Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Crash Bandicoot - Origin of Coco - Part 5

Here are a few more sketches from the development of Crash's little sister Coco Bandicoot. The drawings are dated May 6 1997. It was my third session working on Coco's design and personality. She still did not have a name at this point but she had a nice look and she had character. You can see how her final appearance was really taking form.



31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some day you should do some "How to draw" tutorials. I wish I was able to draw Coco properly like you did here. She is so cute :D

Unknown said...

Aw, Coco looks so cute. She had a lot of spunk and spiffiness in these drawings to display her emotions.

Charles, I don't know if I asked you this before but was it your idea to redesign her when developing CNK? Reason being is that when she made her appearance in CNK, she didn't have the overalls (she had shiny silky, skinny sweatpants) and her hairstyle was a tad bit different?

Charles Z said...

Nope, twas not my idea. I didn't work on Coco at all on CNK. I came up with designs for new characters and also reworked Neo Cortex to look like an ape at one point. That was the only time I worked on any pre-existing characters. When it comes to Coco I don't know who redesigned her or who made the decision to redesign her. Probably Vicarious Visions with approval from Universal.

Charles Z said...

I should mention that I did work on Coco a little in Crash 3. You'll be seeing art from the game in days ahead.

Unknown said...

Ah, so I guess you were the one who designed Coco with her pet tiger Pura eh?

Anonymous said...

Cortex as a ape? I want to see it!

Charles Z said...

Yes I designed both characters Coco and Pura. I wasn't comfortable working on Cortex as an ape. I wanted to do new original characters but VV asked if I would work on this so I did. I'll get around to posting art from all of these projects. Be patient as there's a lot to go through and I would like to balance the blog with art from other projects as well.

Anonymous said...

Do you designed Baby T and Polar to I guess...

Charles Z said...

Yes I did. I found drawings of the polar bear and little t-rex. Also Dingodile and N-Tropy and Uka Uka. I designed N-Gin but have yet to find the art. Will keep looking. There's a lot yet to come.

David said...

Hola Charles, no hablo inglés muy bien, así que te escribo primero en español y luego en inglés por si no entiendas mi idioma. Me enteré de que tienes tu propio blog gracias a crashmania.net, y desde entonces lo veo periódicamente, especialmente cuando se trata de Crash. Solo quiero decirte que si algún día vuelven a lanzar un nuevo juego de Crash, y tú estás involucrado en su desarrollo, te pido que los personajes vuelvan a ser como antes, como en la era Naughty Dog, como tú los dibujaste. Porque francamente, y seguro que todos estarán de acuerdo, los personajes re-diseñados después de ND no son muy buenos, prefiero el viejo estilo. Quiero que los personajes vuelvan a verse como el principio y que el juego vuelva a sus raíces.

En cuanto a
Coco, ya que estamos hablando de ella, me gustaría que vuelva a ser como antes, como ya te dije, con sus overoles y su apariencia original, pero con un ligero cambio pero sin alterar su esencia. Mira este link y sabrás a que me refiero:

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/171/a/8/Coco_bandicoot_4_by_erfadads.jpg

No sé si has visto esto; es un dibujo, un fan-art hecho por alguien llamado Pey. No sé casi nada sobre él, ya que no pude encontrar mucha información en Internet a pesar de buscar mucho. Solo sé que es un dibujante japonés que también hizo otros dibujos de Coco y otros personajes como Amy Rose, de Sonic. Me gustó mucho como dibujó a Coco, se ve muy hermosa haciendo esa pose y con un buen cuerpo desarrollado. La única queja que tengo, son sus ojos: deberían ser verde en vez de azul, porque en los juegos de Crash sus ojos son verdes. A esto es lo que me refería en que la cambies un poco sin alterar su esencia, convertirla en una adolescente madura, que se vea más como mujer que como niña como Pey lo hizo, manteniendo su peinado y los overoles (puedes dibujarlos como Pey) y la remera blanca, que para mí, son símbolos de Coco. Ella se ve muy linda con esa ropa que con otra. Que opinas?

Hello Charles, I don't speak English very well, so I write first in Spanish and then in English if you do not understand my language. I learned that you have your own blog thanks to crashmania.net, and since then I see it regularly, especially when it comes to Crash. Just want to say that if I ever return to launch a new Crash game, and you are involved in its development, I would ask you that the characters back to be again as they were before, as in the era Naughty Dog, as you drew them . Because frankly, and I'm sure everyone will agree, the re-designed characthers after ND are not very good, I prefer the old style. I want the characters to look back as the beginning and the game back to its roots.

