Ok, yes I am primarily an illustrator and author by trade, but truthfully I am an idea guy. I love ideas. I love concepts, and so my artwork isn't just about making something that looks "cool" I love to talk about the ideas themselves... So, you will find included on this page, a descriptive elaboration of the thoughts and processes that went into the designs of select work displayed throughout this site (aside from my original characters who I of course simply wrote books around)
I offer these in order to give a better demonstration and understanding of how I analyze creative problems and formulate visual solutions. You will also notice a link to my pet project site, "Nostalgia-Reboot" where the ideas behind several of these redesigns are explored in depth and with a twist of fun for the fans of each property.
I feel like I should begin with one of the more challenging concepts I have recently tackled. I can not express how much I despise Plastic Man's normal costume. I actually hated his costume so much that I NEVER understood how cool his character actually is. He looked so damn goofy that I never gave him a shot. I just could not take him seriously as either a character or hero... Wow was I wrong... This dude is like ten times more versatile than Mr. Fantastic and apparently has the heroes heart down to a T despite being a bit of a scoundrel.
The interesting thing that I learned pretty quickly though was that the reasons for his costume aren't really set... It seems that the continuity has changed so many times that no one can really decide whether it even is a costume or if it's just his skin... since he is essentially a shape shifter by extension of his abilities... He can even change color if he concentrates enough?
So... if it were his body then what? How much concentration does it take for him to make parts of himself look like that all the time? If he were to ever get knocked out... would the lack of conscious effort just leave him naked and in his primary form like Mystique or the Martian?? I didn't want to worry about that... So for my version, it IS most definitely a costume.
Which brought with it an entirely new set of challenges on it's own.
See He doesn't have any convenient maguffin to use like Mr Fantastic. I don't get to chock it up to "unstable molecules"... I had to design a feasible and yet visually appealing piece of costuming based around the parameters of elastic limitation...
In order for any average fabric to stretch in such a way, then it's resting slack would leave it looking droopy and out of sorts. And I did not want that. I didn't want his costume to look like a deflated condom. There is NO way to apply limitless elasticity to any existing fabric or material... and since Plastic man is not a scientist, and his suit was not designed by some superbrain like Reed Richards... then I had to tackle the issue from a practical standpoint.
Therefore it had to have a resting compression state that allows for maximum stretch and versatility but within the levels of feasibility as allowed by sensible real world physics... and somehow this had to appear nearly form fitting... The solution was to find a way to use Hookes Law to my advantage...
I considered a series of segmented elastic materials that would allow for portions of the costume to stay in place while their connecting substructure stretched accordingly, but then I wind up with something like a scale pattern applied to the whole of its coverage, still knowledgeable in the limitation of the stress factors inherent in the base material... Even rubber band chain mail is going to snap at some point, and beyond that, lose its ability to return to form in its compressed state after excessive use... if you stretch it over and over then just like a bungee chord, it will eventually just stay stretched out without snapping back. Then the idea struck of something a little more streamlined... what non elastic form stretches really far, but returns to a common state? The answer was coils...
Think of a non elastic or semi malleable material like paper or metal... it can bend but not necessarily stretch... However if you then cut that material into the shape of a coil... (think of a slinky.) When in the resting state it retains a common form. It even appears as a solid... So by allowing for the expansion of space between the coils along a spiral pathway, the same static material can be brought to shape in extreme lengths as well as versatility of forms... but even that has some rather extreme limits... stretch a slinky too far and its ruined forever.
But what if I suppose that the makeup of said coil structure also possesses it's own independent elasticity rather than a static disposition... What if I made a rubber slinky? then I could design around the premise of a material which can stretch and move along multiple axis in more elaborate and extreme degrees yet collapses into a common and form fitting costume while in it's compressed state.
This was my solution
The lines of his costume needed to be cut into a multiple coil pattern along the likely and most frequently utilized axis of elongation. (Arms, legs, torso, each comprised of a spiral cut set of fabrics which can be summarized as independently elastic in nature) Now I could design a costume that fulfilled the extremities of need and yet could also appear as a full coverage fabric while compressed into a resting state over his body.
