Blog Reflection

I feel that this blog has helped me to organise and write down my ideas more efficiently. It keeps them all in the one place, so that if I ever need to find them again it is easy. At first I wasn't sure of what I was meant to be posting but after a while it became easier. I worked on my ideas over the last few weeks and then posted them all yesterday, in the right order. The only thing that worries me about posting ideas online is that they can easily be stolen, but for the purpose of this module it worked out well.

Lexsys - Kevin Photoshop Painting

This is a photoshop painting of my character Kevin Romero, from the story 'Lexsys'.

Lexsys - Alex Photoshop Painting

I have further developed the design of the character Alex Mendez from the 'Lexsys' story.

Lexsys - Travis Photoshop Painting

Here I have further developed the character design of Anthony Travis for the story 'Lexsys'.

Lexsys - Character Profile - Travis

This is the profile for my character 'Travis' from the Lexsys story.

NAME: Anthony Travis

NICKNAME: 'Travis'

OCCUPATION: Bike Messenger for Lexsys Courier Service

BIOGRAPHY: He grew up in a poor area, living with his father. He has never met his mother. His father did his best to provide for them but when Travis was 14 he tragically died of a heart attack. With the little money they had left, Travis moved to the city with a few possessions and some of his fathers photographs. For a while he was living on the streets because he could not afford to stay in his fathers house anymore. He began looking for a job, but many places turned him down due to his age. However, he came across an advert for Lexsys Courier Service in a discarded newspaper and decided it was worth a try. They hired him on the spot and he has been working there ever since. His best friends Kevin, Alex and Mel also work there and he now shares a flat with Alex.

AGE: 21

HEIGHT: 6ft 3in

BODY TYPE: Slim, athletic figure.

COMPLEXION: Pale

EYES: Green

HAIR: He has stylish black hair, occasionally with some blonde or green dye through it and a goatee. His hair is messy and reaches to his jaw line.

CLOTHING STYLE: Usually he wears his bike messenger gear; a tight cycling top with a t-shirt over it, baggy three quarter length shorts, cycle shoes, fingerless gloves for grip, a hat, and lots of chains. Another item he is always carrying would be his messenger bag.

GENERAL DEMEANOR: Easy-going, takes life as it comes.

BEST QUALITIES: He is very likeable, and a good listener. He is always there for his friends, and considers them to be his family. He is generally calm, caring and honest.

WORST QUALITIES: He can be too relaxed. He daydreams a lot, which sometimes makes him appear to be quite clueless. He doesn't like to talk about himself.

WEAKNESSES: He has trouble getting over his fathers death, and finds it hard to trust new people that he meets.

HOBBIES: Cycling, working out, listening to music and photography.

TALENTS: He is a good artist and writer.

RULES:

- He always wears his fingerless gloves.

- He would do anything for his three companions.

- He is always carrying a photograph of his father.

- He has almost always got headphones around his neck.

Concept Sketches:

Lexsys - Character Profile - Kevin

This is the profile for my character 'Kevin' from the Lexsys story.

NAME: Kevin Romero

NICKNAME: 'Kev'

OCCUPATION: Bike Messenger for Lexsys Courier Service

BIOGRAPHY: Kevin has always lived in the city, and at an early age he had to look after himself. His mother and father were never around much, and when he turned 16 he moved to his own apartment. He lived near Lexsys Courier Service and applied for a job when he first moved in. He has been working there ever since.

AGE: 24

HEIGHT: 6ft 1in

BODY TYPE: Toned, muscular figure.

COMPLEXION: Tanned

EYES: Brown

HAIR: He has blonde dreadlocks, reaching to his shoulders.

CLOTHING STYLE: He usually always wears a hat to keep his dreadlocks out of his face. He likes wearing sleeveless tops with lots of beaded necklaces and bracelets, and baggy jeans/trousers. Like the others he wears cycling shoes.

GENERAL DEMEANOR: Quiet and mysterious.

BEST QUALITIES: He doesn't talk too much about himself, but he is a good listener. He is very logical and a quick thinker.

WORST QUALITIES: He can be mean or aggressive if annoyed, or not in a good mood.

WEAKNESSES: He is unable to communicate well with others.

HOBBIES: Writing and playing music, rock climbing.

TALENTS: He is very good at creating music.

RULES:

- He always wears his beaded necklaces and bracelets.

- He never says too much about himself.

Concept Sketches:

Lexsys - Character Profile - Alex

This is the profile for my character 'Alex' from the Lexsys story.

NAME: Alexander Mendez

NICKNAME: 'Alex'

OCCUPATION: Bike Messenger for Lexsys Courier Service

BIOGRAPHY: Alex grew up in a pretty normal family, not far from the city. They weren't rich by any means, but they had a decent lifestyle. He often argued with his father, and after high school he made the decision to move into the city, to avoid causing the family more problems. His first job when he moved to the city was in a newsagents, but being an energetic person he wanted more of an active job. He was hired at Lexsys Courier Service, where he would be a bike messenger, delivering packages around the city. Here he met Kev, Mel and Travis and they quickly became good friends. He has since become room mates with Travis, and still keeps in contact with his parents, though not regularly.

AGE: 22

HEIGHT: 6ft

BODY TYPE: Slim and muscular, athletic figure

COMPLEXION: Fair

EYES: Ice Blue

HAIR: He has short, spiky dirty blonde hair

CLOTHING STYLE: He is normally wearing a tank top of some kind, and trousers or shorts depending on the weather. He sometimes wears a hat and often carries his mp3 player and headphones. He also wears fingerless gloves for grip when he is working.