And about Coco, since we're talking about her, I'd like to return to the way she was, as I said, with her overalls and her original appearance, but with a slight change but without altering her essence. Look at this link and you'll know what I mean:

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/171/a/8/Coco_bandicoot_4_by_erfadads.jpg

I do not know if you've seen this, it's a drawing, a fan-art done by someone named Pey. I know almost nothing about him, since I could not find much information on the Internet despite much searching. Just know he’s a Japanese artist who also made other drawings of Coco and other characters such as Amy Rose, from Sonic. I liked how he drew Coco, she looks beautiful doing this pose and well developed body. The only complaint I have is her eyes: they should be green instead of blue, because in the Crash games his eyes are green. This is what I meant in that change a bit without altering her essence, make it a mature teenager, make it look more like a woman instead a child, as Pey did it, keeping her hair and overalls (you can draw them as Pey) and her white T-shirt ,wich for me, are symbols of Coco. She looks very pretty in those clothes than any other. What do you think?

Charles Z said...

Hola David and thank you for your comment. I tried reading it in Spanish but could only pick up a word or two here and there. Thanks for the translation. The artist you linked to Pey did a really nice job on Coco. Very beautiful work. She looks great. I like Coco in her overalls. Thanks again for your comment and also for the link.

I appreciate how you and many others prefer a version of Crash that is closer to what he originally looked like. If another Crash game came along and I was involved I'd do what I could to remain true to the character and look for ways of improving upon it if possible.

Crash deserves another game. Whether or not I'd be involved with it Crash should continue. He has a lot of dedicated fans that deserve to see him in something new.

Good luck guys and best wishes to you. Thanks once more for your comments and for following my blog.

David said...

Thank you for answering my comment, Charles. I agree with you, Crash deserves another game, and I think you should be involve in it designing the characters if it's possible, it would be great and good for the game. And not only that, Naughty Dog must develop eventually the new game, get back the rights and control of Crash to its hands. That would be great for Crash, release a new game with Naughty Dog, his original developer, and you, his original designer.

Even if ND doesn't make a new game, you should be working in the development of the game with Activision or other company. The important thing is that the game and the characters back to be as they were before in the Naughty Dog era, and with you designing the characters in other company, it would be enough for now.

You should talk with Activision, and offer them your services to draw if they planning to release a new game. After all, you are the original creator and designer of Crash and almost of the characters, so why they wouldn't hire you? Think about it.

And going back to Coco, Pey really draw her very well basing on your drawings. He made look Coco so beautiful using your style without changing it much. Rather, he improved it. And that's exactly that i would like to with Coco, with Crash and all the characters: improve them, modernize them, adapt them to this time, using their original style of your firsts drawing made in the 90's as reference. Base on Pey's Coco drawing like he based on your Coco style of the ND era to make her look more beautiful if you can. There are other things that caught my attention in the work of Pey: her ears are bigger, the left ear looks different of the right; it seems to be backward, her eyelis are pink and not browns like you drew them and her side hear are thicker. But still, very good work, her appearance and her body are very beautiful, he made her look more sexy, hahaha!. You can improve that putting your personal touch. Have a great day.

Charles Z said...

David, that would be ideal. I would really enjoy working on another Crash game but it probably won't happen for several reasons.

Approaching Activision is pretty much out of the question. They're a huge corporation and it's virtually impossible to get anywhere with a company that big. I no longer have a relationship with ND so that's out the window as well. I don't know what the chances would be of them ever acquiring Crash.

If there's another Crash game and somebody wants to talk to me about getting involved I'm open to the conversation.

Meanwhile I want to go on to other things. I have my own projects that I've been developing and would like to devote myself to that end. I feel strongly about what I'm doing now in a positive way plus I have my school and that takes a lot of my time and attention.

Who knows what the future holds. We'll see what happens.

David said...

Aahh, ok. I understand. It's a shame that now the things are not like they used to be. ND is not the owner of Crash anymore and you have your academy and others projects. Everyone split up and took their own way. The new developers changed the game and the characters a lot, they went from one side to another, they did not stay in a fixed place and really affect Crash. There was nothing of ND left in the next games, except in Warth of Cortex, it's the only game who kept and respected the ND style and gaming and that's why is one my favorites games togheter with the first 4 games made by ND. Crash have reconnet with ND and you. For the old times.