With this solution, I included some of my earlier concepts of individual segmentation along particularly broad areas of the body where coils would not be as practical, and I applied an understructure to breakup the coiled segments themselves. This acts in a supporting role as it provides an extra bit of snap toward any return to his primary state... so basically he has an extremely elastic and rubber composite suit with polymer coils sewn into it.
This is what I love about conceptual design... taking a pre-set list of parameters and finding a way to solve that problem within the context of design while maintaining physical aesthetics.
As for the aesthetics.... His colors have always been roughly the same... and there is an iconic look to be maintained between the glasses, the belt and the red... I included several areas of black to break up the overwhelming eyesore of it all. I think it makes him look a bit more heroic.
I also tried to apply the idea of utilizing extra accents of the gold along the trim or his suit and even the rims of his glasses, which are a little more run of the mill than his typically white rimmed variety. He seemed like the type of guy that would totally wear aviator classes.
The last thing to consider was that I really wanted to sell the whole "Plastic" or "Rubber" aspect. Aside from just creating the weird hammer shape from one hand, I attempted to sell this concept by adding an extra sheen to his skin and hair... they needed to look artificial to me... So I made them extra shiny and semi blockish like a Ken doll... I mean this dude literally changes the shape of his face at will and holds it that way. He doesn't even give himself toes while he runs around barefoot... So I tried to take advantage of that in a visual way. His colors are just a tad bit off from regular. His shadows are just a little bit flat while his highlights are a tiny bit exaggerated.
Anyway... that is my version of Plastic Man...
I want to see Wolverine in Costume, but I feel like it is important for the costume to make sense for a character like him to wear.
Firstly, I wanted to focus on the helmet. I began with the concept of a world war era aviators helmet, or an old leather football helmet. This is padded leather. It is old and it is worn. The stitches are very apparent and it was custom made for him. It has seen so much damage and use over the years that the areas around the nose and eyes have stained black with age. years of fighting have left areas with gauges, slight pitting and even burns... but he still pulls it down and straps it on when he gets on his motorcycle, or enters into a fight. He is a soldier and it is a part of his uniform... but it is also more.
It pulls over snug, but the trademark winged shapes around the eyes are something that I consciously chose to pull closer to the ear for practical and aesthetic reason. These ears rest on a position of the helmet similar to black panthers, and within the design they have been swept back and up so that wearing the helmet itself would actually result in Logans hair taking on the same shape. Its the most iconic case of hat-head in history.
I put lenses into the helmet not simply to white out his eyes, but because I feel like he should have them. If this helmet has been worn for that long and thru that many battles, bike rides, plane jumps and action... He really should just have goggles built into it... And if anyone wants an in story explanation just have him shrug and say "I lost an eye in Madripoor once. Wasn't pleasant."
(note that the yellowish appearance of the helmets leather is neither dye nor paint but simply the natural color of the lighter cameltone leather in sharp contrast with the darker leather used in thicker layers elsewhere)
Moving downward from the helmet you may notice that there is a leather collar beneath the jacket that seems to lead down toward a leather undershirt... In my mind this is in fact a solid breasted leather vest that is side accented for flexibility with the same mustard yellow canvas making up the bulk of the remaining uniform. This way, if he takes off the jacket, then he is already wearing his secondary trademark look beneath it. The sleeveless version...
As for the jacket
I started with something that was practical in the cold, but also for hard work. Carhartt canvas jackets... If you are not familiar with this brand or general look then I suggest you go anywhere that tough people, do tough jobs in cold climates and simply look around...... the yellow canvas is something that is widely used and heavily practical... but most importantly, its been around and popularly used in the places that Logan has lived the most for very well most of his life.
(side note, in my mind this is actually a uniform that was made by either department H or Weapon X while Wolverine was involved with them. These materials and many of the colors, patterning etc would be something that we would see on at least one other character. Sabertooth; his and Wolverines costumes should look like they were made by the same people. They should not be identical per say, but they should easily register as coming from the same place.)
