marsjake

[marsjake]

Ship Blueprint

I started off with my ship drawing, I scanned it in and converted it to solid black and white, to get that high contrast blueprint look.

I then made some geometrical Alien lettering, keeping in mind the idea of the star Enneagon and it's many forms, I used only 45 and 90 degree angles to make up my characters.

I then selected a pleasant blue colour and imported my space ship image into picsart, an easy to use mobile editing software which i am very familiar with. I needed to just include the line work, so I used the blend tool to eliminate the whites, just leaving the black outlines.

I then converted my image to negative, revealing a striking while outline in contrast to the blue background, the signiture look was beginning to take shape.

I then repeated this process with my alien text, putting it in the bottom left corner, almost like it were patent information or annotation.

I then used the blend tool to add a scratch worn texture and also imported a stock paper tear asset to give it a battle work or relic type look.

The end result, in my opinion looks really smart! I think maybe If I were to do this again, add more annotation.

[marsjake]

Personality Robot!

The first minute of this video gripped me, talking about how robots in movies and TV shows had so much character and life, almost like they were real people who we could relate to.

He then goes on to say how much of a shame it is that the futuristic digital assistant Amazon Alexa could have so much more personality, rather than being a basic grey circle.

The way he uses a cathode ray tube and modifies the actual echo hardware is really cool to me, I always enjoy electronic restoration videos and DIY projects, so much so I've done some myself

An old Olympus mini cassette recorder I stripped apart and replaced the rubber drive belt

A 1960s style projector with very basic electronics. I rebuilt the electric motor with WD40 and Sandpaper!

A more complicated sound projector from the 1970s, one of my failed restorations, I spent months tinkering away yet nothing worked!

Me taking a photo before replacing two dozen small electronic parts in an old sega game gear (given to me by my window cleaner)

The insides of an old radio from the 1940s which didn't really require much attention from me, only cleaning a few small parts. These were built to last!

[marsjake]

Polymer Clay Robots

Here is an obscure video found on youtube shorts showing someone making small and cute polymer clay models of robots.

Polymer clay seems to be a favourite with model makers, I would like to try using it one day for a personal project, as I would be mainly interested in how it differs from super sculpy.

I like the designs! they remind me of GIR from invader Zim or the little robots TV show.

[marsjake]

Fuggler

on the opposite end of appeal from jellycat, I took a brief look at fuggler toys and decided from first glance they are not for me.

The combination of realistic human teeth, beady eyes and misshapen bodies do not sit right with me, however I can see the appeal.

I can see by their very creepy and unsettling designs that they are most likely targeting a different niche than what most soft toys do. I also think brand and franchise collaborations such as SpongeBob, gremlins and lord of the rings helps the appeal widen as most IP collabs tend to do

[marsjake]

Jellycat

Jellycat is an extremely prolific name in the soft toy industry, they have a huge selection of animals all in different styles. I had two Jellycats when I was very young, one of them being gifted to me when I was just born, so I have a soft spot for them. I feel like with their cute charming designs and variety of sizes they have truly carved out a large niche for all ages.

Here are the two I had as a small child, I still have them to this day and cherish them, as many people do. I think in a way they symbolise early childhood and nostalgia, as they have been a popular gift for 25 years.

[marsjake]

The Mekon

Looking into the characters of the Dan Dare comics I noticed a very familiar looking alien. I can definitely see that Tim Burton might have been inspired by this classic comic book villain when adapting Mars attacks to the screen. However I think the original creators of the Mars attacks cards in the 60s may have been inspired more so.

I think the skeletal designs of the Mars attacks aliens were probably chosen to fit in with the gory nature of the card's imagery, however their enlarged craniums were probably inspired by Mekon, who predated them by 12 years.

[marsjake]

Plushie Packaging

Most stuffed animals and plushies I see in stores are sold as is with a simple label with pricing information and a logo, however for smaller scale makers I think adding some neat and unique packaging makes a product look arguably more professional than most big companies.

This method of packaging is really very sweet, using shredded paper as a packaging material and housing the small plush toys inside containers.

Many independent makers use sites like Etsy to post their creations to people across the globe and I think making the unboxing experience special will truly stick with a customer. Making it seem like real care has been put into every single order instead of just throwing the toy into a mailer or box.

I love this method too, using the box as a bed

[marsjake]

Moth Plush

Never did I think I would want a plush toy of an insect, yet here is an adorable looking moth.

I think moths are the perfect insects to be made into plush form, their furry bodies are very cute in real life and I have seen lots of moth related products and art before, there is an obvious market.

I found this very sweet moth keyring by Elizabeth Stevens on instagram. The post reads "my strawberry moth keychain is back in stock!" which tells me this is a popular item and has sold out!

I think the same can apply to bees, their fuzzy appearance and general likability due to how they help the planet make them an appealing species to design art around

[marsjake]

Development

Here is some further development and ideas on how I could possibly lay out my Norwich postcard, along with some fonts and titles which would help to spice up the look of the card

I ended up practicing more of my drawing from life when I sketched out this photograph I had taken and while doing so came up with some classic style postcard tag lines. "I'd die for you to be here" is one I was proud of, considering tomb land is a mass plague burial. I thought it added a little macabre humour to the overall product.

