As the year went by, I continued to make short films starring this character and entering them into the Animate Clay monthly challenge. Because of bigger projects, I stopped making the shorts. It also didn't help that I was running out of ideas. However as I was working on those bigger projects, I accumulated several simple ideas for short films, ideal for a new series of Mr. Weebee. I made sure I wrote them all down, so I wouldn't forget them.
After finishing The Strong Spirit I decided to pursue this new Mr. Weebee series as I work on my first serious cartoon animated project enLIGHTenment. Toward the end of the spring semester at college in 2013, I started working on a few experiments. I rebuilt and modified the design of Mr. Weebee. I even made him an armature (he didn't have one until now).
This is a frame from the test animation. The main difference of the design is in the eyes.
Initially, I had a lot of trouble with the camera. It tends to wobble in the video because it moved as I pressed the button to take each picture. I tried applying my knowledge of physics to create a special brace to fix this problem. It didn't work. I soon resolved the problem by using the self timer on the camera. When I press the button, it counts two seconds and then takes the picture. During the two seconds, the camera settles back down to its original position after having its shutter button pressed. This technique helped keep the frame still as you see the characters move.
This is a frame from the test animation. You can briefly see the designs of the brace in a shot.
This new series will introduce a new important character. So far he's a wizard with no name. I'll give him one eventually. He was particularly fun to animate because I was trying to see what kind of expressions I could get from his mustache. From the bottom of his robe up to the chest area, is a pill bottle that makes up half of the armature. The chest piece is a metal brace with bolts. Metal wires support his arms and neck. The head of the armature is a wooden ball. The brim of his hat is a piece of card stock covered in clay.
A frame from the test animation. The "table" is actually the bottom of a Play-Doh container.
Last but not least is the main antagonist of the first short, the booger monster. The bottom of his armature is a LED touch light. Metal wires are attached to the touch light and lead up to the top of his head, a crumpled up piece of paper wrapped in duct tape. Despite his simplicity and cruddy appearance, I am happy with the character. I liked the idea of having a monster that glowed from within. I guess you can say that the Jack-o-lantern subconsciously inspired this design.
A frame from the test animation. The character was actually difficult to control at first, but I finally got his movement down.
Here is the test animation. The segment with the wizard jumps a bit because the battery died on me and I had to recharge and reinsert it into the camera.
The set design will not change. This world will still take place on a table top with a simple back drop and minimal set pieces. The storyboard is finished and I can soon move on to the animation phase. I hope you're looking forward to Mr. Weebee's new adventure!
Thanks for reading and may God bless you!