GENERAL DEMEANOR: He is fun and jokes a lot, but can be serious if he needs to be.

BEST QUALITIES: Being able to make people smile and have fun. He is honest, fun and very energetic.

WORST QUALITIES: He can sometimes joke at inappropriate moments, and doesn't like to take things too seriously. He can be quite aggressive if someone provokes him, but not towards any of his friends.

WEAKNESSES: He is not as intellectual as the others.

HOBBIES: Working out, listening to music, break-dancing and playing basketball.

TALENTS: He is naturally good at sports.

RULES:

- He is protective of his friends, to the point where he can be aggressive.

- He is always quite energetic.

- He always carries his mp3 player wherever he goes.

- He doesn't like to talk about his family.

Concept Sketches:

Lexsys - Character Profile - Mel

This is the profile for my character 'Mel' from the Lexsys story.

NAME: Melanie Fitzpatrick

NICKNAME: 'Mel'

OCCUPATION: Bike Messenger for Lexsys Courier Service

BIOGRAPHY: Mel grew up in the outskirts of the city, with her mother, father and two brothers. She had a pretty normal childhood, occasionally fighting with her parents and brothers as any teenager would. She started working for Lexsys Courier Service when she was 16 and still living with her parents. It wasn't until she was 19 that she decided to move in to the city, to be closer to her work and friends. She still keeps in contact with her parents regularly.

AGE: 20

HEIGHT: 5ft 5in

BODY TYPE: Slim, slender figure

COMPLEXION: Fair

EYES: Deep blue

HAIR: She has short brown, layered shoulder-length hair

CLOTHING STYLE: She is normally seen wearing a zipped hoodie and three quarter length shorts, with her cycling shoes. Occasionally she will wear fingerless gloves, but her clothing style is generally very plain.

GENERAL DEMEANOR: She is bubbly and fun, yet shy around strangers.

BEST QUALITIES: Being fun and keeping things light-hearted.

WORST QUALITIES: If she is not in a good mood she will be very quiet, making others feel awkward around her.

WEAKNESSES: Being shy when talking to people she doesn't know well.

HOBBIES: Working out, playing video games, and surfing the net.

TALENTS: She is very fit and athletic, and also is good with computers.

RULES:

• She is the baby of the group, being the youngest and shortest.

• She doesn't like listening to music when cycling.

• She gets along better with guys, and finds it harder to be friends with girls.

Concept Sketches:

Lexsys Preliminary Story

This is a preliminary story that I created specifically for this module. It is a very rough story and needs to be developed further, but I think it would be better as a series rather than one big story.


"Lexsys"

The story follows a group of four bike messengers, who work at the company Lexsys Courier Service. It is set in a run down city in New York. The four messengers met through the company when they were younger, and over the years they have become very close friends. They consider each other family. Each day the messengers, Alex, Travis, Mel and Kev, deliver packages for Lexsys without considering what is in them, as any messenger would. The have been working there for years and go through their daily routines as usual.

Things start to get suspicious however, when they are sent to relatively unusual places to deliver packages. While leaving one of these shady places after a delivery, Kev, Travis and Mel are shocked to see Alex being dragged off his bike by multiple police officers. They watched nearby as he was handcuffed and roughly shoved into the police vehicle, Kev and Mel restraining Travis who was desperate to help his room mate. Doing so would have landed them all in jail and they would have no hope of helping Alex. One thing was for sure, he was arrested because of whatever was in the package he was delivering.

Now terrified of who they might be working for, the remaining three vow to get Alex out of jail and leave the city as soon as possible. But when the four messengers do not return, and there are rumours of an arrest, the company boss can't take any chances. Knowing they must have figured out what he was up to, he hires a team of skilled men to track them down. Kev, Travis and Mel raised enough money together to bail their friend out of jail, and quickly they started gathering their belongings, taking as little as possible. Without a lot of money, they no choice but to travel by bike which is terribly slow and exhausting. They must stop several times on their way for food, drink and rest. Sleeping on the streets meant that the little rest they did get was not particularly comfortable, but they could not afford anywhere else. They are completely unaware of the well trained team that is pursuing them, but they will find out soon enough...

2020 Production Storyboards

Here are the production storyboards for the story "2020". These were painted using photoshop cs2. Click to view larger images.

2020 - Character Profile - 'zero'

This is the profile for my character 'zero' from the 2020 story.

NAME: Unknown

NICKNAME: 'zero'

BIOGRAPHY: Zero was the youngest of the group when his parents were taken away. He couldn't understand how they could just disappear and has hope that they are still alive. He always blamed himself for not protecting them enough, even though it was not his fault. He could have done nothing to prevent it. He is now very protective over his sister alias, and swears that he will never let the same thing happen to her.

AGE: 19

HEIGHT: 6ft

BODY TYPE: Muscular figure.

COMPLEXION: Pale

EYES: Ice blue

HAIR: He has short, spiky dyed blue hair.

CLOTHING STYLE: Usually wears t-shirts with jokes or slogans on them, and blue jeans.

GENERAL DEMEANOR: He takes life as it comes.

BEST QUALITIES: He is very caring towards his friend and sister, and willing to do whatever it takes to bring the Government to justice.

WORST QUALITIES: He can be over-enthusiastic, and generally rushes in to things.

WEAKNESSES: He hates being the youngest of the group, and tries to be in charge of things to hide it.

HOBBIES: Computing, working out and listening to music.

TALENTS: He is very athletic.

RULES:

- He always works out, every morning.

- He is always looking out for his sister.

- He blames himself for what happened to his parents, even though he had nothing to do with it.

Concept Sketches: