Xingtao Rough Sketch Practice Character Development 001

Xingtao Rough Sketch Practice Character Development

I was wanting to blog this for a while, but I was doing other things, and since sketching took more thought and effort plus blogging, I was just publishing my older photography of everything from Boho to my Pirate wench OC on Deviant ART, and interacting with people on there.

My Gallery on DeviantART.

I have tons of other blogs of various content, including on Blogger/Google and also Tumblr, as well as multiple social media platforms.


I know pretty much what I want Ao Xingtao to be and look like, only it hasn't quite come together yet. Plus, I want my sketching/drawing skills to improve.

These are very very rough:

ROUGH SKETCHES Xingtao development 001 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

ROUGH SKETCHES Xingtao development 002 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

ROUGH SKETCHES Xingtao development 003 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

I actually really like this design:

Lovers Designed by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

The face is loosely based on a combination of Jincheng Wu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and a tiny bit of Nicholas Tse (Xie Tingfeng), but also vintage Tony Leung Ka Fai.

Jincheng Wu:

Nicholas Tse:

But, I also like Donnie Yen. I like the long skull/face look pretty much for this character.

Donnie Yen:

Vintage Tony Leung Ka Fai:

I really like Jingcheng Wu's head shape and facial features. He has very thick strong eyebrowns, and his nose is set into his face with a very sharp look. I also really like the sideburns on him. he's significantly hairier than the other actors. I also like his necklines.
Nicholas Tse doesn't have the long face but there are many mannerisms in his acting style that I like.

But, of course, I don't want my character to be a carbon copy of 1 or the other... just some influences...


But, I was also studying quite a lot of old vintage stuff from the 80s/90s. I was especially enamored with Christian Slater's HAIR:

OMG! Do you see this hair????

It's like super voluminous!

I want Xingtao to have his look honed, and refined, but I haven't reached it yet. I figure that'll be my goal for this year. I'd originally been wanting to practice my painting skills, but I lost my fire for it... meh...

I don't want Xingtao to always have the long hair, like I did in the old picture I did. I like the long hair, but I want him to go through hairstyle changes. Female characters do this, and especially Lively does. But, in real life, men (unlike my father) also change their hair.

It's weird, but it often feels like I forgot how to draw... intellectually, I know what to draw, and how to draw, but it's like my hand-eye coordination is way off. But, as I was going through my old artwork I did before I realized I'd gone through this many times before. So, I know I can get through it again.

But, I need to work out what Xingtao's face will actually be before I can move on to the hair styles... but, part of the practice is both.

Another thing I don't want to happen, is I don't want Xingtao to look like Djehkäujaa. Recently many of my sketches would kinda turn out looking a bit too much like her, and I was not happy about that.

I just need a lot more practice.


I will hopefully get my credits audit soon, because my University orientation in on June 7th, and then I can most likely (hopefully) start my federal Work Study program (job/salary). 

They've screwed up my application many many times since February. So, I can't even sign up for classes I want yet, and most everything is full. 

I'm also finally back to going to the gym, but my lungs are still damaged very badly, and I sometimes I must take codeine. I hope I can improve my lungs capacity/strength by the end of the summer.  My asthma is really bad right now.

Other than that, not much else to write about... most of it is inside my head/heart/dreams/feelings/muse... It probably doesn't look like a lot, but actually it really was.

Djehkäujaa Humanoid Zeppelin Vintage Storyboards Concepts 002

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman ©2016

Djehkäujaa Humanoid Zeppelin Vintage Storyboards Concepts 002

Like I've said, these are not the greatest storyboards. they also don't "flow" "correctly"... plus, my inking skills are terrible.

I had to ink these to shove them into my portfolio, to graduate, only to have them pulled and re-inserted, and pulled out multiple times by jerk, sexist instructors.

back then, inking was the rule... but, also, back then, storyboards were almost entirely done in blue pencil... I don't know whether that's still done today, but it's maddening. Blue is often non-repro and won't scan very well, because scanners and photocopiers have trouble seeing it. they also fade really fast, unlike red pencils which last.

This is my FAVORITE PART of the entire film/story!