Charles Z said...

David the ND that we all knew back in the days of the first Crash games is not there. The two principals / founders of the company sold it to Sony in 2001 and they left ND in 2004. Even back then they didn't own Crash. Universal Interactive Studios did.

I'm happy to be working on my own ideas and projects. If someone at Activision would like to discuss working on a revived Crash if they should ever do another game I'd be excited to talk to them. Meanwhile if the occasional drawings I do or the old artwork I'm showing helps to move Crash forward and inspire a new game for all the fans out there I'm fine with that too. You guys deserve a fresh game and who knows. If it happens maybe things will work out and people from the original Crash will be involved. Ya never know.

Charles Z said...

Also what Pey did with Coco is very cool. I'm glad to see what other artists do with the Crash characters especially if they improve upon them. There's lots of room for artists to contribute creatively in their own way to what Crash is about.

David said...

Yes, I knew that about ND. The owners, founders of ND and creators of Crash, Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin, sold the rigths of Crash to Universal and ND to Sony. They left the company in 2004 like you said. I read recently that Jason misses Crash and he would like to see a new game of Crash, remastried in HD the old games or in a very new game, despite he is not the owner of Crash anymore. I think he also said that he and Gavin would like to have the rights of Crash back again in their hands. That's a very good news.

The picture of Coco made by Pey, is one of the best fan-arts that I've seen. The others pictures of her are more amateur and didn't like them much. They weren't what I expected.

By the way, is there more pictures of Coco, or these are the last ones?

Charles Z said...

David I don't think ND ever had the rights to Crash. I'm sure that Universal Interactive always owned Crash. ND only had a contract to produce 3 video games for UIS and the project wasn't even established as to what it would be back in 1994 when they made their deal. They wound up developing 4 games for Universal.

Also nobody held a gun to their head and forced them to leave Universal or sell out to Sony in 2001. This is something they wanted to do. I'm sure Insomniac Games had lots of offers to sell but Ted Price held on to his company and remained independent. The intent to sell to Sony was something these guys always had in mind I believe based upon my experiences with them. That's why they misrepresented important facts in the history of both Crash and J&D. They wanted to make it seem that their project development was coming from inside their studio when in truth it wasn't. They had to contract out the design and development of both of their intellectual properties. Even if it wasn't me it would have been someone else cuz they never had the internal capacity to come up with an original market worthy property while they were there with ND. They needed professional help with both franchises from the ground up.

Also, I don't think they left Sony in 2004. From what I heard they weren't invited to continue with their association with ND. Much of what you get from these guys is spin. The real truth behind the facts is always hidden.

I don't think either of them are necessary for a new Crash game that would have fidelity to the original. Maybe Andy cuz he's a brilliant genius of a programmer. If you really wanted to get to the essence of the original Crash you'd have Joe Pearson on the team.

I'll tell you something else as well. Crash could have been much much better if they kept Joe Pearson and myself involved all those years. These guys are so uptight about our involvement it's been truly disappointing. Incredible selfishness and professional immaturity all across the history of Crash. All those later games that you guys don't like could have been much much better if the parties involved didn't have their heads up their you know whats.

Case in point... If ND really cared about you fans and if ND really wanted you guys to have the full scope of what Crash was all about then why didn't they show you the artwork that I'm sharing with you now? Why did they keep it from you all these years?

I could go way into this but it would get ugly and I would rather go on then get caught up in the disappointments of the past and the petty childish attitudes of these people and all the negativity that goes along with them. Crash could have been way better if they weren't so uptight and kept Joe and I involved. Not just ND but every company that had something to do with Crash. From ND and Universal all the way through to Activision. The best group to work with was Vicarous Visions and even they sold their company.

That's one reason why I'm into my own projects. There's nobody in the way plus I have ideas and characters that I feel are better than Crash. It's time to work on getting these projects out instead of rehashing established projects that people don't want me involved with for whatever reason. Not just Crash but Spyro and J&D as well.

For me personally it's time to move on to new frontiers of creativity and I'll continue to support all of the projects that have gone on before as much as I can in spite of the backroom politics.

