sure there are times when they do use one for the initial concept of the design. There was a guy who made the Hearts of Steel optimus Prime by 3D modeling. Turned out very well too. For me, I like to take the make it with my hands method.

Oakville does rule! lol. I was at sheridan about... 4 years ago??? I took Art fundies, tried to get into Animation, then found out as good as my skills were, they weren't good enough for Sheridan. My style was not their style. So I needed to find another path to follow and ended up where I am now! I love taking an existing design or my own and making it real.


I love how the hearts of steel prime turned out! The price tag for one is unbelievable though.

Man i tried for animation too... Got accepted to seneca but not sheridan. Didn't bother with Seneca though. Sheridan standards are brutal!

I guess they probably do use 3d printers... i was just going off of what the article in pingmag said.

The animated design and the exaggerated look and feel is a must when making a custom. It's going to be really tricky to make it look cartoony and transform... I agree, very think styrene parts that are smoothed down or bondo. (never thought of bondo!)

I have so many bots i want to do... It's getting a little silly... I think i am going to push on one design i really love. I don't want to say who yet cause that will spoil the surprise. Hopefully i can get it done before tfcon.

Any particular bot you think you'll make? or one of your own designs?

[dak]

I'd love to make a Tracks... just cause I love corvettes. lol.

[Jonnydark]

tracks would be sweet! personally i struggle with making him interesting though.

I'm almost done making my plastilina model of my character... I really recommend the stuff. especially for animated. Obviously you're not going to make the figure out of clay but it's great as a prototyping tool.

i'll post some drawings i've done of my figure tommorow

[chans formers]

try using shortstrand fiberglass.then use automotive putty for the more intricate details.(btw,i wont sugar coat it,if you do a custom with ss fiberglass,be prepared to do a helluva lot of dremeling and sanding!!)thats the only way i can think of to make animated custom bots.i havent really used styrene yet on such a small scale and i have yet to bake a bot!!;]

[Jonnydark]

try using shortstrand fiberglass.then use automotive putty for the more intricate details.(btw,i wont sugar coat it,if you do a custom with ss fiberglass,be prepared to do a helluva lot of dremeling and sanding!!)thats the only way i can think of to make animated custom bots.i havent really used styrene yet on such a small scale and i have yet to bake a bot!!;]

Thanks for the tips! I'll look into fiberglass and automotive putty.

I have some old beast wars figures for ball joints and i have a metric ton of styrene (i bought it from a factory once in this huge sheet... it's awesome... i have four pieces as big as a queen size bed each! all for like 25$) and because i don't have much money... i think this is the way to go, merely out of necessity.

[Jonnydark]

Okay so here is my idea for an animated Hound...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/animatedhound.jpg

That is the concept image for the jeep renegade I think it looks perfect for an animated hound.
The only things i would add would be a turret (a-la halo's warthog) and a military star on the hood.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/hound1.jpg

As you can see here, the doors and fenders become the arms... the hood becomes the chest... the back end of the jeep becomes the legs and the seats become the feet. (i know nothing is unique about the transformation... but waddya going to do?)

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/hound2.jpg

Here is my favorite page... just total ideation. For those who can read the blue prints... That is a xray of the middle of the jeep in jeep form.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/hound3.jpg

Here's his side view... i find the legs are hard to draw... i can't remember where the wheels will be rotated and folded out...

anyways that's my idea... i've got a clay model of it already and it's pretty sweet to see in full scale.

here are more pics of that jeep (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-jeep-renegade-concept-3/575782/):

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/01/cn008_019jplo.jpg

[dak]

that's pretty nifty!

[Nocturn]

What a great concept!

[Jonnydark]

Thanks guys!

[Jonnydark]

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/hound4.jpg

I FINALLY got some money for GLUE so i'm finally ready to start scratch building this guy.

The scale is determined by the lego wheels i have that sorta match this guys look. Then i'll build the hood... Because it's so central. then the arms.

I'll update with progress.

[Jonnydark]

This was weird... As i was rumaging through our old lego to get parts for this guy i found Go-Bots Geeper Creeper or as i always called him - Hound!

