Adaptation B: Continuing Modeling

  It's taken some effort to continue with the project, but I have made a start on using this week to catch up and continue on what I have built so far. Today was primarily abotu getting the foot done, but I also spent time correcting some geometry in the mouth, connecting up the the ankle and heel and smoothing out some of the geometry.

   Aside from the tongue, eyes and quills I think I am almost ready to start UV mapping. My strategy for this is to start with the legs, then with that done I can map the inside of the mouth, the head, torso and tail.

  The more I get to grips with modelling, the more I feel I am getting used to the way these creatures are built. The rear foor was built on what I cane to understand about the underside of the front paw, and in essence, feet (unless we're dealing with hooves) could be considered hands that the creature stands up with. Some of the positioning is odd, such as the leg, but this is something that will be corrected by the rig.

  Overall the creature is really shaping up. It's been interesting working on it even if the blog has been quiet for a week.

Adaptation B: Colo Colo Concept

  Two thinks occupied my time today: the interim crit presentation and any assets that will be useful in it. So my afternoon was spent creating a more refined concept image of the creature, settling o na crest design and a colour scheme. I considered the above scheme because it resembles pallid skin, while with the darkened legs I tried to go for a colour resembling a blood-deprived (but still living) extremity. One of the key ideas for how the creature would be represented is by introducing it via its eyes. So a strong, intense pair of eyes felt essential.

  Another key feature that maybe doesn't come across so well is an attempt at a sickly skin look, inspired by images of bald rats (though I found a big difference between a bald rat and a naked mole rat). The pale colour and reddish tinges could help it fit but stand out in an earthy-colour environment. I have considered that much of the demonstration will take place during the night inside a shack located in a South American slum.

Adaptation B: Developing The Deviation

  The discussion with Alan today helped me find a direction with my project. Departing from a rat was a good start, and one of the key pieces of advice I walked away with was that when it comes ot my source creatures, I should take away what makes them characteristic, hopefully left with something weird. Rats without their fur are quite wrinkly and chickens without their feathers look bizarre and strange.

  One thing that was touched on in the discussion was lizards. I considered adding some lizard-like features and I was recommended to look at running lizards. Which move quite differently and at a very different pace from the normal kind. One species, the basilisk, has such a speed and such a surface area on its feet that it can run on water. Most of these lizards are quite small, thin and agile. And such a creature might be more familiar historically to South America than either rats or chickens, creatures that have a more familiar history in Europe and Asia. Which ties into a thought I had recently that it's far more likely "white rat with a rooster's head" is the legend's way of describing what this thing looks like. Being a by-eye interpretation, it's possible the creature looks nothing like a giant rat. Which gives some design flexibility; for one I am intrigued at giving it legs like these running lizards (which have been described as moving like a bicycle, could be interesting to animate)

Adaptation Discussion And Feedback

  I believe that Friday's discussion with Alan has helped give me some direction in my projects. The first discussion was regarding Adaptation A: I was informed it needs to be more snappy, and was shown Danny Rollings' "top 10 weird science facts" infographic to get an idea of what it involves ,as what I had currently was more like a narrative than information. With more work involved than was probably needed. Fortunately what is really needed ot be done is streamlining; cutting down the scenarios I have to short topical segments. And I already have some direction in art-style so Adaptation A is mainly a matter of streamlining.

  I had shown Alan some of the creatures I had looked at, but regarding where to go next. But what we had settled on was a case of more research as I had considered looking at Mayan culture and style, though further investigation on the Chiccan brought creative trouble as they are for the most part, snakes that send water to the clouds for rain. But any story feels la little thin on the ground. It was suggested that I look at Mayan artwork to help me visualise a style.

  Later in the day I felt terrible as some cold-like illness crept on me, getting so bad by the middle of the night that I was unable to breathe through my nose. But this led me to a flash of inspiration, as I felt more sure about a project revolving around Colo Colo.

