Set – Train interior
Final lighted up set for shoot: yup there is blue screen shoots too ….yuppeeeeee…..
Still working on the details :
Koooo…. Hoooo…. : Making a Toy train for puppet animation
An actual steam engine photographed while my research journey in conoor Tamilnadu.
I made this steam engines miniature for my diploma animation stop motion film. Actual photograph reference were taken while on my research journeys to various places. Studying details of structure and their working from those actual steam engine was real fun. certain changes have been done while constructing the miniature that to its purpose in the shoot , Too much detailing should be compromised according to the requirement and time constraint.
Initial drawings :
Digital Rendered sketches:
Parts Breakdown:
Scraps to Structure:
Plan of work : The trick is to find out similar miniature object lying around us in day to day life. Imagining and comparing shapes of normal household and scraps lying around us to those actual engine parts made my work more easier. these are some of the stuffs i picked for making this engine miniature.
Material used
Cardboard box and Catridge sheets – for the cabin and body parts
Stainless steel vessel : For the steam drum
Plastic mug for the interior : (red) coal burner
Plastic bottles,tubes, Empty pen refill’s and lids : For various drums and pipe joints
Empty Perfume can and its lid : Drum And water filler
Plywood : For chaises
Ice cream sticks : For front Grill
Foam boards and wood reaper’s for support
MDF cuttings : For decoration
LED light and wire : For Head light
Synthetic Adhesives, Wudfil, Masking tape, Nails, Mat Black paint, blue /yellow / Brown / silver Paint
Process:
The entire Tyre set with the shafts set were made previously : Refer my previous blog >> https://kapilgnathan.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=311&action=edit
Finished model before painting.
Probe Design
Lets do it
#1 Model train front wheel set.
Reference
Trains wheels on Engine workshop (Coonoor Tamil Nadu)
As part of the reference study, observing the actual engines working is much important to understand the locomotive movements .Visiting a train stations engine Workshop relay helped me doing some detailed study as well and some sketches have been made for further reference.It really helped me to set the final look and feel too.
Thanks to Coonoor’s Railway Station master and staff’s for Allowing us to Enter the engine workshop and providing necessary helps, Thanks to Sreenath my fellow friend for helping me through out the research and this Project.
Laser cut MDF
Breaking down the complex engine locomotive part is a hell of hard task so i made it simplified for this sort movie as i only need few mid shots of the engine movement. So i haven’t went for much detailed study and mechanism.I found it is better to make the parts diagram as per the characters size ratio Digitally (in vector format) and get it laser cut in MDF (Medium-density fiber board) .
Digital vector illustration for laser cut.
Laser cut in MDF According to scale.
Assembling Engine Parts in a Foam platform.
Painting with mat black and acrylic colors.
#2 Model Compartment wheel set & Bench.
Digital vector illustration for laser cut.
Laser cut in MDF , Foam According to scale.
Final touch up in brown to give a rusty ware and tare feel
Probe and Set Design Study:
Studying train for the set design
A Research journey from Mettupalayam to Udagamandalam via Coonoor,
Between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, the line uses the Abt rack and pinion system to climb the steep gradient. On this rack section trains are operated by ‘X’ Class steam rack locomotives manufactured by the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works of Winterthur in Switzerland. These steam locomotives can be used on any part of the line (either with or without the rack section),but the newer diesel locomotives can operate on the entire section, between Mettupalayam and Udagamandalam.This signals the beginning of the process to phase out the coal-fired vintage Swiss engines that took scores of passengers on the rack and pinion track to Coonoor and Udhagamandalam, covering 41.8 kilometres (26.0 mi), 108 curves, 16 tunnels and 250 bridges
REF : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Mountain_Railway
Train Engine : Front : Digital / Pencil
Train Engine : back : Digital\ Pencil
Train Engine : Side : Digital
Engine Side : Part by Part
A modified lay out of Train Compartment for the storyline : Digital .
Wagon : Pencil
Train Cabin Interior : Pen & Watercolor
Character’s and expression’s ….
STORY BOARD : Hand drawn to Digital.
Accessories
Accessories for the protagonist…..
The Accessories character carries with him do represents his characteristics in the film, it looks so simpler just as a probe but it do adds up on many elements in the story as well.the visual appeal style type build do tells many things , for example where he is from the place climate, the time the story happening ,his lifestyle,his status weather he is poor or rich etc.In this case the protagonist is a middle class men who is not at all a regular traveler n doesn’t have that luxury to afford stylish accessories as well.as this story do following a antique and classy look i preferred him to have a leather bag and belt, a canvas suitcase and a canvas shoes..
I used Rex-in from a diary cover instead of leather for making the bag n belt.it do have a leather look.
Final bag
Belt
The suitcase before coloring..
leather work and glass jars inside suitcase – old valet leather and medicines ampule bottles were used
Final painted and textured suitcase and wine box
Costume designing….
Protagonists costume :
1) A FULL SLEEVE SHIRT with (mix of Chinese color and chef coat color)with a S cut.
2) TROUSERS with rope.
3) An OVER COAT
Amenities :
1) SHOES 2) SUITCASE 3) HANGING BAG 4) BELT …
INITIAL SKETCHES
Final sketches and cuts….
SHIRT
OVER COAT
TROUSERS
FINAL :
Hair
The character visual identity includes his hair style, choosing right material for making puppet was tricky. I didn’t want to go to higher extinct going for fur or natural hair. Most probably in industry commonly use of fiber ,wool, thread cotton etc some of my choice in mind was coconut husks fiber and arrack nut husks . After trying both I ended up in choosing arrack nut husks fiber it was perfect to wok with it giving a batch of thick fiber having a natural shine exactly like hair .it was much more easier to mold up into the characters shape than the other. A thin layer of adhesive was used to hold the husks shape as it was molded.
A temporary cloth layer was sticked to the skull to foam a skull cap in which the hair fiber was attached and shaped up which was later removed to form a wig.
The detachable final wig : colored .
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Kapil Gopinathan 