Also while sketching I tried to envisage my space ship from the side and determined it would look a lot more alien and more understandable to the viewer to stick with the top down angle.

[marsjake]

Classic Retro Robot Toys

Here are a few classic robot designs, these are of a sort of stereotypical design, square features, simple round eyes and a square mouth.

I was always drawn to designs like these when I was young. I was obsessed with robots to the point I even had a few robot birthday cakes. I had a collection of toys similar to these robots. They ere made of wood and had elastic posable limbs.

These posable toys fuelled my imagination when I was very young. Eventually I used their possibility to make a few stop motion films on my first digital camera, I would take photos in rapid succession and simply flick through them by pressing one of the buttons over and over again.

[marsjake]

Boston Dynamics and real life robots

Boston dynamics is a company which specialises in making robots, Their inventions have made headlines for their complex design which mimics that of real life animals.

While I don't think these robots alone could take over the world, I thing giving them the ability to think via AI is a dangerous experiment which hundreds of movies have shown is probably not a good idea,

[marsjake]

Dan Dare

This newsreel by the British Pathe shows comic artist Frank Hampson drawing his most successful comic strip, Dan Dare. This comic strip started in 1950 and lasted 17 years and ran along some of the most popular sci-fi stories of its time, like flash gordon,

Seeing him draw from references and models in his signature style is really amazing to watch, it makes you wonder how on earth he managed to draw these amazing illustrations weekly.

[marsjake]

Silent Running

Silent running is a pre - star wars sci fi film which has a bit of a dirty grimy look to it, especially the robots which tend to the outer space garden. The film is surprisingly very forward thinking for the early 1970s, with a very strong environmental message, not dissimilar to Wall E.

I think the designs of the set and the robot characters are absolutely wonderful and really do sell the scale of these huge forests being preserved in space.

This film actually reminds me of a doctor who game I played when I was very young, in which earth is being evacuated and the huge ship that is evacuating has a garden aboard.

[marsjake]

Star Wars Ship Designs

One of the most interesting factors of star wars' production is the gritty more worn down and dirty world George Lucas opted for, this was to make the settings and ship designs stand out from the very sterile and often chrome based look of sci fi that came before. You can clearly see this philosophy in the comparison between the concept art and the final film.

This choice was made to sell the scale of a moon sized space station on a budget. Another interesting example is how the interior of the station would look, A dark gun metal colour was eventually chosen for the interior, with wall illumination being the only light source. This makes the death star feel like more of a threat, as it is a lot more claustrophobic.

[marsjake]

My Personal Top 10 Robots (in no particular order)

10: R2D2

What is essentially a dustbin on wheels, R2 communicates through beeps and boops yet surprisingly his body language gives him so much personality. He jitters from side to side, spins his head and protrudes his robotic arms.

An Iconic design

9: Robby The Robot

A huge 7ft relic of the 50s, yet his silhouette, voice and design remain timeless. Looking more like a scientific experiment than a robot, his vaguely human build makes him relatable with to the audience. An iconic silhouette too

8: The Terminator

A Terrifying metal exoskeleton, just looking at the T1000 is scary, the human teeth and beady red eyes along with his jittery movement make him a truly terrifying foe.

7: Chappie

A friendly looking humanoid robot, the aerials protruding from his head give him an iconic silhouette and his happy expressive eyes give him leagues of personality

6: Wall E

A favourite of mine, taking cues from johnny five, the goggle eyes which can move in a variety of ways give this little robot so much character, which is important when your main protagonist can only say his name.

5: V.I.N.CENT

From a tragically forgotten sci fi masterpiece comes Vincent, the voice of reason for the crew of the palomino, his wise cracking and cute design are in contrast to the sinister Maximilian

4: Baymax

A cute and cuddly healthcare companion, Baymax and his monotone voice are a source of comedy and a lot of sweet moments in big hero six, one of the most recognisable robot designs of the past 10 years

3: Maria

The robot of Maria is one of the first truly iconic robots in film, from the 1927 classic Metropolis (one of my favourite films ever) she is a truly creepy and unsettling presence.

2: HAL 9000

One of the simplest yet most iconic villains of all time, his deep emotionless voice delivers some of the most unsettling lines of dialogue in all of film

1: Bender

A sarcastic wisecracking robot, bender has a simple design and oozes character with his raspy voice. He always has a beer or a cigar in hand.

[marsjake]

Robots & Mechs

I looked at a website by an artist called Emerson Tung. These huge mech suits are really detailed, with clearly a lot of thought put into how they would work

These designs are incredibly well thought out, I could see them being huge set pieces in a video game or movie. I love how the weapons and suits themselves are annotated, with humans for scale. It really puts into perspective the vision behind these designs.

[marsjake]

Greatest Robots by Jake's Desk

Some of this lists picks I agree with such as johnny 5 and the iron giant, however some of the designs I find either ugly or too overcomplicated and abstract to really be appealing, to my taste at least.

In my opinion these designs are detailed enough to be feasible machines which could function and be designed in the real world, yet simple and recognisable enough to be iconic, in the case of johnny five, being an actual RC robot prop.

However some of the other designs like these....

I think these are well thought out but just too complex for my taste, though i do appreciate the skill and vision. I think the classic silhouette theory doesn't really work with these, the cat of recognising a character via its silhouette.