  I had researched it in the early phases before but the similarity of my ailment has been what has driven me (lately I have considered that when it comes to escapism or a handicap, I should try and find way to turn it towards something productive). Performing some research I have come to understand that Colo Colo.is a vampiric being from Mapuche (a South American ethnicity native to  the southern regions of the continent) folklore. It is a creature, commonly with rodent, poultry or serpent-like features, born when a rooster incubates an egg. When it nests within a person's house it will hover over a resident each night (there is no description of it having wings so my guess it it levitates) and sustains itself on  the saliva of its victim, exhausting the person in the process which can eventually lead to death. People who suffer from Colo Colo's parasitic feeding will be exhausted during the day and their house will smell of faeces. When Colo Colo.is suspected to be dwelling there are two possible ways to get rid of it: Call in a Machi (a Mapuche healer or shaman) to exorcise it, but if that doesn't work then you will need to burn the house down. It has the cry of an infant or baby as well.

  Floating South American rooster-rat-lizard thing that thinks it's Dracula, lives off peoples' saliva, cries like a baby, stinks of excrement, and removed by either a native exorcist or setting your house on fire. It sounds interesting to me at least and there looks to be a project I could embrace the technological side of: Hybrid creature designs, particle effects, dynamics, sound design and animation for isntance. The information I have could be the groundwork for a tale about what Colo Colo. is, what it does and ending with how to get rid of it. Perhaps the story is told though one character meeting another who is currently suffering from it. I feel the need to at some point make something on the course that familiarises me with working with a voice artist.

References

• Myth Beasts, 2014; Colo Colo; Myth Beasts; available at http://www.mythicalcreatureslist.com/mythical-creature/Colo-Colo (last accessed 30th January 2016)
• Mythmash, 2013; Colo Colo; Mythology: The Stranger The Better; available at http://fuckyeahstrangemythology.tumblr.com/post/44003478804/mythmash-the-colo-colo-is-a-serpent-like (last accessed 30th January 2016)
• Saunder, C., Allen, P., 2005; Colo Colo; God Checker; available at http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/south-american-mythology.php?deity=COLO-COLO (last accessed 30th January 2015)

Adaptation A: Investigating Creatures to Adapt

  I have considered an alternative in creature design. So today I looked into a number of legendary creatures I could make into something for a project. I am still discovering what I might enjoy most but I have come to a couple of conclusions. I kept some rules for myself to keep the project interesting: Nothing from East Asia, nothing too humanoid, and nothing that would be too publicly known. Although the last one how well-known it is depends on what part of the world you live in.

  The following are creatures I have taken some consideration in:

Alkonost

• Region of origin: Russia
• Key physical characteristics: head of a woman, body of a bird
• Key behavioral characteristics: evasive, largely benign, lays eggs on beaches then rolls them to sea
• Key abilities: Hypnotic voice; can sing beautifully and entrance travelers into turning back and forgetting them. When their eggs hatch ,the act of hatching creates thunderstorms

Adlet

• Region of origin: Hudson Bay
• Key physical characteristics: Legs of a dog, body of a human, taller than Europeans
• Key behavioral characteristics: aggressive, In conflict with humans.
• Key abilities: Can outrun humans

Chamrosh

• Region of origin: Persia
• Key physical characteristics: body of a dog, head and wings of a bird
• Key behavioral characteristics: Benevolent, said to have gathered the seeds of a great tree and cast them across the world
• Key abilities: Uncertain, powerful wings

Chiccan

• Region of origin: Yucatan Peninsula, Central America
• Key physical characteristics: four giant water-dwelling reptiles
• Key behavioral characteristics: Live in lakes that correlate to the four cardinal directions
• Key abilities: their thrashing stirs the lakes to send water to the sky, the water is returned to earth as rain by other gods 

Colo Colo

• Region of origin: Chile
• Key physical characteristics: varies, common elements are of rats, snakes, feathers and other reptiles
• Key behavioral characteristics: feeds off human saliva, lives under a person's house, has the call of a wailing infant
• Key abilities: Those who are fed from by Colo Colo feel regularly exhausted, thoutr to bring disease, draining power can kill

El Pollo Maligno (Evil Chicken)

• Country/culture of origin: Colombia, South America
• Key physical characteristics: A chicken, large enough to devour humans
• Key behavioral characteristics: feeds on human flesh, malicious towards hunters
• Key abilities: Haunts hunters, driving them deep into wooded areas where they become its prey.