Yes, there's a few more drawings of Coco on the way and quite a bit more art from Crash 3 and also CNK. Also I like fan art. Even if it's not at the level of Pey. Doesn't always have to be perfect for me to enjoy.

Unknown said...

Hey Charles, I can agree with some of those pinpoints with ND. I think Sony were so satisfied with their work on Crash that they decided to make them their own to compete in the industry. Also Charles, if you read early interviews when they announced Jak and Daxter, Jason Rubin always claimed that Crash wasn't good enough to enter the next generation of consoles (this is PS2 he's talking about), despite revolutionizing the PlayStation with their four Crash games and putting Naughty Dog on the map.

That always irked me, bad mouthing Crash just as he left ND to start off fresh with Universal but UIS somewhat mistreated Crash. Since starting development of Wrath of Cortex, Mark Cerny was planning to develop a free-roaming Crash title with the help of Traveller's Tales and Sony but Universal couldn't agree and that fell through. So, Traveller's Tales was only given 12 months to start from scratch to finish the game for Fall 2001.

Universal always had a bad habit of rushing games. Wrath of Cortex suffered from this and if you look at Spyro's PS2 entry Enter the Dragonfly, that's better left unsaid and left a huge scar in the franchise. Crash Twinsanity was developed by Traveller's Tales Oxford area and was specifically made to revive Crash but only made one title which suffered from Universal's dumbfoundness and later shut down.

When Crash moved in with Radical Entertainment, they decided to revitalize Crash to bring him to a new generation of gamers. Sure many fans and reviewers alike criticize the new design and gameplay but many true fans welcomed the new Crash (like me). Radical listened fondly to the fans and fanbases such as Crash Mania (who interviewed you back mid 2009).

When Vivendi Universal merged with Activision, it seemed things were taking a turn for the worst. When Radical was developing their next entry for 2010, Activision laid off half of the company working on the game and was thus cancelled. Another company was intended to work on a racing title to coincide with Radical's project but was also canned and Activision hasn't spoken a single word on Crash since 2008.

Also Charles, fun fact: Joe Pearson did indeed worked on the later Crash titles. His company made animatics and storyboards for the cutscenes in Twinsanity and Tag Team Racing.

Anonymous said...

It's sad to know that your videogame career wan't that great. I always thought that back in the days you worked a lot for Crash. Naughty Dog showed a lot of your artworks on their old website, maybe they didn't have all of them or they couldn't find them. I love your style and your works and I love the first four games, those are my favourite games of all time, so it's sad to see that it wasn't all good at Naughty Dog...

Charles Z said...

Don't get me wrong guys. I always enjoyed working on Crash and Spyro and J&D and even other games that you never saw cuz they never came out. But put yourself in my place and imagine what it's like for me to read an article or look at the credits on the game when it's published and find out that I only "tweaked" the work their studios did or read that I did "additional character design" when I created the project from the ground up, or not to be mentioned at all. Imagine working for a few days, not making much money, not getting any residuals or royalties and oftentimes being cheated out of my credits, and seeing entire studio crews working for years off of the stuff I came up with for them while I'm totally cut off from the prosperity they enjoy. Why would I want to work with these people any more?

Even if Crash was to be revived tomorrow there wouldn't be any reason for me to be involved with it. I'm showing the old art and doing some new Crash drawings to help keep interest alive and hopefully there'll be a new game for the fans but there's nothing in it for me. I'm doing it out of love and respect and cuz I want to see a good thing going just like you even if I don't materially benefit from it.

I'm really sorry to make you sad with what I'm telling you, but hiding the truth isn't the solution to anything. From ND to Universal to Activision there's just nothing there. If I called any of these companies tomorrow they would have no idea who I am. Toss in Insomniac cuz I'm a stranger to them as well.

It's okay friends cuz I'm not bothered by it. The problem is with them. That's why I'm not interested in the system any longer. It's dysfunctional. If it wasn't there would still be new Crash games today. I'm much more interested in developing new things. New characters and new projects. It's an exciting time now and you can create new projects without dealing with the broken machine.

I'm not giving up hope. There's always the chance that Crash will come back in a new game. If it happens it will be because of you. Not ND, not Universal, there's not much these guys can do. They had it and they sold it away. You have more influence over Activision then they do.

