ProtoTuesday - Nothin'!

Now, I'm sure you're expecting from the title that I've given up this week, lost my motivation and drawn a total blank on the Prototytan Project.  It's happened enough, right?

Well, you'd be wrong!  My scanner's just dead, so I can't post any new sketches.  

I've been working a lot on Megatron though and have about half of the robot mode done now.  Still working on the torso and arms, but the legs are totally built and transformable.  I should have a new render up of the legs by Thursday.  I haven't done any sketches lately, but I've got plenty of stuff to post once my scanner's back up and running.

ProtoTuesday - Trailhead

Another Prototytan today - this time it's Trailhead, the team's rebel.  She has no real interest being a Prototytan, or even a Transformer at all.  Too bad she doesn't have a choice.

Trailhead

Somehow this will end up looking like a female body.

Function: Hazardous Terrain Expert

Motto: “The high ground is never high enough for me.”

A trouble-maker who delights in disobeying orders just for the spite of it.  Always interested in seeing what she can get away with. Tries to use her charm to get out of trouble, usually succeeds.  Will pit her own teammates against each other so she can sit back and watch, laughing the whole time.  In vehicle mode, has a fibrous covering on her tires that allow almost vertical driving on almost any surface.  In robot mode, the ATV in her bed becomes a wrist-mounted weapon with numerous modes – machine gun, shield, sword, etc. 

Vehicle Mode: 4X4 Pick-up Truck

Strength: 5

Intelligence: 4

Worst ATV ever.

Speed: 4

Endurance: 7

Rank: 2

Courage: 6

Firepower: 8

Skill: 3


I suck at drawing things from a perspective view.  Obviously, I kinda suck at drawing things from any other view as well.  What we see here is an older style pick-up truck, I imagine it being from back in the 80's.  It's jacked-up on some big off-road tires, and though I forgot to draw it in, it has a rollbar with a few more big lights on them.

Transformation is pretty simple and ends up with a big-chested skinny robot.  The windshield may fold in a bit to make the chest thinner.  The bed folds down on her back, where the ATV is mounted.  Now, I love this idea.  The ATV becomes a weapon in Trailhead's robot mode.  Better yet, it becomes 3 different weapons.  The wheels pivot forward and the body mounts to Trailhead's forearm to become a gatling gauntlet.  The wheels also swivel towards the top of the ATV and becomes a shield.  With another twist of the wheels and an extended handle from the bottom, it becomes a hammer.  I was afraid that this was too close to RotF Ironhide's turret drone (I swear I created this before I saw that figure), but I think it's original enough.

ProtoTuesday - Gears

Today's another Autobot, and this time it's everyone's favorite grump, Gears.  I tried to stick with his older truck alt mode, but I wanted something even more older truck.  Of course, at this point, I can't find the picture I was using as a reference so I'll just call it an old Chevy truck and leave it at that.

A grumpy robot from a grumpy truck.

As you can see, the front fenders fold out to become the arms and the tailgate becomes the feet.  There are problems though - the legs are hollow and there's a huge hump on him from the truck's canopy.  I'm thinking the side of the truck bed will fold into the back of his legs.  I think the canopy can become a jet pack that matches his compressed air power.  Sure they aren't coming out of his feet, but his feet are made out of the tailgate, so there's no room for jets, are there?

ProtoTuesday - Huffer

Going back to the Autobots today with Huffer.  

There's not much of a change from the original cartoon/toy design, so the sketch didn't really require a lot of work.  The grill separates and rotates down to become the shoulders while the sides of the vehicle fold out and become his forearms from the wheel-well.  The exhaust pipes are attached to his wrists and fold up to the back of his forearms.  The legs slide down just like the original toy, and while I didn't draw anything, I'm sure I'll be adding a fold-out foot.  

I don't own iGear's Rager figure (or one of the repaints), but I do really like the figure so I guess there's a bit of an influence from there.  iGear does a lot better work with original designs than just copying already established toys, don't they?

ProtoTuesday - Terramax

I recently posted that I have refocused efforts into the original Prototytan Project idea.  Since then, I've felt a lot more motivation to keep it going.  A renewed vigor, if you will.  Taking away all the clutter and side projects has really helped me come back and attack this head-on.  Blender's proved to be very easy to get used to and I've made a few basic models on there to post later this week.  Besides that I've been working on more designs and details for everyone.  They're all sketches like the other stuff I've posted before, and there are a lot more coming.

To start this new rush off, I wanted to make a special post.

Drawn on cardboard.  Because it's important.

Terramax

Function: Prototytan Leader

Motto: “Protect the weak and you protect yourself.”

Strength: 9

Intelligence: 9

Speed: 6

Endurance: 9

Rank: 10

Courage: 10

Firepower: 10

Skill: 10

Has designated himself the defender of Earth from both Autobot and Decepticon forces.  Very serious about his duties and willing to send his troops into the middle of their battles just so neither of them wins.  Leads the team under the motto “Autobot mission, Decepticon means.” Refuses to believe the Autobots are heroic.  In cement mixer mode, has a range of 3000 miles.  In robot mode, has energy-enhanced knuckle-dusters and dual pistols.  Has an extra mode as a mobile weapons platform with a replica of Megatron’s nuclear fusion cannon.

Vehicle Mode: Long-nose Cement Truck

The picture isn't completely accurate of course because I'm still working on the transformation.  The pistol and knuckle-dusters are both his because I wanted to make him a more close-range combatant and differentiate him more from Prime and Megatron.  The pistol's obviously based off Nerf's Maverick pistol, though in the end, it'll be a cross between that and the Classics Megatron blaster.  That's not a final design for his knuckle-dusters either, but I know I don't want them to be blades like DotM Prime's.  They'll sit on the back of his hands and fold down over his knuckles during battle.

