Story Treatment #1

Peter is calmly having fun playing trains by himself. He discovers the satisfying “click” that follows when he connects the two magnetic couplings. Mitch stands in the background, eyeing Peter suspiciously. He decides to take Peter’s fun for his own. As Peter drives the trains back and forth, Mitch steals the caboose and sticks his tongue out at Peter in defiance. Peter, hurt, decides that it would be better to move on to the other train than to retaliate. Mitch, seemingly ineffective in gaining attention from Peter, decides that this stolen fun isn’t what he thought. He kneels by Peter. Peter protects his other toy from being stolen by holding it closer. Mitch backs away slyly, seeing that he won’t be able to steal directly this time, and sits. Peter, trusting that Mitch wants to play together this time, begins to relax. Peter builds using the spare tracks, and Mitch inches closer to the second train. Before Peter realizes that his figure-8 track is on a collision course, Mitch takes the bridge piece Peter needs and begins to play with both trains. Peter, stuck with a worthless flat track, looks around for his train, only to find Mitch playing with both! Mitch laughs in triumph, but Peter turns away, upset. Mitch is shaken – he didn’t think Peter would take it this personally. Mitch offers the train back, but Peter shrugs his shoulder away. Mitch leaves the toy and goes off screen. Peter sees the toy, sniffs, and picks it up. He still doesn’t have the track piece he needs, though, so he looks defeated. Mitch returns with a bridge piece and sets it over the straightaway. Peter realizes his repentant nature, and grabs a connecting piece. Mitch does the same, and both place their connectors. As the train rolls up the bridge and descends, credits roll. 

Value/Color Study

I wasn't happy with my original (admittedly hasty) color job. I decided to go back over my color choices, changing them to match both the characters and the situation. Peter wears a purple shirt and slightly faded blue jeans; he doesn't stand up for himself too much, but stays calm and cool. Mitch wears an orange shirt with khaki jeans; he's rambunctious and energetic, but has some serious insecurities. Lastly, orange and purple are complimentary... Peter and Mitch just might be able to overcome their differences and become real friends.

T-pose drawings for future 3D modeling.

Some Character Expressions For Peter and Mitch

Character Concept Writing

Brian Crawford

Art 353A Wendy

Tues-Thurs 1-3:45

Backstories

Peter

     Peter is a pretty even-keeled five-year-old with soft blue eyes and light brown hair.  His two parents just welcomed his little sister, Alice, into the world, and Peter could not be happier.  He talks to her, holds her, and plays with her – but she’s his sister, so all of that comes naturally.  Peter still needs to build his self-confidence when it comes to interacting with the other kids at the elementary school.  Despite the fact that both of his parents are back at work, Peter attends public school both to save money and branch out.  The problem is, he’s a little young for his grade; most of his classmates turned six during the spring or summer – Peter’s birthday isn’t until late September.

     Peter plays pretty easily by himself; after all, he was an only child for four years.  This comes into conflict, though, with some of the other attention-deprived kids who have a harder time keeping their hands to themselves.  Last year, in kindergarten, Peter was in the middle of painting and another child decided that she needed that brush immediately.  Instead of crying when she snatched the brush from his hand, Peter offered her his pink paint, too.

     Calm as ever, Peter returns home everyday and puts his backpack at the foot of his bed where it belongs.  He grabs his favorite book, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and hops into his sister’s crib to read to her.  Peter’s parents understand that he’s adorably sincere, but they wonder how long it’s going to take before he learns to stand up for himself.

Mitch

     Mitch is an athletic, hyperactive six-year-old.  He’s the only son of a single mother who works as a nurse in the local ER.  Mitch loves his mom, but often has a hard time understanding why she’s gone for so many hours at a time.  He spends a lot of time at the after-school day care with the faculty kids because his mom can’t pick him up when the first-graders get out at 3 in the afternoon.  As a result, Mitch has little trouble making friends, but oftentimes he lets this go to his head.

     Mitch gets a lot of praise at school: he wins races at recess, he kicks the kickball farther than anyone besides Big Leo, and he gets all the best deals on lunch-box trades.  He’s got blonde hair and piercing blue eyes – not overly tall, but handsome enough to get tagged affectionately during a game of girls-chase-boys.  That’s why he’s so thrown off whenever a new student doesn’t immediately like him.  Mitch is outgoing and extroverted, but doesn’t always realize how intrusive other kids find his attitude to be.  He’s popular, but what Mitch really wants is a friend he can really trust.

     When Mitch finally gets home, he often has to help with the dishes.  His mom seems really tired all the time, and as much as Mitch tries to help her out, she really only laughs when she gets one of her long weekends and they get to go to the zoo.  Mitch notices how happy the other kids are when they get picked up from school by their dads.  Maybe his mom just needs a friend too.

Attribute List

Peter

1. Caring
2. Soft-spoken
3. Calm
4. Sincere
5. Introverted
6. Considerate
7. Imaginative
8. Observant
9. Self-motivated
10. Accepting
11. Timid
12. Rational
13. Small
14. Focused
15. Lenient
16. Patient
17. Obedient
18. Penitent
19. Respectful
20. Truthful

Mitch

1. Energetic
2. Ambitious
3. Athletic
4. Extroverted
5. Capable
6. Cognizant
7. Emotionally Insecure
8. Selfish
9. Prideful
10. Valorous
11. Popular
12. Lonely
13. Curious
14. Instigating
15. Hyper
16. Protective
17. Loyal
18. Tough
19. Jealous
20. Impulsive

Toll Booth Exercise

     On one particularly hot Wednesday, Peter and Mitch were driving around the outdoor asphalt courts in their Little Tike push-cars.  Peter was following the sidelines in a clockwise direction, as per the Toll Road Rules, and Mitch was hot on his trail.  Peter made sure to slow down before coming to the turnstile Toll Gate so as not to scratch his beautiful red paintjob, and got out of his vehicle.  He looked at the monitor:

PLEASE INSERT PAYMENT (2 COINS)

     Peter put his hand in his left pocket, looking for the two coins he’d grabbed beforehand.  BLAM! Mitch rear-ended Peter’s car and ran it into the turnstile, only to have the locked machine recoil back to its starting position.  Peter spun around, pockets empty, and eyed a very mischievously grinning Mitch.  He’d stolen the coins, no doubt, and probably traded them already.  No wonder he was bragging about having two brownies ready for lunch!

0 COINS ENTERED. PLEASE INSERT PAYMENT.

     Mitch, laughing at the apparently foolish Peter, backed up and pedaled around the turnstile while the yard-duty wasn’t looking.  But Peter wasn’t about to break the rules.  The turnstile was supposed to accept the plastic coins the students were given by their teachers every morning before recess.  However, Peter had noticed earlier that the plastic coins were the same size as the quarters he’d brought for milk money.  Peter reached into his right pocket for the quarters his dad gave him, and paid the toll.

THANK YOU! PROCEED.

     His hot lunch was going to be pretty dry without the chocolate milk Peter was used to, but at least he knew he’d done the right thing.  His dad was sure to be proud.

More Concept Art

Some concepts...