Steven Bailey A.K.A. Garbage Can Man

 

Steven Bailey, awe Steven Bailey one of the good ones. Well not in the sense of being a good guy, but in the sense of his backstory. Maybe not his real life backstory. What Gilbert believes is his life is fun.  I hope you enjoy the description.

Steven Bailey, the janitor/Garbage Can Man: Steven is a young working man the helps clean the home. He is your average everyday blue collar worker, but he hustles around and does hard work all day long. He doesn’t hate his job, but he doesn’t necessarily like being around the residents and harbors some resentment towards them for some of the messes. Gilbert sees the resentment and makes him a part of his world as another villain as Garbage Can Man. Gilbert incorporates the janitor cart and his tools into his imagination to create such an unlikely villain. According to Gilbert, Steven Bailey found an old samurai mask in the garbage. The mask is possessed and turns Steven into Garbage Can Man. Garbage Can Man is a villain fed up with the society and plans to clean it up in the worst way. Wreaking havoc on the city in very unique and disgusting ways, and armored in different types of trash receptacles.

Description: A young skinny man with a thin long face and full dark hair, but piercing green eyes that make him a quite the man to look at. Garbage Can Man is armored in different trash receptacles that cover his body in an almost Samurai like look. His face stays covered by a small gas mask which has greenlit goggles resting atop it.

Howard Hunt A.K.A. Earshot

 

Well it has been quite awhile since I have posted, but it seems fitting that a character that has been with the idea from the beginning be my first post back. Howard Hunt was first known as “Ear-aid Man.” You can tell I was pretty young when I cam up with the idea of him. He grew into Earshot the hunter of men. I don’t believe he will be a big part of the story and life of Gilbert, but he will bring entertainment in his own way. Here is his bio:

Howard Hunt/Earshot: Howard Hunt is a resident that lost his hearing long ago and refuses to get a new hearing aid, for this reason he yells at almost everyone. Howard’s yelling is sometimes misinterpreted as anger and therefore kind of a burden on the home and the nurses. Howard lost his hearing from his days as manufacture worker and not wearing the correct ear protection, and has a blue collar way of expressing himself with not the most gracious of conversations. Since Gilbert does not know the true back story of Howard, he has created an alter ego known as Earshot. Earshot is a hunter of men in the S.O.G. universe, and utilizes his enhanced hearing apparatus to hunt his prey as if they were big game in the African plains. Earshot is an amazing precise and dangerous shot, and likes to wound his prey so he can get up close and personal for the kill. A hunter that will put up quite a challenge for S.O.G. Description: Howard is a short balding man that sports a full beard, and usually always has his hand to his ear and loudly mumbles to himself thinking no one can hear him. Earshot dresses for the hunt sporting his big game hunter outfit and his modified hearing piece. His rifle slung over his back and a knife that would make Crocodile Dundee jealous.

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed, and always best of luck to you and yours.

New Character Designs For Puppets

Well in the previous post about Ruby I told you that the character designs would not be the same as the character sculpts and puppets. These are the new kind of sculpts for some of the main characters. From left to right: Edna St. Charles/Radio Active Grandma, Ruby, Henry Lars/The Sheriff and Gilbert Page/Super Old Guy. I hope you like the new look and I will be posting more on the processes to come, and of course the character bios will continue to come. My best to you and yours in everything you do.

Ruby! Everyone Loves Ruby!

Ruby is the newest of the crew to come along, and one I think will bring a fun twist to the whole story. Her character is based on a dear friend of mine, and my biggest fan. Her pleasant demeanor is hopefully going to be captured through the character in the story to come. Ruby will make only quick appearances in the story line, but it will be fun when she does. Ruby will become a quick favorite I think. Here is her and a quick description for you:

Ruby: As one of the residents she loves to bake every day for the other residents. When she enters a room she announces she has goodies, and everyone in the room stops what they are doing and rushes over to have a piece. Then she moves on to the next room and does the same thing. This will directly correlate into the S.O.G. universe, as she becomes the secretary of The Sheriff with the same name. When she enters a scene it will pretty much be the same as the home. However everybody stops what they are doing and rushes to her to get a treat. Even the villains in the story line, and as soon as everyone is done we continue on with the show with everyone back in their places. Description: A sleek elderly woman that is always wearing a smile and bringing treats to the residents of the home. She carries herself in a light and always fun manor. Ruby normally wears fun clothing with a scarf to match, and kind of rocking it for an older woman. She has about shoulder length strait hair that is kept out of her face with a band or tie. Always holding some sort of treat in her hands. In the S.O.G. Universe she will be seen as the same person, but as The Sheriff’s assistant. Since everyone knows and loves Ruby, Gilbert doesn’t need to change her name in the other world.

Well there is Ruby. What a fun character right? This post marks a turning point in the characters. I will continue with the type of sketches that have been posted, but the next post will show the more cartoon like sculpts that will be the characters of the stop animation world. I hope you like the new direction and new styles. I wish you all the best for you and yours.