I don't have a picture yet, but his weapons platform mode resembles an ant - the robot's legs that make up the back of the vehicle will split into four separate legs, the cab will reveal two more legs and the cement drum will resemble the abdomen of the "ant" and will be a cannon.

I've been very proud of this guy for a long time.  I think he's a good contrast from both of the other leaders.  I picture him as a brawler, more hands-on than either of them.  I've tried to design him to be as different from Prime visually as I can, considering they're both trucks, but I don't know what color scheme to give him.  

Actually, that's a problem I'm having with a lot of the Prototytans.  I've been able to figure out how many of them will look in vehicle and robot mode, but I haven't figured out any color schemes at all.  I'm not looking forward to doing that.

Protofriday - Timeline

I think I've got a plan!  There's a lot of stuff for me to do and, luckily for me, there's not a little time to do it in.  I posted earlier about my asset list and everything I'll have to make up for the Prototytan Project; fourty-six robots, a half-dozen humans, a few sets, and a lot of props - and that's just for the first season.  But before I do all that, I still have to learn Lightwave.  It's not completely new since I'm transitioning from 3DS Max, but it's still taking some time before I get comfortable with it.  It's an uphill battle, though, because I'm stubborn and hate having to adjust to new things. 

I've looked at all the assets and I've figured out a timeline that I think will give me enough time to get everything modeled.  The timeline has a few steps; the first is the learning phase.  I'm giving myself til the end of the year to learn as much as I have to about Lightwave.  I'll go through a ton of tutorials, I'll model a bunch of junk, I'll mess with the materials, everything I can do to learn without feeling pressured to make a Prototytan just yet.  I don't want to start out trying to model Huffer or Reaper and just get frustrated when nothing's turning out right.  So I'll start out with toasters or rockets or whatever else I can think of.  Also during this time, I'll finalize the alt mode and design for all the robots.  There'll be lots of sketches here so hopefully I'll have a lot to post here.

The second step is the asset production.  As soon as it turns to 2011, I'm going to start modeling with a purpose.  I'm giving myself a long time - two years - to model everything I need.  I'll start with the robots and give myself 11 days to model and surface each one.  By the time that 11th day hits, I'll have a model of the alt mode ready to sell online, and have a fully transformable robot.  I measured this out and all together, it should take me 18 months.  That'll give me 6 months to model out everything else; the people, sets and props.  During this time, the Prototytan Project will have daily updates to keep me going.

The final thing I'll have to do before the deadline is get the first update ready to post online.  It's not a long one, I think just a few pages, but it has to be ready to go by January 1st, 2013.  That Tuesday is officially... Prototuesday!  Watch for it!

Protofriday - Doodles

I'm an compulsive doodler. I have a blank sheet of paper in front of me - or even paper with big blank spots on it - and I'll doodle anything. I try to stick with stuff that needs doodling, like this comic, but sometimes it'll end up as just a bunch of squiggles. Because of that, most of my drawings for the Prototytans end up being really tiny and sometimes, unfortunately, indistinguishable. I've got designs for new characters that are smaller than a dime! Good thing I've got a zoom on my scanner, right?

Anyway, here's a few tiny sketches blown up a bit. The first doodle is fleshing out of the original sketch of a character called Feedback. She's a SmartCar emergency vehicle and transforms into a somewhat stereotypical nurse. Think Animated First Aid. She's got a bit of a Lockdown transformation with her legs as well.

Got some redesigned Insecticons as well. I never liked their origin in the cartoon, how they got insect robot modes by scanning the local area. How did it work for them, but not anyone else? Why didn't they end up scanning motorboats or farm vehicles or even bicycles? So anyway, they'll be keeping their Cybertron modes for the time being. I'll just need to rethink their name. Bombshell transforms into an H-tank like Animated Shockwave and Kickback's alt mode is a motocycle. Shrapnel (not pictured) will be a drill jet. Because jets with drill bits are awesome!

Protofriday

So, in an effort to keep me focused on the Prototytan Project, I've decided I need to start weekly updates on my progress. I don't care if it's an updated profile, a character sketch, or a doodle of Terramax pooping on Optimus - it's getting posted! So to begin, here's my first profile.



Reaper

Function: Psychological Warfare

Motto: “One robot’s music is another’s misery.”

Has an extremely morose outlook on life and tends to force that on everyone around him. Enjoys seeing those around him becoming solemn and depressed due to his jokes and comments. Can sometimes be shunned by the others because of his mood. In vehicle mode, has a top speed of 120 mph. In robot mode, creates subliminal messages with speakers on his arms that can cause violence, paranoia, or depression in anyone hearing it. Carries a laser scythe. Sometimes becomes the target of the victim’s reaction due to uncontrollable reaction to broadcast.

Strength: 6

Intelligence: 8

Speed: 7

Endurance: 6

Rank: 8

Courage: 7

Firepower: 7

Skill: 7

Guess what his alt mode is! It's a 1970's Hearse! Don't ask me why a Cybertronian robot would have a robot mode that looks like the Grim Reaper, but I thought it was a cool (though probably cliched) idea. I really like how this guy came together in a very thin robot mode that gives off a lot of the Grim Reaper vibe.

Transformation is pretty simple. The middle of the hood folds under to become the chest and the head pops out. The wheels all rotate forward to become speakers. This legs extend out while the sides and top of the rear fold outward and seperate. The back of the alt mode unfolds and expands into a sort of cloak. His arms pull out to the sides and the fists slide out. The window sides on his arms look like lose sleeves and each contains half of his scythe, which eject and are assembled together. Easy!