Encantado

• Region of origin:Amazon Basin
• Key physical characteristics: pink river dolphins that can transform into humans with blowholes on the crown
• Key behavioral characteristics: Playful, like attending fiestas, seducing women, wear hats to cover their blowholes when in public
• Key abilities: Shapeshifters, entrancers, can cast illnesses on people, can transform at dawn or dusk

Wolpertinger

• Region of origin: Bavaria, Germany
• Key physical characteristics: body made up of wings, fangs, tails and antlers of various animals all connected to a small mammal's body, often a rabbit.
• Key behavioral characteristics: Unknown
• Key abilities: None known, presumably some inherited from the animals it takes parts from
• Related story from late 19th century Sweden of Skvader, a rabbit-like winged creature hunted by one particular man who hunted it north of Sundsvall.

  There were a number of creatures upon my examination that didn't look strange enough or had quirks that I felt were inappropriate for a broad audience or contained some particularly gruesome facts about them. So far however I think my most confident inspirations are the Akanost, Colo-Colo and Chiccan.

Narrative Project: Creativity Under the Sea

    Today the narrative group I am in had a tutorial session with Alan regarding the direction of our project. We had a few ideas between us however the one that struck Alan the most during the discussion related to an idea of a puffer fish and the decorate patterns they create in the sand to attract mates.

Figure 1: An example of blow-fish artworks

    These little fish create amazing patterns by pushing themselves though the sand and using their fins as spades. I did some digging (no pun intended) to find how these little fish manage to create these amazing designs and came across a video from the BBC documentary Life Story.

    As demonstrated, puffers work constantly for a week to create these masterpieces. And as with all fine art, it is very delicate work, which could be considered for the story. Maybe he can't work fast enough, maybe he's too clumsy, maybe other fish or natural factors could ruin all his attempts. Maybe he can't get the pattern to simply "look right" as it were. Whatever the exact situation, the idea was that our fish realises they can't express themselves by doing what all the other fish are doing despite his best attempts.

    The idea we have discussed so far is that our protagonist fish struggles to make these designs, but in recalling a pst event, remembers that when nervous or agitated, like all puffers he inflates (the trigger as it turns out is easy enough; Pufferfish swell up by filling up their very elastic stomachs with water. So if it's an emotional trigger, a panicked gasp or hiccup could both signal a convenient transformation that might induce audience sympathy (it's pretty normal to feel embarrassed from some a public display of a panic-induced reaction) but that is not all that will happen.

Figure 2: When they're not inflated, blow-fish are tiny. Perhaps adorable.

Figure 3: I'm willing to say this one looks adorable.

   But that is where our little fish will shine. As when they have this happen to them, the audience and the nearby fish see their body transform into a beautiful technicolour display. Although I suppose one extra obstacle would be that what is beautiful can be subjective. But the idea is that when it is discovered that this fish can do this, all the other fish are amazed. I personally proposed a fractal pattern but for now the actual design is not important. What is important is getting a story nailed down though thumb-nailing and story-boarding.

    We were also discussing adding a cleaner shrimp as a friend who would try to help out our puffer with making their sand-art or try to cheer him up. The major inspiration for this was Hal the cockroach from the Pixar film Wall-E.

Figure 1: A little cleaner shrimp in an aquarium

References

• BBC, 2014; Pufferfish 'Crop Circles' - Life Story: Episode 5 Preview - BBC One; YouTube; available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpdlQae5wP8 (last accessed 29th September 2015)
• Jobson, C., 2013; Amazing Little Puffer Fish Creates Ocean Floor 'Crop Circles'...Now with Video; Colossal; available at http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/08/mysterious-underwater-crop-circles-now-with-video/ (Last accessed 29th September 2015) 

Image References

• Figure 1: Jobson, C, 2013; [An example of Blow-Fish artworks]; fish-video; available at http://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/fish-video.jpg (last accessed 29th Semptember 2015)
• Figure 2: Wilson, T., 2005; [When they are not inflated, blow-fish are tiny. Perhaps adorable]; Zombie-2; available at http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/zombie-2.jpg (last accessed 29th September 2015)
• Figure 3: Ninsi, 2012; [I'm willing to say this one looks adorable]; Cute Puffy Puffer Fish; available at http://i.imgur.com/9E1kJ.jpg (last accessed 29th September 2015)
• Figure 4: Pets Aquatic, 2015; [A little cleaner shrimp in an aquarium]; XL Cleaner Shrimp; available at https://www.reefs.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=187172&stc=1&d=1440951318 (last accessed29th September 2015)