I finished the basic yellow jacket with some leather accents that mimic the look of Wolverines classic costume, even using the padded x-patterning on his shoulders in place of bulkier or more cumbersome shoulder pads. I trimmed it with some slight fur seaming where the lining is shown poking through from where it was turned to be sewn in. (the fur in my mind could literally and rationally BE wolverine fur, because it is warm, light and water repellent) I made sure that the collar could snap over to protect the neck from cold and I added a couple little things here and there like a small knife tucked into a built in sheath under the arm and a leg holster for carrying necessities.
His arms are actually not covered by elbow length gloves, but by fingerless gloves up to the wrist, on top of which he has strapped the elbow length bracers you most readily see, which his jacket is tucked into... If you've ever had to fight someone in the snow then you'll understand this. If not then it would take half a page to explain to you.
Beyond this I simply tried to mimic the most iconic features of multiple costumes over the years. I gave him a utility belt that would have been made by whoever made his helmet. I tried to throw in a lot of environmental influence and consideration but mostly it was about sticking to the theme. This is Wolverine... he is a soldier from another time who has fought unconventional enemies in unconventional ways. There is a history to him even when he doesn't know it himself.
If this costume were destroyed. He might patch it. He might not... but what he would do is knowingly look for a replacement that met his standards in a familiar way. He would look for leather and canvas because leather and canvas have worked for him his entire life.
He wouldn't need to wear a ton of armor because he knows he will heal. The fleshier the wound the quicker the healing.... protect the sensitive stuff like the eyes because its a pain in the ass to fight blind. Protect the places you know are going to see the most wear and tear (like the knees) because that much is predictable, but mainly just give yourself the means to get the job done sensibly.
And if he wore the blue variant... I would literally use denim, black leather, and a sheepskin lining... Wolverines costume shouldn't have to look space age... it should look distinctly like something leftover from the Gold rush and mountain men era, meeting the world at war in an uneasy turn of the century adaptation to a whole new world... and when he does get an upgrade... then the designers don't need to add weird valves and unnecessary break ups on post modern materials to armor up areas that wouldn't make sense (days of future past) just treat it like Captain America... He's a soldier, not an alien.
Next up is one of the most iconic characters in the world...
So the design thoughts for this can pretty well be summarized in 3 parts.
Pants, boots and flight suit.
While I did want the look to remain iconic and a bit Alien, I also wanted to heavily emphasize Clarks earthbound upbringing. I looked at a lot of jumpsuits used for test pilots and space flight, and that was where the seams and the pants came into play as well as the original boots that I used.
However the point was made early on that while the lace up style combat boots i originally chose, did fit for Clark, they did not fit so well for Kal-el. So I modified them towards a simpler aesthetic in which I added attachment cuffs for the pants to tuck into them.
I don't feel like he needs a skin tight unitard or exterior briefs to maintain the classic look. Like all of my designs I wanted to focus on who he is at his core and what type of functionality his personal choices would bring to the "uniform"... but I also wanted to focus on where this particular "uniform" came from and why it would look this way.
I imagine krypton to be futuristic, but not as entirely removed form earth as some designs. Practicality would extend over to purpose. This was not a military family, but a science one, so I shifted over to NASA for inspiration. The way that I imagine a Kryptonian flight suit is that in lieu of a badge or patch, they would wear an undershirt and belt containing the family crest. This would be a proud way of displaying the family name for a group of individuals who are basically international heroes (imagine that Krypton treats its scientists the way that America treated astronauts in the 60's)
On top of that would be something we find quite familiar with a loose fitting jumpsuit. The top piece would have contained a jacket (though high tech) complete with harness, pockets, vest etc... This suit would have been Jor el's backup within the pod that brought Kal to earth and was folded beneath the helmet in the seat... I see baby Kal-el strapped into an experimental aircraft, literally wrapped in the red fabric of a parachute, nested inside of a flight helmet in the cockpit while the flightsuit itself helps boost the height just enough for the straps to be effective... but Clark saw no reason to wear the jacket and instead opted for the form fitting breathable undershirt that displays his family symbol. The cape is actually the leftovers from the parachute itself.
