PHILLIP
For my final major project at University, I challenged myself to craft a collection of animated sequences starring my character, Phillip. Described as incompetent, lazy, and thoughtless, I aimed to showcase his careless personality in a humorous light throughout these sequences.
I based the character of Phillip on a drawing by Animator Sunniva Fludge Hole. After obtaining permission, I began building the maquette. I did however want to give my character a different hairstyle to Hole's illustration. I found hair inspiration from a photograph of the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip, Thus, the name Phillip was born!
Upon completing the sculpture, I delved into the exploration of Phillip's facial expressions, fine-tuning the necessary physical shapes for his mouth and eyebrows that would be crucial for the stop-motion puppet.
The excitement of fabrication kicked off! I started by crafting a plaster mold of the clay maquette. Once the plaster dried, I released the maquette and applied silicone latex to the mold. After multiple layers, I removed the cast and reinforced its structure with upholstery foam. This process was replicated for Phillip's arms and shoes.
Subsequent to this procedure, I constructed Phillip's body by utilizing a pre-made armature. Upholstery foam, plastic, and balsa wood were applied to the armature, crucial for retaining his distinctive 'pop belly' figure when manoeuvred during the stop-motion stage.
In tandem to the mold- making process, I crafted multiple jaw lines and mouths of various sizes to match the syllables in Phillip's planned sequences. Additionally, I designed multiple eyes and eyebrows to capture the range of expressions I envisioned for him.
In line with my design brief, I aimed to craft four animations highlighting Phillip's hilariously incompetent personality, drawing inspiration from the slapstick comedy of Aardman.