Doctor Daniel Carter / The Harbinger

One of the newest characters that has come into mind, and one that I believe will have a big impact on the story and it’s characters. Doctor Daniel Carter a.k.a. The Harbinger, and what a different character he is. It is really hard to even think about where the idea came from, but I really wanted to incorporate a physician into it all. I believe that this character will bring a depth of field to the whole story, and it will help to face fears. In life, what I think most people fear without actually wanting to think about it, is death. What comes after and why it happens, and this character really emanates the base of the fear along with creating its own style of fear. He is definitely a character that brings a darker aspect to the story, but since he wont be making as many appearances as some of the other characters it will not be making the entire story dark. Which helps what I want to convey. I don’t want a dark and scary story (even though I love scary stories). I want something that will be enjoyed by all. With subtle hints and a witty attitude to the whole thing, but that doesn’t mean that there will not be drama or sadness. Enough about the future and the what ifs. Here is the introduction of Doctor Daniel Carter.

Doctor Daniel Carter/The Harbinger: Dr. Carter is the physician for the home and residents, and the only time he really comes in, is when a resident is on their way out. Gilbert knows this and relates him to being a herald for death. This is why in Gilbert’s world he is known as The Harbinger with his puppet master being Death. The Harbinger is constantly followed by death, and goes around with a list of names that he slowly crosses off, name by name. Eventually taking out someone who is close to Gilbert, and sparking a truly legendary battle. Super Old Guy is a hero but will he ever be able to truly stop death and his herald. Description: Dr. Carter is an African American man that is thin but not skinny, and has a calm face with stress peeking through on a regular. Holding a sad almost sorrowful look on his face, from his profession. The Harbinger costume is a scary costume that really represents death and the burden that comes with being his herald, wearing a pale white mask that has tears coming from the eyes with a slight smile at the mouth. The Harbinger’s body actually elongates and thins out in comparison to Dr. Carter, and is clothed in a nobleman’s suit. The suit lacks color and has many small imperfections, where it pulls away from the body. Death is always behind The Harbinger and extended from death is a marionette’s cradle that makes his movements for him, as if he has no other choice.

Well that is his story and I hope that it got you thinking and excited about the next character bio to come. I also wish you all the best in everything.

Edna St. Charles/ Radioactive Grandma

This character is almost as old as the original S.O.G., and she has gone through just as many changes. She is always someone I seen as a long standing character, and possibly a Batman and Catwoman like relationship between the two. That becomes more unlikely the more I write and continue the story. The inspiration to create her wasn’t really any one thing or person in my life, but that she felt right as a great foe. She is the opposite of Gilbert and S.O.G. in almost every state of her being and life. Where Gilbert had a wife that he loved very much, she was a single mother with a burdened love life. Where Gilbert stays thinner through life, she gains mass. Where Gilbert is quiet and unspoken, she is loud obnoxious and angry. Also where Gilbert still has the use of his legs, she has lost that ability. These differences stem into the S.O.G. Universe as well. Such has he flies on his own and uses his tools as he pleases, and she needs her machine to basically do everything for her including transportation. These two very different foes will meet on the battlefield for many different occasions, and one will be able to appreciate their differences and strengths alike. Enough of the introduction, here is the character bio for Edna St. Charles a.k.a. Radioactive Grandma.

Edna St. Charles/Radioactive Grandma: Edna is a resident who just happens to be in a wheelchair, and can be quite the hassle for the nurses and staff of the home. She is an angry and bitter old woman who doesn’t like to take her medication, who bites the nurses along with hitting and screaming. Naturally she is one of the main villains in Gilbert’s fantastic world, and goes by Radioactive Grandma. In this world she had an accident at the power plant she used to work at where she was an engineer. The accident put her in a wheelchair, but strengthened her intellect to great abilities along with making her hatred fierce and her anger a motive to hurt others. She has changed her wheelchair into a great machine that can do many different things. The wheelchair flies, has machine guns, protective shields and much more. Now in our world the accident that put her in a wheelchair was not anywhere near anything close to that. Edna was a housewife who lost her husband early in life, and struggled proudly through life afterwards. She had a lot of struggles which helped her to become bitter, but deep down she was a wonderful mother and proud woman. The story Gilbert came up with was one of his own to explain her behavior and situation. Description: An elderly plump woman with messy hair and a constant look of disapproval with the furrowed brow and frown lines. Edna is confined to her wheelchair with her quilt and bathrobe. Radioactive Grandma pilots a modified wheelchair that sports yellow and black colors to represent her situation, wearing a radioactive hazard sign mask that covers all but her massively messy and tangled hair.

Another bio on the blog, and one step closer to setting up stories and previews. I hope you enjoyed this, and wish you all the best with your endeavors.