The bright blue color isn't even unheard of here. If you look at a nasa flightsuit you'll see bright blue and white patches.
Even though it's not visible, I do have this image of the helmet and the jacket in mind. They are a bit more "Alien" in design, but still essentially all function. The "seams" are actually streamlined piping that would have helped to regulate body temperature in the extreme conditions of cold space or the heat of re-entry. This piping pulls double duty as it also relays readings to sensors in the vest which monitor vitals. The red stripes on the pants attach to the water connectors, pressure regulators and oxygen inlets worn on the vests exterior. The belt buckle contains a data drive that holds all the family information in case anything happens. In essence when all worn together, this becomes a fully functional spacesuit.
The collar was a choice made to the idea of actually fastening over the neck as excess protection beneath the suit so that when the helmet and gloves were worn this would cover all exposed skin. The jacket contains pressure locks at the arm and neck openings similar to the boots. (the metal ring at the top)...
There is much more than meets the eye... Clark just leaves most of it back at the fortress... But we all know that Supes has a suit for travel in deep space too and so all he has to do here is go grab his jacket and helmet and he's ready to fly into the void.
So basically in my mind that is how a farmboy from Kansas gets away with wearing a bunch of bright colors and symbols of an alien world without it looking or feeling like a forced juxtasposition against character type. This is a flight suit... an alien one to be sure, most often worn incompletely, but a flightsuit none the less... and I think that Clark would be proud to wear it as his uniform.
Creature Design within Character context, with a change in target demographic...
Ninja Turtles, for adult scifi fans.
These are things I kept in mind while doing my designs. It should shed some light on how I came to the end results. The first thing for me was to take a good hard look at the origin story. Examine its components in a light that is true to the characters essences. Forget the cartoony tongue in cheek. What are the guys if not a blend of the sci-fi and the mystical? How do I convey both in such a way as to keep a full approach to character? I mean these guys have to be so many things. Siblings, warriors, heroes, sci-fi "monsters" and all the while remain teens trying to find their places in a world not their own.
So I started with the most basic.
The "ooze" - a semi viscous fluid capable of separating and safely trans coding genetic markers from subject A to subject B between living organisms. Usually depicted as glowing which means it holds a certain level of energy independent from its outside contacts.
Eventually the "ooze" was revealed to be no simple radioactive waste or accidental combination of hazardous materials but a direct byproduct of the use of teleportation technology. (utroms)
Why does this make sense and then what rules does this set forth for its interactions and effects?
Because Once you eliminate the possibility of trans-dimensional tesseracts as a means of interstellar travel you are left with the basic reality that you can not physically move matter from point A to point B without complete evisceration and dis assembly, therefore not only would there need to be a compound from which to reassemble the matter stream, but it would have to trans code the data identically from point to point while retaining an independent energy signature.
After the biomass was properly reconfigured, the remaining gel would hold onto its base properties unless properly destroyed. This is why a teleportation byproduct makes the perfect base for a mutagenic compound.
2 species coming into contact with it would cause a cross transference of genetic information and thusly traits. 4 turtles coming into contact with it shortly after exposure to human DNA would not only cause them to take on humanoid traits, but those of each other as well.
The main trick of it is, that the exposure to the cross species has to occur either previous to contact with the compound or be a simultaneous occurrence before the energy stored within it is expended and it becomes inert... Hence splinter and the turtles coming into contact with each other shortly after exposure would not pose risk of crossing genetic markers with each other. (Not rats with shells or turtles with fur)
Interestingly enough, in this scenario, splinter would share enough genetic material with his former owner to technically be his son, while the turtles would share enough material with not only each other but the boy who had purchased them originally to make them ALL brothers.