[dak]

lol.

Keep us updated with progress pics!

[Jonnydark]

Here are the first pics of the actual working figure... Brace yourself, it's not very impressive!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2885.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2887.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2888.jpg

Lots of styrene!

[dak]

interesting. I itching to start to design Tracks.

[Jonnydark]

you totally should! i am dying to see what DAK comes up with! (and to see how someone else attacks animated stratchbuilding)

I've made a bit more progress.... I've created the head mechanism and the front tire assembly is worked out. I'm finding lego to be extremely helpful in this. I used to play with lego all the time so i that sort of mentality... workable?

[Jonnydark]

Hello!

Thought i'd take a break and let glue dry... And post progress pics!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2891.jpg
He's going to have to have a MUCH shorter head than i first planned (and rather wanted to have)
Those lower leg bits are just there for show, they are basically just sitting there.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2892.jpg
That black thing at the front is just a prop to hold the front section up. (The waist isn't glued yet)
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2893.jpg

This is turning out to be a rather big vehicle... I hadn't meant on making Leader Class Hound, but that's what it looks like i'll be doing!

[dak]

it always ends up being bigger than you plan. LOL!

[Jonnydark]

I just got back from toys r us and got Prowl and Lockdown... These figures are so sweet! I totally dig them.

[Jonnydark]

not much to post... i'm kind of stalled... I don't know where to continue... Do i want to start building the arms? do i want to figure out the feet? Should i sculpt a head? I really don't know how i'm going to make styrene look animated.

anyways...

here are some size comparison picks for ya.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2894.jpg


He's a little shorter than what he'll end up being because he has no feet yet... plus his lower legs are bent funny so that he'll stand.

anyways...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2895.jpg

He rolls very well... If you saw i him in person you can totally picture him as a jeep toy.

[dak]

sweet!

[Jonnydark]

DAK, who said that quote in your sig? Don himself?

[dak]

DAK, who said that quote in your sig? Don himself?

yep! Back before Nova was in the Priming stage.

[Jonnydark]

That's really freaking cool.

[Jonnydark]

Sup! i'm back with more progress pics. Not much progress these past few days though... but i am pleased with the amount i've done considering how much i'm learning...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2905.jpg

That fender was a pain in the but to get done!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2908.jpg

Now that i'm looking at it... i'm totally going to put a square peice of styrene in the middle there to make the progression between bumpers as visually seamless as possible.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2909.jpg

I kind of like the shoulder pad look that those bumpers turn into. The right shoulder is very loose for some reason... thats why it's so low... i'm going to have to fix all the loose joints before too long. I may not be able to reach them for much longer.

[dak]

before going too far ahead... re check some of your proportions. The arms look like their going to end up too short. On the average character, the elbow is just above the waist and the hand is mid thigh. I wouldn't want you to get too far that those changes can't be made.

otherwise everything is coming along very nicely!

[Jonnydark]

You're totally right on that... there are a few things i cannot change though... for example... i can't change the length of his upper arm or his elbow... that's kind of determined by the beast wars parts i have available.

But! i do have control of how long i make his fore arms.

I kind of went nuts on the adjustments here (but thankfully these are easy pieces to replace) I think it's a little too long now.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2910.jpg

But it looks nice in jeep mode... much closer to the Jeep Renegade door length.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2911.jpg

(sorry about the aweful photo... it's just too much work to reconfigure everything and take a new one...)

[Jonnydark]

on a side note... how do you you glue to beast wars plastic? it doesn't take the glue at all!

[dak]

for the arm length, you could always leave one panel that long, add a small angle piece to the sides it touches, and make the initial arm smaller. basically it would act like armor covering the back of the hand. think almost how they've designed Animated BB's arm or Megatron's.

the best way to glue is if you have a dremel, use the sanding bit and sand your gluing surface on both pieces first, then glue. Right now the BW arm is too smooth for the glue to attach to. If you don't have a dremel, try using a rough sandpaper.

[Jonnydark]

Oh thank you for the tips on how to glue it! i have a dremel... but everyone sleeps during the day so i'll work on that at night.

