Working on someone else’s project is quite interesting, but you must keep in mind that you are only allowed to play God-mode under some circumstances. Having an open mind for alternatives, constant creativity, and ah-ha! moments are the best ingredient for an efficient recipe. What I like about this job is that I can play with the ideas as much as I like.
For the Vejigantes universe, I have to work on almost everything from ships, environments, concepts, timeline, cause-effect, and so forth. The series may have a cultural concept, but we treat it as a fantasy for entertainment to the public. Some things are logical, but most of the time we love to create concepts that simply don’t follow the rules.
The whole deal about the origins of this project comes from the mind of Dave’s kids. Basically, we interpret it with our visual creativity. They put the rules and we redefine them. Creating empathy and learning to care, understand and love individuals rather than to control them play huge roles.
When I’m working, I have the urge to study things and make our ideas based on ideas, like a brainstorm. Connecting concepts such as facts with fantasy are very tricky. Learning terms like Vejigantes and Isolina to understand their origins and what their purposes serve is part of my process. As for layout artists, I have to seek works that could potentially influence the animated series. I am mostly inspired by concepts such as Jak and Daxter, Monster Galaxy, Rayman, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, and Treasure Planet.
Monster Galaxy is by far my favorite because of how beautiful it looks. I love the uniqueness of the monsters, the soundtrack, and the outstanding backgrounds. I strive for an organic atmosphere, contrasting colors, and a little touch of a traditional feel.
Since the audience is for children and juvenile, I wanted to try some goofy characters. This way I could make more attraction and elaborate friendly aspect. Rayman (the first game) and Jak and Daxter: Precursor legacy helped me out create texture, study different atmosphere, use various shapes and colors, etc.
As a compass is divided into 4 directions, the same goes for the ships, each has a function, serves a purpose, and has a story. This one task took me some time to elaborate, between a mix of logic, fact, and fantasy. Each has its own equipment that makes them unique from the other. For example, The North Ship was once a gracious catamaran that suddenly succumbed into the abyss by becoming an infamous phantom mothership. Isolina (the South Ship) became the new light of hope and was an aspiring adventure until becoming lost or forgotten.
Consistency is what we are striving to achieve, make more improvements in our works and simply do what we love by providing an enjoyable and high-quality product to our audience. I will be working on some other things once I have full permission to publish them. Stay tuned!
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