secretcrab

[secretcrab]

So. In 2017 I was studying abroad in Viborg, Denmark at the Animation Workshop. It was a great time. Among the cultural discoveries I experienced, Scandinavia's passion for character mascots had to be my favourite. I started collecting them on a facebook album, and soon, all of my friends were sending me more. Today, I will share with you my favourites from the 100 pieces I've collected. For a mere price of 7 euros+shipping, you can own the physical vessel of this collaborative project, complete with the names of the contributors, and anonymized comments from the first-hand viewers (my facebook friends). Preorder begins 15th of March 2024 and will end 5th of April 2024. I will then send the zine to print, so expect a delivery sometimes around end of April. Thank you !

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En 2017, j'étudiais à Viborg, au Danemark. Ce fut une expérience mémorable, mais je reste particulièrement marqué par l'abondance des mascottes dans le paysage graphique scandinave. J'avais donc décidé de les répertorier dans un album Facebook, rapidement alimenté avec l'aide de mes amis. Je vous présente donc une sélection parmi les 100 pièces de ma collection, sous la forme d'un ouvrage papier. Les précommandes me permettront d'en imprimer le nombre nécessaire. Pour 7 euros+frais des port, avec un tarif réduit pour la France, vous pouvez devenir le ou la détenteur.rice de cet ouvrage. Possibilité de livrer en main propre sur Paris ! Les précommandes seront ouvertes du 15 Mars au 5 Avril 2024, suivez le lien ! Merci.

#zine #self publishing #photography #mascots #small press

[secretcrab]

Some time ago I asked @legrandfourmi if he had some unused music lying around, and if he was ok with me putting some visuals to them. I edited a bunch of great animes together and created this visual beat tape over the course of a few weeks.

I’m now happy to share the result of this project ! If you enjoy eclectic hip hop beats and moody anime loops, this is for you !

It was good fun to make, and a great learning experience. Please check out the rest of LeGrandFourmi´s music on his profile, and also what they’re cooking with the friends at Marabou 🔥

#beattape #lofihiphop #chill #anime #beats #hiphop #music #editing #Youtube

[secretcrab]

Another attempt at a run cycle based on Myazaki's notes. I even did a bit of compositing to try to get that My Neighbour Yamada look.

#2d animation #animation #anime #hand drawn #2d #myazaki #run cycle

[secretcrab]

I've been practicing 2D animation these days, and found these cool run cycle references by Hayao Myazaki. I thought it would be a good base to practice some run cycles. Here is one of my attempts.

Color -> Rough -> Tiedown -> Reference

#2Danimation #handdrawn #celanimation #animation #runcycle #perfectloop #anime #myazaki

[secretcrab]

Thanks for following along this project ! If you're interested in seeing more rough designs and style exploration, here is a few drawings, some more are available on my website secretcrab.com ! We had a lot of fun cooking up this world and story with @octo-pulse and hopefully we will get the opportunity to keep building on it.

#modelsheet #animation #art #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign #process #artprocess #roughdrawing #turnaround

[secretcrab]

THE GHOST OF THE PET THERAPIST Magda, of her real name, died at 81. She was still in practice and died when she slipped on a burger and fell from the pier. Therefore she's bound the the pier and can't move on because she feels she abandoned all her pet patients. But she's not too unhappy either, she talks to the fishes a lot and to some kids as well.

She was a hippy at the time and lived in several communes before settling in this little sea-town with her adoptive daughter. She opened a cabinet and took care of the depressed and anxious pets of the city. She says she can tell the mood of the city has lessened just thru the pets. She loved wearing colorful flowy dresses and headbands. She wore huge glasses and way too many rings on her fingers. She used to love animals obviously, but also playing cards, watching musicals and reading self development books. She used to smoke a lot of cigarettes and joints. When she meets the gang, she's more than happy to offer her services ! They get along very well with the fisherman. She flirts with him for fun and it's sometimes hard to talk to her because of that. THE GHOST OF THE FISHERMAN : The fisherman is from the 19th century, when the town was a thriving fishing harbor. He haunts an old boat that ornate a rarely used roundabout near the aquarium. He died at sea from swallowing an eel wrong and although he hasn't found peace (because he's a bit ashamed of how he died) he quite enjoys being a ghost. He's a gay ghost and has a very bear vibe ! Strong build, big belly. Very jolly and happy to help, easy to talk to. His passions used to be drinking rum at the pub and reading the cartoons in the gazette. But now it's mostly cloud watching and bird gazing. He flirts a bit with Amine before gently giving him life advices like a father would. story by @octo-pulse art by me