This concept is pretty old, and I first started it in 1998. As you can see the 2 sketches above which I drew in Lewes Delaware after I came back to the USA from Germany, but I first dreamed it up around June-July when I was graduating high school in NJ, and then went strait into my Animation Scholarship Summer program at the UARTS in Philadelphia. I actually sketched this on the square, hard covered sketch-books they gave us from the UARTS. I actually started these sketches in Philly, probably in July, but never finished them until August... looks like a few days before I turned 19.

I was supposed to start at AIPH that week, but they screwed up my paperwork and I couldn't start until January... (the story of my life... always delays... and someone screwing something up...)

I actually drew up these rough storyboards/concepts on my own, and not as a school project... but, I had to shove them into being a project, kinda, at portfolio time... hence the reason why they are inked... and I HATE the inking!

Djehkaujaa Zeppelin Flight Storybaords 001 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

Djehkaujaa Zeppelin Flight Storybaords 002 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

Djehkaujaa Zeppelin Flight Storybaords 003 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

Or course I would LOVE to redo them, eventually... however, I don't have the music composed for it yet. I think I will actually incorporate 2 songs here.

The first little song bit will be short and light, probably THIS SONG [demo]:

But, HERE are the Lyrics I WROTE for the song I want her to sing.

There's another part after this which I just haven't even storyboarded.

She will briefly meet back up with her dragon pack/flock and it will be a musical dramatic piece, and they will all part. they do all mutually miss her, but she isn't allowed to return yet.

That actually is what really shifts her to be motivated to do the right thing she believes in, and really becomes determined.

However, since the dragons reproached her and caused this, the direction she goes in actually puts a spotlight on her, which goes against their other fundamentalist ideas... So, they will try to lure her back... they'd originally intended it to be punitive and judged her as "not ready to return yet" because she was supposed to be "learning a lesson"... however, she actually learns far beyond their mental framework of thinking, and overcomes that...

They try to stop her from getting involved, and even welcome her back to distract her... but, she evolves beyond it, and sees past the extremes of what was originally meant to be safety and concern, and became stifling. After that, she will be able to shape-shift on her own.

Then, She and Lively can confront the main villain/antagonist.

I want the music to have a distinctly 90s European techno 4/4 beats sound/feel/vibe, but somewhat like a ballad.

I'm not sure whom I would pick to be the singing voice... I would probably want someone whom could sing like the late Melanie Thornton, may she rest in peace.

Love you and miss you Melanie!

Djehkäujaa Dragon Vintage Storyboards Concepts 001

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I've finally scanned these old vintage storyboards I did. I did these back when i was in college. the scene ideas had already been in my mind since about 1998, but they really started to become something in 1999 when I was in college in Philadelphia full time.

I learned a lot from an animation teacher, Sam, whom got fired.

Unfortunately, they don't actually "flow" "correctly" the way storyboards are supposed to... So, there's sort of fragmented... if anything, they seem to "cut" much like a music video style of editing would....

But, I want this piece to flow just right. Its especially meaningful to me. Also, this scene is crucial to other plot pivoting points in the story line.

Here is the rough acrylic painting version I just recently did:

Acrylic Concept Sunrise Ocean Clouds Sky Painting by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

And, here's the boards as they currently are:

Djehkaujaa Dragon Flight Storybaords 001 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

Djehkaujaa Dragon Flight Storybaords 002 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

Djehkaujaa Dragon Flight Storybaords 003 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

I will eventually need to redo them.... however, I don't have the music for it composed. I feel that I will NEED that music in order to create the piece effectively. I want a whole song/musical part.



I want a song that is similar to this style, but I want to have something totally new composed:

I want this scene to convey the free spirited fun-loving personality of Djehkäujaa, my dragon character. However, she sneaks away form the pack/flock of the other dragons, whom have become fundamentalist isolationists, whom would frown upon her inter-species relationships/friendships with "silly creatures".

Djehkäujaa's openness in playing with dolphins and other fun-loving playful creatures plays an important part in the story much later on in the story...

There's a reason why the dragons are so rigid and isolationist... but, their stubborn rigidness will backfire... there's a lot of backfiring in this story...