Hi Sachin - thanks for being patient. I like very much the idea of the slime mold being like an organised troop of spacemen or hive-mind characters. Personally, I think the labyrinth image is a complication, because unless you already know something about slime mold, this isn't going to communicate its significance. I think it's simpler and more immediate if you start your story with the 'landing' of their capsule, and just tell your story as if it's the story of a moon landing or similar, with these creatures on their mission to eradicate all the debris. I notice from your very early thumbnails that you're depicting the slime mold as slugs, but in truth, you don't need to be that literal; I suggest you embrace the science-fiction aesthetic completely; think about Eve from Wall.E for example - a simple shape on a simple mission:
I don't think your slime mold characters need to be slugs; I think you need to think in terms of a spaceship lands, probes are released on a mission to eradicate debris; once debris is cleared, the probes co-join and transform to become a sporangia - or launch pad - and then a new 'spaceship' is launched. In this way, you can take all the organic forms and just simplify them so they become all a bit Syd Mead-meets-Apple:
http://sydmead.com/v/12/
The trick is to design ergonomic, organic-looking components, without them being actually 'too' organic - so simple, smooth, natural looking design; for example:
Can I suggest you consider using different toolsets to work up the designs of your capsule/amoeba/sporangia etc - try working in silhouette only to begin with until you've established some suitable shapes; try using only the Shapes tool + transform options in Photoshop; try using Illustrator's tools for clean, vector-based shapes and try using Sketchbook Pro in terms of its symmetry tools.
In terms of getting your head further around this idea of going for simple, iconic shapes that also have a lot of cute character etc. why not take a look at the world of vinyl toys - lots to learn from them about the creating characters from very basic shapes:
So, short version: I don't think the maze environment is particularly helpful; embrace the 'spaceship and its probes' scenario more completely, and really think about the design of your various slime mold components in light of your sci-fi theme.
OGR 07/03/2015
ReplyDeleteHi Sachin - thanks for being patient. I like very much the idea of the slime mold being like an organised troop of spacemen or hive-mind characters. Personally, I think the labyrinth image is a complication, because unless you already know something about slime mold, this isn't going to communicate its significance. I think it's simpler and more immediate if you start your story with the 'landing' of their capsule, and just tell your story as if it's the story of a moon landing or similar, with these creatures on their mission to eradicate all the debris. I notice from your very early thumbnails that you're depicting the slime mold as slugs, but in truth, you don't need to be that literal; I suggest you embrace the science-fiction aesthetic completely; think about Eve from Wall.E for example - a simple shape on a simple mission:
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs38/f/2008/315/9/f/WALL_E_by_burningpark.jpg
I don't think your slime mold characters need to be slugs; I think you need to think in terms of a spaceship lands, probes are released on a mission to eradicate debris; once debris is cleared, the probes co-join and transform to become a sporangia - or launch pad - and then a new 'spaceship' is launched. In this way, you can take all the organic forms and just simplify them so they become all a bit Syd Mead-meets-Apple:
http://sydmead.com/v/12/
The trick is to design ergonomic, organic-looking components, without them being actually 'too' organic - so simple, smooth, natural looking design; for example:
http://i.bnet.com/blogs/crate_b_zeisel.jpg
http://swipe.swipelife.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/organic-speaker-main.jpg?aec60b
http://www.roadsidescholar.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/drop-micro-mini.jpg
Can I suggest you consider using different toolsets to work up the designs of your capsule/amoeba/sporangia etc - try working in silhouette only to begin with until you've established some suitable shapes; try using only the Shapes tool + transform options in Photoshop; try using Illustrator's tools for clean, vector-based shapes and try using Sketchbook Pro in terms of its symmetry tools.
In terms of getting your head further around this idea of going for simple, iconic shapes that also have a lot of cute character etc. why not take a look at the world of vinyl toys - lots to learn from them about the creating characters from very basic shapes:
http://www.customtoylab.com/wp-content/uploads/hesmileme-1.jpg
http://www.gas-collection.com/assets/img/complete_gas_collection_vinyl_toys_diy.png
http://prefuse.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Spook-D.I.Y-Resin-Toy-580x363.jpg
http://www.rotofugi.com/toyscart/pc/catalog/graphics5/M29388_dt1.jpg
So, short version: I don't think the maze environment is particularly helpful; embrace the 'spaceship and its probes' scenario more completely, and really think about the design of your various slime mold components in light of your sci-fi theme.