#modelsheet #animation #art #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign

[secretcrab]

THE GHOST SHARK

The Ghost Shark is haunting the aquarium at night and terrorizing both Amine and the other ghost fishes. As the shark is chasing Amine even in his dreams, the poor lad has no other choice than to try and find a solution to this problem. story by @octo-pulse design by me

#modelsheet #animation #art #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign

[secretcrab]

THE THREE LITTLE GHOST FISHES They can talk ?! And they have a lot to say. They've been chosen as representatives by the ghost fish pack to follow Amine around. The three of them have very different opinions on how to handle things. RED prefers bold and brash actions, BLUE will consider carefulness and far fetched theories and GREEN will use the power of science and intellect to face any situation. Together, they represent the choices the player will be faced to make to go through the game. Depending on which paths you choose in front of different situations, the final outcome of the story will change. story by @octo-pulse design by me

#modelsheet #animation #art #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign

[secretcrab]

THE MAYOR The father of Virginie, and the elected official of the town. He is very charismatic and friendly at first sight. He dabbles in shady business practices that Amine and his friends will have to uncover if they want to save the aquarium and, maybe, the entire town ! story by @octo-pulse

design by me

#modelsheet #animation #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign #art

[secretcrab]

VIRGINIE Virginie is the mayor's daughter and a former classmate of Amine and Jennifer. But they weren't really friends at the time as she was hanging out with the popular people. She comes from a higher class background and is doing long studies. She dresses posh but with a touch of punk that expresses her political consciousness. She's slender and goes often to pilates, she's got blond hair and wears very little to no makeup. She is at odds with her dad and his politics and she's been suspecting bad things about his business practices for a while. She's afraid of how it would affect her mother and younger brothers. She has a very cartesian personality, very logical. She wants to do humanitarian work. She is rather cold at first glance, but once she's warmed up she's very loyal and also very funny ! She likes Hong-Kong cinema, bubble tea and country music. Meeting back with Amine and Jennifer, they give her the boost she needed to take action for her family and start changing the world step by step. by @octo-pulse design by me

#modelsheet #animation #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign #art

[secretcrab]

THE CONSPIRASEA EX-SCIENTIST Professor Philbert used to work at the lab of the aquarium. Before that he studied sea life. As he discovered the little town, he uncovered very strange objects and artifacts. Slowly, he built a database documenting a strange curse on the city that, according to him, was slowly making it grim and poor. He started to look more in the archives of the city, and wrote a few weird articles in the local papers. The mayor went to intimidate him and Philbert is persuaded that he is a reptilian targeting him. We only meet Philbert thru his website : CONSPIRASEA.ORG, which kind of pretends to be interested in the safekeep of the sea life of the town, but quickly reveals itselfs to be a... well, conspiracy website. But Philbert is not so far off, there is indeed some bad things happening in town, and some of his documentation helps pointing to it. Philbert is a 60-something japanese-scottish man. He's got a strong scottish accent. He's quite small and has a crazy mane of hair that he sleeks back with too much gel. He loves watching content about true crime, ghost hunting and cakes. story by @octo-pulse design by me

#modelsheet #animation #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign #art

[secretcrab]

ALEESHA Aleesha is a black woman (Caribbean descent) in her early forties. She used to work at the aquarium, taking care, feeding and healing the fishes. This all stopped when she had a terrible accident and got her leg bit off by the big shark. She has been unable to find work since and has been quite depressed.