So this sets up an interesting opportunity to both unify them and distinguish them as individuals.
the way I figure it... they aren't all the same breed of turtle. 4 turtles bought in a pet shop yeah, but each one a different kind... of course with the mutagen effects described they take on secondary species characteristics of whoever they were recently in contact with... that is after all how they got the human characteristics... I drew them each as having distinctly different physical characteristics making sure to include canon detail like Raphs "beak" that everyone teases him about, and Mikeys wide face and big mouth.
So imagine a box tortoise, and a terrapin combining traits with a baby snapper... and each of the turtles winding up with slightly different noticeable skin types, scales, shell patterns, bone structures etc... Then apply species characteristics to personality traits and development over time.
Leo - base species - slider ... He is the most attractive in a conventional sense. Smooth but leathery skin, tall sleek and most human in appearance. smooth hard shell etc... but buff and "handsome" Growing up with this outward appearance obviously allows his personality to form a bit different than his brothers. He relates the most closely with his human side and often chooses to ignore the fact that he is not entirely so. His role models are proud leaders and good men, and while everyone has room for doubt... Leonardo strives to conquer his flaws as if one day if he is virtuous enough he may be acceptable to the men and women of the surface world.
My design thoughts were as follows
more humanoid in appearance. slightly handsome even, overall impression similar to Clint Eastwood. classic hero proportions. smooth and muscled looking under shell Smoothest skin. tall, slim, good posture, wide shoulders. musculature of a practiced swordsman long arms and fingers stoic. armor/attire samurai inspired, covers areas most likely to be struck by his own sword in practice mask - neat, clean, classic... backup weapon - hand to hand Leo should care about his appearance. He should try to look well put together and professional. cool headed, determined, responsible. summary word - zen
Donnie - base species - green sea turtle. He is next in line to Leo's characteristics, but he seems more aquatic. His skin looks softer, more pliable... his patterning is lighter in color and very different from the others, the underside of his shell rests closer in than the others and his back shell is elongated with larger plates and more of a football shape than an oval. He is also the leanest and most agile. Because of Donnies aquatic side his eyes have tendency to get dry when he works long hours. He also has astigmatism. So I figure that he should maybe wear goggles instead of a headband a lot of the time... The sea turtle side of him also gives him a larger brain capacity and focus on particular traits such as memory which allow him to train his intellectual side in tandem to storage of knowledge on a near savant level... I also always like the concept that was sometimes toyed with to make Donnie a bit sexually ambiguous. Something about him is just a little bit different than the rest... Begging the question that if your species only has 4 members of the same sex... where does attraction lie in the long run? April? Casey? Some alien from another galaxy? Who knows... these thoughts are best pondered with the help of a mind altering substance.
Design thoughts
alien like, less humanoid leg articulation. larger eyes, thinner face. needs to look intellectual but still badass... Physically Harry Potter-esque... tall, lanky, shell juts forward making him look slightly hunched like he spends a lot of time in front of a computer... possible goggles in place of mask. Id like for him to look like a bit of a sea turtle. webbing? large scale plates? smooth oval shell. secondary weapon - shuriken summary word - tech
Raph - base species- snapper. Dude looks like he was made like a tank. He has thick protective scales on his skin, he has a hard beak and a hard rough textured shell with a slightly spiked ridge on it like a snapper. His skin has more earthiness to it. His head looks like it has a thick ridged skull,. He's stocky. He's the turtle version of Wolverine, rough and ready with a natural predilection towards aggressive behavior... He is the only assassin of the group because he is the most withdrawn and least inclined to fall into what is the expected norm of a human based culture. His looks make him less humanoid than the others and so he holds less hope of ever being anything but a loner. His solitude makes him bitter towards Leo especially as he sees himself as having gotten the short end of the deal in almost every way. He smokes cigars and occasionally drinks alone.
