Welcome to the first “Theoretically Weekly Production Blog.” We'll pull back the curtains and give you a behind the scenes look at the making of “Alien Service.”
Today, it's a look at character design.
Why make a CG animated cartoon? If you look at animated TV shows today, you see shows that look like traditional cell shaded animation. In fact, many of these are made using 3d animation packages and then are made to look like regular cartoons, or they are shipped out to Korea or someplace else to do it the old fashioned way. Regular animation is great, and with a little modification “Alien Service” could look like a regular cartoon, but why fake it?
Pixar has opened the door for CG animation, and many movies have adopted the Pixar style to great success at the theater. Why not produce a CG animated program for the home theater? If you own a copy of “The Simpsons” on DVD is there a reason to buy Blu-Ray disc? Not really, but if you own a copy of “Toy Story” on DVD, the Blu-ray can bring out the theatrical detail and color. We think “Alien Service” as a cg animated cartoon can shine in the high definition era, and stand out in a field filled with cell type cartoons.
The look we're trying to achieve for “Alien Service” is one that combines the advantages of the Pixar style, but tries to have a more realistic look without falling into the trap called the “Uncanny Valley” you see in some CG animation where they try to be photo-realistic, but the characters end up looking a bit creepy.
The picture with this blog is an early version of Dave. This test was for topography with the hair and eyebrows roughed in to give a better feel for the character.