I really enjoyed my time on these projects. I had fun working with Joe Pearson and David Siller and Jason and Andy and Mark and Bob and Ted and Vicarious Visions and everyone. I have good memories and I enjoy creating new art for Crash and Spyro and all the projects I worked on. I enjoy interacting with you guys and all the fans of these terrific games and characters. I hold no grudges at all with the people I worked with before.

It is what it is, but it's my time now to do what I want to do with characters I come up with and not what someone else is telling me to do. I've been sitting on really good projects that influenced properties like Crash and it's time to get them out so you can enjoy them too.

Stay positive and don't let the behind the scenes history of things get you down. There's still lots to look forward to and as I said before you never know what can happen tomorrow. Things may change and Crash will make a much overdo comeback and the new generation of artists that work on it will do a great job.

When it happens you can give yourselves a high five cuz YOU are the ones who made it happen.

Anonymous said...

You and Joe are credited for your work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WKCGCtYd3M
Joe Pearson is also mentioned in Crash 2 even if he wasn't involved in the project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFTwJ8IdfaQ
and also in Crash 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpvzveP3vSk
You are even credited in CTR and you didn't worked on that game. And Andy Gavin isn't credited on the Naughty Dog crew at the beginning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk7NU3LBI6Q
I don't know maybe I'm only trying to find a reason for what happened and for all the misunderstandings...

Unknown said...

It's also worth noticing that in the Jak 1 credits, Charles is credited under "Additional Character Design". Check at 0:52
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFoa5imzG5Q

David said...

ND never owned the rights Crash? But they developed the character and the game, Universal only was the distributor. I found it now. I didn't say that Jason and Rubin were forced to sell the Crash and leave Universal, I said that I didn't like that decision because that affected Crash with all the changes, according to my opinion.

You said that what we get fron Jason and Andy and company are spins. That the really truht is hidden. So what's the truht then? What reaaly happen in that time with ND and the 2 guys? What is that bothered you and what was disappointing you of working que the people of ND so that you call them inmatures and selfish?. I'm getting confuse and I'm not following you. Remember that I don't speak English very well. Sorry for that.

I agree with you, Charles, when you say that to develop a new Crash game with his original style and conception, ND, speccifically Jason and Andy are not necesarry, althought I would that the company or they are involved in it, because they are the original creators, but that is very difficult. It's more important that you and Joe Parson, as you mentioned, be involved, because you are the desingners and you and him will keep the spirit and esence of Crash, you wouldn't change him dramaticly like in the post ND era. I know that Joe Parson help you in the drawing, but I don't know what exactly did and how much was he involved.

Charles Z said...

id you're misinterpreting much of what I'm saying. Let me wrap this up with what Pat posted in the link to the end credits of Jak and Daxter and also addressing this other point...

Gabriele, regardless of what ND had in their end credits for the early Crash games, how many years did they have on the official Crash timeline that Joe and I came in to work with them in March 1995 when we really started in December 1994 before they had employees?

How many people knew just how extensive our involvement in the creation of Crash was? In the very first article about Crash when it was released in September 1996 Jason was quoted as Joe and I coming in to tweak Naughty Dog's work. Our involvement was misrepresented and trivialized.

Why do you think Joe Pearson never worked with them again?

Take a look at the video link to YouTube that Pat posted. See where it says "Additional Character Design" as my credits?

Check at 0:52
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFoa5imzG5Q

Guys, ND was desperate at the start of Project Y which became J&D. They were under a great deal of pressure. They left Universal and were on their own dealing directly with Sony. They were going to be funded on their next project by Sony and Sony was waiting to see something. They had to have a powerful follow up to Crash. They were so desperate to get art going for a new project they sent their entire development team to my school to train in character design. I knew what was happening at the studio cuz Bob Rafei was my student at the time. I offered to help out with the project and he took my message to Jason and that's how J& D came to be.

I worked for an entire year on that project. All through the year 2000 for a full 12 months. It was the first game where I was making some decent bucks. I created 603 pages of material for J&D. I designed the project from scratch creating looks for characters that still influence video game design to this day.

It was in my contract to be given credit under "Character Design".

Why would Naughty Dog give me credit under "Additional Character Design"?

When Daxter won Best Original Character in 2002 at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California, the press release that was sent out through Naughty Dog and authored by Bob Rafei acknowledged and thanked several people for their work on Daxter. You know how I was acknowledged? That's right. Tweaking or making adjustments to their designs which was a bald face lie. Daxter was completely original. I looked at nothing. I was directed to look at nothing from the start of the project so it could be original and unique. I'm even posting the development drawings for everyone to see on this blog of how I developed the look of the character. How could I have possibly done Daxter by making adjustments on what Naughty Dog was doing?

