M a k i n g o f | A d a p ta t i o n B

Tom Smith
 "Seeing in black and
w h i t e " i s a way o f
s ay i n g t h a t a p e r s o n
looks at the world in
a manner that is
ov e r s i m p l i f i e d a n d
often incorrect
The character , El Bandido
M u ta n t e o r i g i n a t e d f r o m a
challenge I set to create
o n e c h a r a c t e r a d ay .
The design of the
character depended on the
t w o w o r d s c h o s e n t h a t d ay
f r o m a va r i e t y o f
describing words and or
pre-existing characters.

T h e i d e a o f a d a i ly
character being chosen
t h e n e v o lv e d i n t o a n i d e a
for an episodic animation
that would see a main
character, the truck
driver (narrator)tell
s t o r i e s o f h i s t r av e l s a s h e
spends the night at truck
stops.
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
Character
development
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
Character
development
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
Character
development
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
Character
development
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
Character
development
Final design
 I made the decision
t o h av e t h e n a r r a t o r
The Truck Driver p l ay t h e r o l e o f a
l o n g d i s ta n c e t r u c k
Character driver telling his

development stories as he spends

nights at truck
stops.
I a l s o wa n t e d h i m t o
be designed in colour
as opposed to the
black and white look
that el Bandido
m u ta n t e h a s , t h i s
wa s t o h e l p g i v e t h e
audience a sense of
what is reality and
what is not.
The Truck Driver
Character
development
The Truck Driver
Character
development
Final design
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e

Modelling
M ay a 2 0 1 6

I decided that the character would be an

a m a l ga m a t i o n o f 2 d a n d 3 d . t h e c h a r a c t e r
i t s e l f h a s b e e n m o d e l l e d t o b e r e l a t i v e ly f l a t
b u t o t h e r f e a t u r e s s u c h a s t h e m o u s ta c h e a n d
e y e s a r e m o d e l l e d t o h av e m o r e d e p t h .

The hat hasnt been modelled to be flat

b e c a u s e i f e lt j u x ta p o s i n g t h a t w i t h t h e 2 d
b o dy w o u l d g i v e m o r e d e p t h t o t h e s h a d o w s
within final renders of the character.
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e

Textures
 the rig of the character
wa s a c h a l l e n g e , m a i n ly d u e
t o t h e way i n w h i c h e l
B a n d i d o m u ta n t e m o v e s . h i s
m ov e m e n t s a r e u n n a t u r a l
and not very human-like.

thinking of performance
w h i l s t m a k i n g t h e r i g wa s
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
s o m e t h i n g t h a t h a d t o s tay
in the back of the mind to
Rigging be able to place joints in
M ay a 2 0 1 6
specific areas to create a
g r e a t e r s e n s e o f m ov e m e n t
and exaggerate the
personalities of each head.
H av i n g t w o h e a d s a l s o
posed a challenge as some
m ov e m e n t s w o u l d b e
restricted.
 as the animation created
wa s s h o r t , t h e p o s t -
p r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s wa s
q u i t e e a sy .
e a c h l ay e r o f a n i m a t i o n
wa s c o m p o s i t e d u p o n o n e
a n o t h e r . a w h i t e m a s k wa s
added to enhance the
spotlight effect which then
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
l e a d t o s h a d ow s b e i n g
added behind the character,
Editing/fx t h i s wa s d o n e by ta k i n g t h e
Adobe After effects & Adobe Premiere
rendered animation of the
character and repurposed
as silhouettes that would
be placed behind el bandido
m u ta n t e ' .
doing this created a nice
sense of depth to a
somewhat 2d character.
E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e

Character poses
Animation
 E l B a n d i d o m u ta n t e
Animation render
Final