Re: *The Official Minifigure Critique Thread*
I agree with the above post. Make it two. 
Have you seen a big-chinned boy?
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I agree with the above post. Make it two.
Squid wrote:These are some minifigures for a film I hope to start and finish sometime next year called "Welcome to Darkmoor"
The shopkeeper.
I am, as of yet, unsure as to the number of bowler hats he should wear. One or two?
All together
My hope is to start this after the next scene or two in I Am The Night. I'm hoping for it to be finished around Summer if I start it properly.
I plan to set it in greyscale. I want to try to experiment with removing colour to help with the creepy feel and maximize brick efficiency (for example: I could build a blue rockface, but it would look perfectly normal since it will just be grey on camera).
I plan on creepy and really, really, really strange. Expect a casting call soon.
backyardlegos wrote:say definitely two hats for the shopkeeper, I love the way that looks.
I agree with the above post. Make it two.
Two it is!
Love those minifigs. I especially think the smiley faces work really well here. Also, if you're going for a crazy lolwut type of feeling, go for two bowler hats.
Also, has anyone got any ideas for my Batman minfig's head?
Also, has anyone got any ideas for my Batman minfig's head?
I went through a lot of that problem because I used flesh instead of yellow for I am the Night when Batman is a persh theme.
I've tried dozens and dozens of heads, but there are few that work well.
Using Roy's head from Exo-Force allows you to have a yellow mouth and red eyes. Of course, red eyes for Batty is a bit odd.
Pure white, grey, or black also works nicely. But you cannot see the mouth which is odd to some people.
You could use whatever face you please then put a little piece of paper over the eyes.
dude I am so glad that I am not alone in the classic smiley craze because I like those a lot 
also yes you should use 2 hats because that makes the character memorable already
Two hats is great. It adds to the oddball factor!
Wonder Woman has pants on! Sorry perverts! 
Your thoughts?
WW looks better. Though, Batty needs a belt or something, and some of the drawing looks rather cheesy.
I've made some more figs from Welcome to Darkmoor.
The first are possible versions for the female versions of the protagonist the stranger.
Version 1:
Version 2:
Version 2 with slightly harder to animate, but possibly better looking hair:
Which version is best?
I might use a female stranger, but I'm not sure yet. On one hand, Brick7 has done the best job with the stranger thus far, but on the other hand, she's also done the best job with the narrator of anyone thus far, and it would be a little weird to have her play both of the parts since they are so close together. Someone please send me a killer narrator or stranger soon.
One of the delightful things about this film is the I can use yellow and flesh figures without ever having to worry about them not going together. I could even use a flesh head as an alternate expression for someone with typically yellow head, which opens up a plethora of interesting possibilities.
This is another character, but who will probably not speak, and probably will only appear for a second or two, which is why she was not in the casting call:
This last character I probably unintentionally based off of the Whisper Men from Doctor Who. It is a very creepy sort of thing who always speaks in rhymes. which made his lines very challenging and yet fun to write:
You cannot believe this place you abhor
You cannot conceive the secrets in store
You cannot perceive your days long before
You never shall leave Welcome to Darkmoor!
I personally like Stranger #1 the best. I really love the others as well. Could I audition for the Whisper Man character as well?
On the subject of the auditions, I have some free time now and my cold is better, so I'll try send some lines your way in a couple of days.
I like the second version of the female stranger.
Can I suggest that in the final film, you only leave one character/object/thing in color (as opposed to multiple things colored in against the grayscale)? It takes away the creepy factor if there are various things that have color, but if just one object or character has color its pretty striking.
Thanks!
Could I audition for the Whisper Man character as well?
Unlike most of the other characters, I am quite set upon playing the lurker myself. His poem is a little long and quite easy to slip over, and it has a very specific beat which it must constantly follow. Because it's supposed to be said quite quickly, even I have trouble getting through it without making a mistake and I'm the one who wrote it. I also have a wonderfully creepy and whispery voice for him.
However, I have been considering having several sort of backup whisperers. These whispers could be played very quietly during certain parts of the film more as an ambient sound effect all together but none in unison at all, which would create a kinda creepy whisper sound.
If you would like to help with extra whispers just record the part of the lurker's poem I put in my last post and send it along with the rest of your audition.
Can I suggest that in the final film, you only leave one character/object/thing in color (as opposed to multiple things colored in against the grayscale)? It takes away the creepy factor if there are various things that have color, but if just one object or character has color its pretty striking.