Armature Process

Well as you might have guessed this isn’t just a story blog, but a blog to show my process through creating a stop animation series. Feature the many different characters that I will be posting in the coming weeks. In between the character bios I will be posting my progress on the armatures, props, backgrounds and much more. In this post I will be showing the progress of the main character and his armature. Otherwise known as Super Old Guy (S.O.G.) The armature was a very simple ball and joint armature. With brass as the main component, steel plating for the joints and steel balls. I first cut the brass rod and plating for the body, legs, arms etc. Then soldered the steel balls to the ends of the rod where the joints would be at. I then soldered the stationary parts of the armature together, such as the pelvis and chest areas. Finally using the plates to create the joints. The plates have three holes drilled into them. One for the two steel balls that create the joint, and the third a pilot hole for the screws that allow for tension. This is a photo after that is all finished.

The next step in the process was to provide a filler component that would create body mass, and a low density foam was used for that. In the following photos you will see the body coming to shape in the foam.

In this finally process shot you will see that all the foam is shaped and covered in fabric. This is the color scheme for S.O.G., a dark grey and an army like green. The logo on his chest is a flying cane. There will be a green cape as well that will go with the suit as well. This is the suit he will wear in his imaginary world, or his medicated state.

 

I hope you enjoyed the post, and hope that this will help in the imagination process while you read the up and coming character bios, and the later coming story plots.

The Sheriff

As I said in the introduction I was going to post backgrounds and concepts of the characters that are a part of Gilbert and Super Old Guy’s world. From here on out as well I will be referring to Super Old Guy as S.O.G. It is shorter and I thought I would explain, so there would be no confusion. The good news is that my sculpting is far better than my drawing and obviously my snap photography. Henry and The Sheriff are pretty close to one of my favorite characters. His alter ego is based off of my grandfather Hank and the many western characters I have had the privilege to watch over the years. My grandfather was a pretty quiet but a mountain of a man. He was tall, skinny but not thin, quiet and strong. He was a mechanic so he wore brown and dark colored clothing a lot, and smelled like man and oil mixed. He was also a big fan of westerns, and especially Chuck Norris in “Walker Texas Ranger.” Which the family would gather round and watch together after dinner. I have found memories of that (as you might have guessed), so I wished to have that part of my life portrayed in a way. Enough about that though. I am guessing you are reading this to know about Henry. Here is the description. I hope you all enjoy it as much as it makes me happy to present it.

Henry Lars/The Sheriff: Lars is the closest thing to a friend that Gilbert has. Now Gilbert and Lars don’t really communicate, but they do sit next to one another almost every day. Lars sits and believes he is an old west cowboy and makes his fingers into guns and his mouth into the gun sounds. The relationship between Gilbert and Lars is not one you or I could see. In Gilbert’s world Lars is known as the The Sheriff. Not exactly a sidekick but a man who helps S.O.G. fight crime in his world. Click, click and bang, bang. Now in real life Henry has a dissociative disorder that makes him believe that he is a cowboy in the old west. Gilbert takes what he hears from Henry and turns him into The Sheriff. Description: Tall skinny but strong man with a strong jaw and leathered skin. With a twinkle in his eye as if he is always having fun. The Sheriff is an old west cowboy that dresses in all black including his cowboy hat. The Sheriff is a man with a tough demeanor with a sense of pride and justice for good, with a cigarette in his mouth.

Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoyed, and I would love to read any comments that anyone has. Best of luck to all.

Introduction

Well I guess this is the part where I am supposed to introduce myself and why I have started this blog. However the story of me is pretty boring. Guy who loves art and the many mediums that display it so proudly. Snooze. The story of Gilbert Page and his alter ego is so much more interesting. Here is a little look into a story I have been working on since I was in the 5th grade.

Gilbert Page/Super Old Guy: Gilbert is the hero of this story, and the main character of course. He lives in a nursing home where he doesn’t get any visitors. His wife Ellie is long gone, and since her death Gilbert has moved into the nursing home and barely uttered a word. His daughter is a business woman in the city, but the only interaction with her father is signing the checks that keep him there. The nurses like Gilbert because he doesn’t cause any trouble, but rather sits there and watches the room. What no one knows about Gilbert is that he doesn’t see the world like you or I. He sees the world through the eyes of a superhero, for when he takes his medication he enters his world. Gilbert doesn’t see the hustle and bustle of the nurses taking care of the residents. He sees the residents as characters or villains in his world, the world of Super Old Guy. In this world he has the ability to fly above the city, solve crimes, protect innocents and feel more like himself than he has in a long time.

As you can see from the brief description Gilbert isn’t the only character that will be present in the story line. There is many characters that live in the nursing home, visit or work there that he brings into his fantasy world. That is for another time though. Soon I will be posting pictures of new characters and their bios, along with progression shots on puppet of Gilbert I am working on. I hope you enjoy and look forward to reading some comments and questions. Oh and Chris since you are pretty much the only reader right now; I would like to work with you a little on this as well. How much is completely up to me.