Designing a Model Sheet for Mabel from Gravity Falls

Challenges and Personal Growth

This project was a challenging process for me. My usual drawing style focuses on buildings and landscapes realistically, and I am not known for drawing animated characters. This was a new experience, and I had to step out of my comfort zone to tackle it. Despite the difficulties, I believe I handled this task quite well. I embraced the opportunity to learn and grow, and I am proud of the final results.

Objective

In this task, I designed a model sheet for Mabel from the animation series "Gravity Falls." This involved researching Mabel’s appearance, movement, and personality as conveyed in the original animation. Additionally, I filmed reference footage and produced 1-second pieces of drawn animation (on twos).

Character Research and Study

1. Appearance: I studied Mabel’s appearance, including her facial features, body structure, and unique design elements such as her colorful sweaters and headbands.

2. Movement: I observed how Mabel moved, noting key poses, gestures, and expressions. I paid attention to details such as her energetic and bouncy movements, her posture, and her overall fluidity of motion.

3. Personality: I explored Mabel's personality and how it was expressed visually through her movement, posture, and facial expressions. Mabel is known for her optimism, outgoing nature, and full-of-life attitude.

Film Reference Footage

1. Actions: I used my iPhone to film myself acting out various actions and expressions.

2. Simple Actions: I included the simple action of walking.

3. Facial Expressions: I took a few close-up photos of different facial expressions to capture a range of emotions.

4. Subtleties: I ensured that my footage captured the subtleties of timing, weight, and anticipation to inform my understanding of movement.

Designing the Model Sheet

1. Views: I included the front, side, and back views of Mabel.

2. Expressions: I showed a range of facial expressions that highlighted different emotions (happy, sad, angry, surprised, etc.). I included some mouth shapes.

3. Key Poses: I illustrated key poses or gestures that captured the essence of Mabel’s character.

4. Consistency: I focused on proportions, consistency, and character traits that remained constant across different poses and angles.

Creating 1-Second Animations (On Twos)

1. Reference Footage: Using my reference footage and observations, I drew 12 individual frames to represent 1 second of Mabel’s movement. This was completed on twos (12 frames for 1 second of animation).

2. Simple Action: I focused on a run cycle for the animation.

3. Hand-Drawn: These frames were drawn on paper, not animated digitally or on-screen.

4. Fluidity: I paid close attention to fluidity, maintaining consistent character proportions across all frames.