Design thoughts
Raph - built like a tank. attire should be a darker reflection of leo. Looks full on turtle. has a beak the others tease him about. closest in height to mike. low brow, thick skull, heavily armored. heavily muscled in all areas. mask - tattered afterthought brash rough and tumble guy. demeanor like a snapping turtle (display physically) other weapons should include grapple, and climbing spikes summary word - wolverine
Mike - Base species - box turtle. He's hefty, he's as tough as Raph, he has scales but they aren't wide or thick, they look more like barnacles in a way. He has a tough thick shell... and unlike the rest He was the only one to get the box tortoise ability to fully retreat into it. He seems like he has the best of everything... but he doesn't notice. He's the youngest after all, at least as far as everyone is concerned. He has nothing to worry about ... except his brothers.
And that something I would want to see show through... That despite all his carefree nature, Mike does have a whole lot on his shoulders. His brothers are not easy to keep together. One thinks the responsibility of the rest lies on him, one seems insecure at times and withdrawn by his own over-thinking, and one feels mad at the world... Mike just wants to make everyone happy, and to be so himself. So he is the clown of the bunch, the relief they all need. Mike being able to keep things positive is what holds the family together, but it isn't without cost to him. He has a rough time facing the coldness of reality and retreats into fantasy and pop culture to wind down. He also discovered a certain affection for pot along with Donnie... Which is why the two of them are usually off eating somewhere while Leo and Raph argue.
Design thoughts.
short, stout, large shell, smooth but thick skin. thick everything. musculature - huge forearms and calves developed from years of skateboard tricks and nunchuck practice. look - relaxed, comfortable sarong (Hawaiian print ) and shoulder pads prevent major injury from nunchucks in practice. back up weapon - throwing knives thick kneepads tie dye mask, worn like a bandanna or skull cap personal adornments to outfit (button of smiling Buddha with headphones on) mp3 player and headphones , shell necklace with yin yang symbol.
Personal idea... shell necklace made from every chip every to come off of his own shell. makes a joke of personal injury. personal quirk. whenever he gets a "ding" he finds it, and strings it on. His brothers thinks this is gross, like collecting ones fingernail clippings. He views it like a trophy, the way many extreme sportsmen view their scars.
summary word - Tao
Splinter needs to actually look like a rat who thinks like an old Japanese man. Full clothing, monks robes, walking staff... and usually holding a cup of tea. I want him to come off equal parts Yoda and Mr. Miyagi.
So those were my basic thoughts...
The Gill Man - AKA Creature From the Black Lagoon
So I rewatched the creature from the black lagoon to decide my strategy... and what I decide to go with was to look at it directly from a evolutionary standpoint. What would make the most sense, what would be the most useful to an amphibious humanoid from the Devonian age.
Teeth- I know a lot of peoples redesigns for this creature involve large gnashing or exposed teeth. But realistically speaking, if you're going to design an amphibious or aquatic creature who's primary diet is fish, you have to consider what else you're giving them. The gill man has claws and arms. this wouldn't be a creature using his mouth to catch fish. He'd be using his claws to catch them and them bring them to his mouth... and when they get there he isn't going to need to impale them, he needs to cut into them... like a fillet knife. Hence the teeth I went with.
Claws - my take also changes the claws to something more akin to an iguanas than to a human hand. And since they are his primary "weapon" I would actually give them a paralytic toxin. better for catching prey. also I made them larger.
Body structure and composition - the most flexible areas have small scales that act like chain mail, while lightweight armor scales cover the larger portions of the body. The joints are configured so he could swim easier. larger hands and feet, different articulation. He would move more like a bipedal frog, than like a man.
instead of a dorsal ridge running along his back like the original I moved a dorsal ridge to his head, so when he turned it underwater it would help guide his direction as well as allow his lower body the agility to twist and turn in ways most fish cant.
Unlike mammalian predators who's eyes are primarily up front, I chose to widen the setting between his eyes and leave them open to the side allowing him a view more akin to the eyesight of both amphibians and predatory fish.
a couple more specifics here and there, but that's the bulk of the reasoning.
now just picture him underwater holding onto a caiman during a death roll, and gauging its eyes out with his claws.
Now I want to include a sample of what some may consider the ultimate blasphemy... The Wizard of Oz...
So, forget the musical, forget the technicolor splendor of glittering ruby slippers on an almost adult Dorothy. This is the crew as I saw them while reading.
The Cowardly Lion, I think of him as a tribal member that lives in solitude in the woods after being shunned by his tribe for not going thru with a particularly brutal initiation ceremony that would have solidified his position. Think of a disinherited native prince who was too frightened to undergo his rite of manhood. I used Designs inspired by Zulu warriors and applied those to an anthropomorphized Lion that still clearly reads as... wait for it....A LION! Yet instead of long golden locks cascading in waves for the main... I went with something a little more interesting by choosing to give him dreadlocks. It was simple, but I feel effective.
The Tin Man, as described in the book, this guy chopped of everything because of an enchanted axe... One limb at a time in a series of brutal and unfortunate traumas. The way I see this is that he went through several procedures to get prosthesis that were made and installed by the local tinsmith... who in turn had the chance to advance his methods and trade with each subsequent prosthetic. So he looks a bit mismatched but ultimately each limb and eventually even his torso are approached in the style of accommodation to the story and series of events.... I think of him as a robot who's face is incapable of expressing his emotions... he clearly feels them, but believes himself to be inhuman and heartless due to his current mechanical conditions... think data from star trek next generation. This tin man is essentially an enchanted Cyborg. He knows what it felt like to be human. He knows what it felt like to look in the mirror and see the face of the man that his wife loved... now he feels like a hollow remnant. He feels like a ghost in a machine.
The Scarecrow... Simply stuck with the book description. He is a scarecrow with a sack cloth head and straw poking out at the seams... But the thing is that as a scarecrow he had to look gangly, friendly, and haphazardly assembled... You also have to consider that things like his neck, arms and legs are all supported by sticks. He isn't just a bag of straw. There is an understructure to him... a very thin and elongated understructure. The other thing most people don't know unless they are familiar with the books is that the Scarecrow was in fact made using munchkin clothing... and that the munchkins wear almost exclusively the color blue. Choices like giving him a stylish swash of straw that lays down as hair were purely aesthetic with the purpose of introducing some visual charm into his silhouette because otherwise this guy could be really creepy... Of course the shoes were decided on purely out of whimsy, but I thought it was important that he have a base both wide and heavy enough to not only keep him grounded, but force his walking gait to appear plodding and friendly.
Dorothy didn't get much alteration. She's a little girl (in this case an image of Adair Tishler) wearing a somewhat plain and modest dress, white stockings and pigtails... The thing I did change on her was the slippers. I went with the traditional silver ones from the book, but I purposely chose 2 important features...
1. They are too big for her feet... because even though they fit her by magic, they are not hers originally and I wanted to show that.
2. They are Slippers, not Heels. I based them intentionally from Indian wedding slippers, utilizing the concept of the Eastern witch in a literal direction of the "Far East".... Nothing says that Oz would have to follow any of the cultural commonalities that our world does, especially regional directions or influence... but It was a good place to seek inspiration and I do think that it would be nice to see a more diverse influence implemented within the visuals given Dorothy's own curiosity of far off places.
Toto is simply a black Shi tzu. I needed something cute, fluffy, protective and small enough to fit in a basket... Given the time period when the books were written I know that the highest likelihood in the region would have actually been a french bulldog, but that just wasn't fluffy enough for me and there's no description in the book of Toto snorting like a pig which pretty well cuts that breed out.
Just for fun, about 10 years after creating this piece, I re-drafted it as the illustration which you'll fin below. (This time It is a french bulldog, and I embellished the tin-man's actual tin.
So it's a pretty sad state that if you do an image search for the nautilus... about 90 percent of the results are based off the Disney movie design, as if it were the only one out there or like loyalty to that version was based off some secret drawing by Jules Verne himself...
The problem is that it's just one design. It's the most popular one I guess... but the truth is that a lot of those elements like the saw tooth pattern along the curve, or the high thrust bubble on the top forward... they aren't necessarily a part of the original text... They're iconic and it speaks highly to the designer...(Goff was definitely a genius) but there is still plenty of room for interpretation without that... and I happen to be a Verne fan...
So why not try my hand at something about a hairs breath away from steampunk? (Since the Nautilus technically was electric)
It's such a cool concept and it's physical description is left widely open for interpretation. The strongest points emphasized aside from its dimensions, were simply that it was cigar shaped, it had a type of triangular battering ram on the front that worked like a harpoon, and shippers mistook it for a sea monster.
So I naturally thought of ships, buckle points, pressure, viewing vantages, hydrodynamics, ramming reinforcements and force lines etc... Applying the principles of ship building in a period appropriate way while designing for something ahead of it's time was fun...I could talk about those things all day but at the end of the day it would remain the same. We do know what woks for submarines now and how well, and why... It's not science fiction anymore. It's applied science... so the point is that I wanted to design something that would function as described, fit the parameters of Verne's context and manage to look awesome WITHOUT copying the Disney version, all while making it my own... What designer wouldn't have a blast with that?
2 things you may notice are...
1. It is designed to resemble an aquatic animal. Specifically from top view I wanted it to resemble a squid... but from the side I wanted it to be more like an off kilter combination of swordfish and narwhal. I could imagine this being the view of an alternate evolution... a sea monster...
2. I moved the large glass viewing port to the front third of the design. So yes, I have re positioned something that many fans may question but it has practical reasons extending beyond aesthetics.
Given the function of the blade on the front and the method of attack to large ships, I had to figure in the size, slope and composition of the outside hull in relation to the affects of sudden impact and rapid deceleration as it relates to shock force and stress upon the longitudinal midline, specifically as it relates to buckling and material integrity... Basically the hardest hit sections begin and extend back just beyond the foremost 3rd... so any brittle or super rigid components along the outer hull had to be reserved for the front 3rd. Hence the largest window and weakest point structurally, being positioned into the first outward sloping section in scale to the upper decks reinforcements in relation to the ramming sword. Also I felt it proper to include this particular feature in direct line to the forward dive planes for less than obvious purpose.
If you are standing at the wheel, and you are proud. this is your ship. This is your creation. You marvel at the sea... in short, if you are Nemo... then what more beautiful sight could you imagine as you stood there than to look out the window and see the oceans rise above the dive plane as you submerged each day? That rush of water over the surface as you sank below the waves would be the reminder of your crowning achievement... and incidentally a wonderful place to look up or out and view everything that surrounds you as the world moved past. Predators keep their eyes forward for a reason... so it seemed a form of logic to me that Nemo's eyes outside... would be positioned on the forward section of his creation.
Keep in mind that in the book they did disclose that the vessels parts were constructed separately as to not tip anyone off to the final design... so there was that to consider as well. It had to match, but it also had to vary in enough magnitude that any one builder would assume that they were manufacturing sections for a normal ship.
Some of the less noticeable features are 2 periscopes on fore and aft of the deckplank respectivley, as well as the mounting of an exterior searchlight and battering shield. The dual propellers that drive the Nautilus appear to be on a singular shaft but actually achieve counter rotation for rapid adjustment in speed and direction.
But... my favorite thing by far are something I have included in order to achieve the "squid" appearance from above... Rather than simply calling them secondary dive planes. I am going to refer to them as water-wings. lol... because that is their primary function... Unlike most submersibles... these multiflexing pseudo sails complete with their own control system and multi-angular positioning capabilities ... allow the nautilus to rapidly bank side to side and even to roll upward of 70 degrees along its axis. This is made possible because while the dorsal fin act as a stabilizer and primary rudder respectively, both of these are able not only to be raised and lowed in relation to their counterparts along the primary steering sections but adjusted in weight through a rapid pump system that redistributes the ballast throughout their hollowed internal structures as they are adjusted in position.