"for the arm length, you could always leave one panel that long, add a small angle piece to the sides it touches, and make the initial arm smaller."

you know i was thinking... i hear the Japanese have a much more efficient language for talking about engineering. I forget where i read about that... but that's why they make things so well... Cars, Robots, Toys, computers... they just have an amazing vocabulary for talking 3D.

Anyways... I totally hear ya (i had to look up animated bumblebees arms... but i figured out what you mean)

[dak]

heh... I apologize. Another example would be Cybertron Hotshot. another method might be to have the same mechanism that Animate prowl has on his forearms.

[Jonnydark]

i think you're right... i think i'll end up doing the hand like hotshot and bumble bee.

I WISH i could make something as complicated as prowls arms. that part made me totally geek out when i saw how it transformed. i can't even imagine how they designed prowl. It's just an amazing toy.

[Jonnydark]

hey! just a little update. been looking for a job so i haven't had much time to work on this guy. I still think i'm on track to have him done by TFcon though.


http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2928.jpg

This is the rear of the jeep. It took me a long time to get around to starting this section. i guess i just didn't have a plan as to how to attack it.

Don't worry. it wont' look quite th is boxy when it's done.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2929.jpg

I love how he's slowly inching towards completion. Every time i get a new part done its like a whole new figure. This is such an awesome project. i love making it!
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2931.jpg

See that little grey thing on his shoulder? that will allow him to have his turret placed on his shoulder. I'm debating putting something in like that on the other bumper... Dunno yet.

[dak]

ooo, it's really starting to come together now!

[Jonnydark]

Thanks Dak!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2933.jpg

I got a bit farther on the back section. I'm roughing in the "bulges" and the turret. I think the turret is comming together nicely.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2935.jpg

He almost looks like he's wearing baggy pants now. haha.

I love how ridiculously over sized his shoulder cannon will be.

[Nocturn]

Nice, looking very animated.

[Jonnydark]

Thanks man! it's really hard to mimic that style. I have some hobby sculpt "paste" that i will smear over the creases and gaps (and face) and then i'll dremmel or sand it down to make the edges curved. I'm hoping it will look really animated.

[Nocturn]

Thanks man! it's really hard to mimic that style. I have some hobby sculpt "paste" that i will smear over the creases and gaps (and face) and then i'll dremmel or sand it down to make the edges curved. I'm hoping it will look really animated.


While most figures are mostly smooth, Prime, Megatron, and Lockdown all are very angley/ pointy. Not to say that curved edges wouldn't work, just that it's not the only option. However, this is your custom and therefore your decision. I think, for the most part, the only true animated style is to pretty much deform everything.

[Jonnydark]

While most figures are mostly smooth, Prime, Megatron, and Lockdown all are very angley/ pointy. Not to say that curved edges wouldn't work, just that it's not the only option. However, this is your custom and therefore your decision. I think, for the most part, the only true animated style is to pretty much deform everything.

Too true!

I really tried to keep primes and bulkhead's Vehicle aesthetic in mind while i was building this guy. You've given me cause to reconsider rounding as much as i was going to.

I think i should round his thighs and his hips... But other than that keep him angled. I do want to smooth the edges though... just a little. half to look nice and half to fill in gaps where i was inaccurate in my styrene cutting.

[Jonnydark]

Yay! Cybertron.ca is back up!

Not much new stuff to post but i have worked on his feet a bit... he is a little bit too tall i think... oh well.




http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2944.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/jonnydark/IMG_2945.jpg

Sorry for the blurry photo!

[Nocturn]

tall? pff. I eat tall for breakfast

Assumings the basic sturcture is finalized, I have nothing but good things to say.

[Jonnydark]

For better or worse, here is how he turned out!


http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/9259/img000006wp2.jpg

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/286/img000007gu0.jpg

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/2067/img000008ma8.jpg

[Nocturn]

That's awesome, man.

[Nemesis Predaking]

Turned out great man.

Could I trouble you to check out the thread here ?
http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/showthread.php?t=8560

[Jonnydark]

thanks guys...

i emailed the pics.

[dak]

It turned out very well, and i was happy to be able to see it at the show.