Final Sculpture

This is the final outcome. As it was my first time sculpting I really enjoyed it and I am pleased with how it turned out. I decided to use fabric for the waist coat as I thought it had more movement to it and I want to communicate energy and youthfulness.

Development Photos

These are the photos of my working process for my final sculpture.

In the oven for 30 minutes

Start Painting

Here I used Clear Nail polish to give the eyes nose and mouth a wet look

Four Expressions

I chose to do these expressions in photoshop to go with my sculpture and to also try more ambitious facial expressions. Here are my final expressions.

Screenshot of working process

Final expressions

Facial expressions

Here are some more referencing before I photoshop my 4 expression drawings.

Colour chart

I have compiled a colour chart from images of hazelnuts and Nutella on which I want to be the colour pallet for the squirrel. The character will have green eye to be cohesive with the hazelnut leaf and the fur will be a range of hazelnut and chocolate tones. The Waistcoat will be red to represent the Nutella Logo and also is a traditional colour for Italian Clothing.

Development on chosen character design

Here I have taken the character design that I decided as my final form and formed into a range of expression with both the face and the body to get an idea of the movement and natural shapes of the squirrel character.

Here I am working on refining my the characters shape and seeing what kind of ears and tail will adjust the values and visual appeal of the character and a Nutella figure.

 I like the look of the generic squirrel tail for the Nutella character as the values of Nutella are youthful and simple so I want to stick to simple characteristic shapes. This also applies for the ears. The bat-like ears loose the cuteness and the first set  ears throw out the proportion of the eyes. So I will stick with my original design.

Here I have referred back to the initial research in my earlier posts of traditional Italian clothing and how to incorporate it into the character without being overpowering. With the hats I was just having a bit of fun in seeing what a hat would look like on my character, I am not using a hat in my final.

The middle and the right costuming is too dominant and takes over the design of the Character. So I will stick with a simple Italian waistcoat. This will also add a new element of movement to the energetic character. Although the hats bring in comedy and fun to the character they look like old ladies and just a bit ridiculous.

Line Drawings

These are some photoshop gesture drawing I did to investigate on different pose to do for my final.

From here I decided to do something that could show off the Hazelnut as a prop because that is the most important part of Nutella as a Brand. I decided to give him a Italian waistcoat because I wanted to incorporate the origins of the company in a non obvious way. also to add a new dimension of depth and move to the character. 

Referencing

These are some references for coming up with a good elevation pose for my character. I found that Tom and Jerry Cartoons were good in relation to the body shape of my character.

I referenced for children cartoon poses as my character is targeted at children so simple lines and round corners.

Working drawing for scale and proportion for the Sculpture

I have measured out the size that I would like the sculpture to be on a final drawing of my character.

I also did a mock up of the tail before I start the sculpture next week to see how large and heavy it will be. I realised that it's too big and heavy and even when I took some weight off I will have to rest the tail on the ground along with the feet and an extra weight distribution. 

Face Development

Chosen Body

I have chosen to do lean body for the squirrel to communicate the Nutella values of youth and energy. So I have started to draw out the body in different youthful positions to see what I could use for my final sculpture pose.

From here the character now needs a face. So I started sketching faces that would suit the brand and it's values. 

 I'm am going to go with the bottom right face as the big eyes give a cuteness to it while also making the squirrel look a bit nutty which is play on the Hazelnuts of Nutella.

 

Development designs

Here I have done some initial design of cartoon squirrel shapes developing on from the real squirrel body shapes. By sketching a couple of different faces and bodies I can start to get an idea of what i want for my product.  

Squirrel Research

Squirrels are familiar to almost everyone. More than 200 squirrel species live all over the world, with the notable exception of Australia. The Tiniest squirrel is the aptly named African pygmy squirrel - only 13cm long from nose to tail. Others reach sizes shocking to those who are only familiar to common tree squirrels. The Indian giant squirrel is almost a metre long.
Like other rodents, squirrels have four front teeth that never stop growing so they don't wear don from the constant gnawing. Tree squirrels are the type most commonly recognized, often seen gracefully scampering and leaping from branch to branch. Other species are ground squirrels that live in burrow or tunnel systems, where some hibernate during the winter season.
Ground squirrels eat nuts, leaves, roots, seeds, and other plants. They also catch and eat small animals, such as insects and caterpillars. These small mammals must always be wary of predators because they are tasty morsels with few natural defences, save flight. Sometimes groups of ground squirrels work together to warn each other of approaching danger with a whistling call.
Tree squirrels are commonly seen everywhere from woodlands to city parks. Though they are terrific climbers, these squirrels do come to the ground in search of fare such as nuts, acorns, berries, and flowers. They also eat bark, eggs, or baby birds. Tree sap is a delicacy to some species.
Flying squirrels are a third, adaptable type of squirrel. They live something like birds do, in nests or tree holes, and although they do not fly, they can really move across the sky. Flying squirrels glide, extending their arms and legs and coasting through the air from one tree to another. flaps of skin connecting limbs to body provide a winglike surface. these gliding leaps can exceed 46 metres. Flying squirrels eat nuts and fruit, but also catch insects and even baby birds.
Whether they dwell high in a tree or in an underground burrow, female squirrels typically give birth to two to eight offspring. Babies are blind and totally dependent on their mothers for two or three months. Mothers may have several litters in a year, so most squirrel populations are robust.
Retrieved From: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/squirrel/

Tree Squirrels

Ground Squirrels

Flying Squirrels

After researching a lot of squirrels I then sketched of few pages of squirrels in different forms to get an idea of the anatomy which will make it easier when I start to design and sculpt my character.