Although she used to be an athletic joyful person, she had become a bit more guarded, and is almost quite shy to talk to Amine. She's also a bit scared of the director and the mayor who have asked her to not talk about the incident to anyone. Since getting a prosthetic leg though she has started exercising again, and is finding the courage to get back in life. She lives with her husband who works in the catering industry and her teenage son. She has wide shoulders and wide hips, dreadlocks and wears dark lipstick. She has strong political opinions and is frustrated because she hasn't got anyone to talk about it in town. She loves dancing and going to parties. She also loves the sea life obviously but also budgeting (she has a youtube channel about budgeting). She is very reluctant to believe Amine once he tells her about the ghosts, but for some reason finally decides to go along to the aquarium. story by @octo-pulse design by me

#protagonist #modelsheet #animation #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign #art

[secretcrab]

THERESA, THE DIRECTOR

Theresa is a fifty-something white women. She's been director of the aquarium for a fair few years and although she seems to do a horrible job, she's still there, making a weirdly big salary.

Theresa comes from a middle-class background but her position at the aquarium has allowed her to get good money and she lives in the good part of town with her new boyfriend (she's divorced). She dresses in a very classic style but always has funky earrings or glasses to feel young. She regrets the 70's where things were more free and fun. She likes psychedelic rock music, gossip magazines, fine cuisine and red wine.

A former business student, she has had a few businesses that all sorta failed but she's managed to stay on top. She has grown bitter against the new generation that she deems lazy and whiny. She thinks of herself as a self made woman who's been grabbing opportunities. She's a boss lady archetype. Because of the mood of the town going down, she has felt less and less safe and in consequence has become relating to some far right ideas.

Meeting with Amine and the gang can lead her in different direction depending on the choices of the player : she can realize her bitterness has been isolating her from the world and making her loose her ethics, Or she can be comforted in her positions and reject the group altogether.

story by @octo-pulse design by me

cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign

#modelsheet #animation #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign

[secretcrab]

JENNIFER Jennifer is also a twenty-something. Her and Amine dated for 4 and a half days in high school, and they haven't really spoken since. She works at a local boat & car garage as a mechanic and she's soon to be junior manager. She drives an old cool car that she's been tinkering with. Her makeup is always on point, although her clothes are often roughed up and dirty. She's quite buff but has a bit of a belly and wide hips. She's very straightforward and extrovert. She loves R'n'B music, dumb reality TV and reading poetry. And watching monster trucks. She used to be rash and impulsive, but starting working very young made her actually super responsible. Although she doesn't have a lot of money, she's got her life together, budgets and eats well. She puts a lot of pressure on herself. Meeting back with Amine and his crazy story, she feels a lot of joy in going for adventures ! story by @octo-pulse design by me

#modelsheet #animation #artoninstagram #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign

[secretcrab]

AMINE Amine is the hero of the story and the only playable character. Amine is a twenty-something boy from Maghreb descent. He studied in the town's university where he got a good degree, but can't do much with it as he doesn't have the means to leave the town. He is a nice good boy ! A little bit shy and tame at the beginning, he will gain in self confidence as the game goes on. He likes to help and whishes he could help his mother financially. He lost contact with a lot of his friends who have left town and is a bit of a loner when the game starts. His adventures will force him to reconnect with old acquaintances and meet new unexpected townspeople. He is quite tall and slender and a little bit slouched. He's got a passion for anime and French rap music, as well as burritos. He likes wearing jeans and band t-shirt. Although it's not the most rewarding, he slowly grows to love working at the aquarium with the fishes. story by @octo-pulse design by me

#modelsheet #animation #artoninstagram #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign #protagonist #maincharacter

[secretcrab]

Hello ! I'd like to start this new year by showcasing a personal design project undergone with @octo-pulse on the writing. It's a videogame pitch project tentatively named "Ghosts of the Aquarium" : a point and click mystery adventure in a small seaside town. You play as Amine, a young adult gone back to his hometown. He found a job working in an aquarium which provides him with his very own flat ! (it justs... smells a bit fishy...) However one day, due to a mysterious artifact, he starts seeing GHOSTS ! And weirdly enough... FISH GHOSTS. He then embarks on a series of adventures to try and uncover the mystery of the ghost fishes, and will stumble on EVEN BIGGER mysteries surrounding the entire town !

Over the next few days, I will present to you the cast of this project. For now, here is a lineup of some of the characters. Hope you'll enjoy !

#modelsheet #animation #artoninstagram #drawing #cartoon #design #videogames #characterdesign

[secretcrab]

#illustration #scuba diving #character design