Here we go! With my previous story ideas.. I'd started to make the other character interacting with the slime molds similar to them in appearance. But by the kind guidance of Phil, (thank you!) the story could possibly be more effective telling the tale of a lonely slime mold...
From that, as slime mold multiply, come together and change shape, the idea of having this character which I am temporarily naming "Bud" (ooo double play-on-word) be able to make and gather other slime molds to help his loneliness has come to rise. If he is a main character, of sorts, he has to be a rather sympathetic character. - But also a relatable one especially for kids. Clothes would help to breach this gap and make him more human-like. As slime molds eat decaying leaves I thought it'd be fitting for him to eat himself new clothes.
And finally, the top of his head is meant to represent that "sporangium phase" just as the slime molds are about to release spores. To fit with an underlying sadness of loneliness I wanted to put a leaf around his head to bounce off rain as he sits in it. As water delays growth, he never grows into an adult sporangium and stays his kid-like self forever - apart from the top of his head. It is constantly making new spores so he can have new friends; and then being reborn, the cycle starting again.
One thing I find hilariously interesting about characters who are meant to be low in confidence; their legs and feet tend to turn inwards to show it; which just so happens to be the way I permanently walk - the irony !
Yes - I think making the slime mold the focus will speed everything up for you and not pull focus; just be sure too that the actual cycle is being communicated clearly; the idea of your character eating to create clothes is, in fact, a potential confusion - because it might leave someone to think that slime molds actually cocoon themselves in debris (as some organisms do). Everyone has to be very careful that the artistic liberties don't cross over into the appearance of facts. The point about slime moods is that, in order to survive, they have to aggregate - in other words, it could be said that the mantra of the slime mold is 'no one is an island' - the idea that your lone 'Bud' discovers happiness in community seems to be the through-line you need to clarify - i.e. that it's about community, co-operation and a sense of achieving things as a group and being a part of something bigger. You need to be careful that any garnishing of the cycle is only there to make it more communicable and memorable, as opposed to injecting some new, less helpful strand. Personally, the idea of your 'Bud' being more of a 'lost baby' (I'm thinking of that lovely simple character design on your other development sheet) being lost in the forest would certainly pull on the heart strings; I'm also thinking, tonally, that you might want to look to the Bear and the Hare commercial - particularly the reveal of 'all the animals around the Christmas tree' moment - as I can imagine how Bud arriving at colony of other slimemolds could really pull on our heart strings:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqWig2WARb0
Having the slime mold itself as the main character makes it slightly harder to communicate the life cycle (or atleast in this indirect way) but it should be okay. :^) Maybe it's a good thing it's not completely obvious to me how to show it, yet. I've got some ideas, though. You do have a point about the clothes, so maybe that can stay as a background -undisclosed- element where it's less of a focus. Sympathetic character gooooo
DeleteWhat a wonderful design Ella, your character is so sweet, i would love to see him animated, your idea is strong too. :)
ReplyDeletethank you very much vlad : D
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