That is a very good point. Though, I don't plan to have every object throughout the film be in red whenever it appears, but only in the red scene, the lurker's scene. The Mayor and his assistants will not appear in the red scene probably, but I did want to test out the effect, and the mayor wears the same suit as the lurker (though they are separate characters). There is also supposed to be a red phone, but the phone is red because it belongs to the lurker.
The stranger will not get a red accent though, as she/he is not an agent nor ally of the lurker.
I think version two looks good, the one with shorter hair.
And I agree with PushOver, that would look really nice.
It seems you only want to use red as an accent. That could stand out really well, but personally, I'd use a few other colors in addition to red. One color at a time, never too harsh. (e.g. A faint yellow for the teeth of the Whisperer)
I recommend watching Sin City for reference, if you haven't seen it yet. I didn't enjoy the movie, mostly because of the plot, but it's interesting from a technical point of view.
Last edited by BrickStory (December 10, 2013 (12:58pm))
A faint yellow for the teeth of the Whisper
That would be really creepy, but going with the red theme, maybe it could be made to look like the were stained with blood. (Or is that TOO dark?).
I don't plan to have every object throughout the film be in red whenever it appears, but only in the red scene, the lurker's scene. The Mayor and his assistants will not appear in the red scene probably, but I did want to test out the effect, and the mayor wears the same suit as the lurker (though they are separate characters). There is also supposed to be a red phone, but the phone is red because it belongs to the lurker.
So when ever the lurker is around random objects and parts of clothing are colored red, and then once he leaves they return to grayscale? Or will they be red before/after the "red scene"?
Last edited by PushOverProductions (December 10, 2013 (06:22pm))
BrickStory wrote:A faint yellow for the teeth of the Whisper
That would be really creepy, but going with the red theme, maybe it could be made to look like the were stained with blood. (Or is that TOO dark?).
Well, the red tone is supposed to be reminiscent of blood, even though no blood is actually shown, which does help with the very horror-askew tone of the film (funny thing is I started out writing a lolwut film but then everything just became really messed up).
I actually did try out the yellow, just a slight bit of it. It does actually look good in his mouth and fits him quite well, but it distracts from the red which is his main colour. The teeth are a bit too bright for red, and it comes off as a bit too pink.
My intention is for the film to only have pure neutral colours and pure red. I am quite fond of things that only involve those colours. My profile picture (if you don't count the Scootaloo) is an example of this.
It is supposed to be a very darkly toned film, and I feel like including any colour besides red would make the red feel less grand. It's supposed to be rather shockingly unnatural and creepy.
The only exception to the no colour but red rule will be in the ANP card at the very, very, very end of the film, which will not fail to be vividly colourful and quite cheerfully lit. It will seem especially so in contrast to the rest of the film which will make it all the more amusing.
There will also probably be some red in the titles and credits.
Squid wrote:I don't plan to have every object throughout the film be in red whenever it appears, but only in the red scene, the lurker's scene. The Mayor and his assistants will not appear in the red scene probably, but I did want to test out the effect, and the mayor wears the same suit as the lurker (though they are separate characters). There is also supposed to be a red phone, but the phone is red because it belongs to the lurker.
So when ever the lurker is around random objects and parts of clothing are colored red, and then once he leaves they return to grayscale? Or will they be red before/after the "red scene"?
The stranger goes to the place where the lurker lurks rather than the lurker coming to him/her. So there won't be some weird moment where all of the characters suddenly just become randomly red.
It's a bit weird to explain, and I really would hate to give too much away. It will fit though, I'm sure of it.
I'll try to be very careful with the accent. I would hate to over use it or misuse it.
Alright guys, I need your help.
Which one?
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4:
What is your goal with this character? A mysterious figure? The main antagonist?
The hood looks a bit odd without the cape; on the other hand, cloth capes are a PAIN to animate.
If I had to chose I'd go with Option 4.
The main antagonist?
This. ^ He's supposed to be the opposite of Santa Claus, in a sense. (I don't want to give away to much)
The hood looks a bit odd without the cape; on the other hand, cloth capes are a PAIN to animate.
I will take the challenge, if it benefits the character!
If I had to chose I'd go with Option 4.
Alright, I was thinking the same one.
I ordered a white cape just a few days ago that I'm going to use for this figure, and I might change the torso to red.
I would also go for option 4, mainly because if both the "face" and the hood are black it would be really hard to light properly. You run the risk of the head just looking like a big blob.
Good luck animating the cape. 
The Gentlemen have arrived.
As you can tell, I have far too many Lego top-hats.
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