I saved their asses guys. I created so much art for Project Y / Jak and Daxter that it saved the production and saved Naughty Dog and gave Sony the confidence to fund ND and eventually they bought the company.

They broke their contract by not giving me appropriate credit on J&D and they lied about my work on Daxter. That's how I was thanked.

Why would I want to work with these guys ever again.

Charles Z said...

That's what I mean about professional immaturity. And not just them. Universal never really knew what they had with Crash. They had one incompetent executive after another heading up their interactive division. They had one of the most popular character based video game franchises in the world and they couldn't even make a comic out of it on their own.

And then there's Activision. Ever work with corporate executives on a creative level guys? Look at how they're handling Crash right now. They're too brain dead and blind to see what they've got. Working with entertainment executives is like putting your head in a bucket of water and breathing deeply. Unless they provide a fair deal and a healthy budget then get out of my way so I can do my job it's not worth it. Doesn't quite work like that with them.

The environment today is really good for independent projects. I can develop characters on my own that are just as good or better than anything those guys can come up with and I don't have anyone giving me a hard time or cheating me out of my credit.

And speaking of coming up with characters. What have the guys from ND done since they left? Anything at all? I'm not taking about some art on a website for a project which another artist did for them. It's been 9 years ladies and gents since they left ND. What have they done in that time? Anything else besides nothing?

They made more money on the sale of their company to Sony than they can spend. They'll never have to worry about money for the rest of their lives. ND employees from what I'm told always got bonuses after their games were published. Any bonuses for Joe? But he does have a credit on Crash 2 so that's okay. Trying to be funny here... ;)

Can you see why I've lost interest in these people and their way of doing things and why I don't care to work with them any longer?

Too many unpleasant experiences and the trust has been lost.

But... I had a great time on the games while they were happening and I do appreciate the chance to work with them when it came around back then. I'm happy to see how well they've done. What they achieved is special. Like I said there's no hard feelings. My biggest disappointment is the friendship I once had with them is gone.

You'll never hear this story from them cuz this is my side of what I experienced.

I like working with professionals who aren't on an ego trip and don't have to distort reality. I embrace the truth in all things but this is Hollywood and sometimes when the truth is inconvenient it's changed or it's ignored completely. That's the nature of some parts of this business. Not all but some.

Anyway fellas, God bless. That's how I ultimately feel about it all. :)

I'm working on getting a new project out and hopefully you'll like it enough to get into it as much as you would anything that came before. I'm excited about it.

Stay positive and don't let what I'm describing get you down. Crash and the other games were more than just a handful of people. There was a lot of work from many individuals who had a sincere desire to make something great and that's what they did!

And you fans are great and that's what keeps Crash great and why he's still alive even though it's been a while since he's had a new game.

Keep the faith and do creative things with Crash! You don't need anybody's permission to come up with new stuff to share on the Web. Maybe someday Activision will get a new perspective and realize what they have. Not just Crash Bandicoot but great Crash Bandicoot fans!

Charles Z said...

I have to tell you folks that I regret being his frank with you. I say it the way it is and am not too keen on pretending. I hope you can appreciate my honesty and I also hope that your enthusiasm for Crash is not affected by what I wrote.

If Activision or anyone else approached me with the intent of my getting involved with Crash again I would be delighted to participate in any way I could if there was a way it could be worked out. I feel very lucky to have been involved on something that became this significant and popular regardless of past frustrations and experiences. That's one of the reasons I continue to create Crash drawings when I can and why I'm featuring historic art from the series.

I'm still a little sensitive about what went down before but I don't want that to get in the way of how much you love the characters and the game. Once again I hope you can appreciate where I'm coming from.

Anonymous said...

I really appreciate your frankness, even if this completely change my original idea of you all working at Naughty Dog. You see, when I was a kid I loved Crash more than anything else, more than Mario or Sonic. I didn't know any of you except for the names in the credits (I read the credits because I wanted to know who creared my most beloved series, those characters, everything). I'm italian so interviews with Jason or Andy were impossible to find for me (No internet, no youtube)and I immagined you as a "family", a group of friends that wanted to create a game and succeded on it. I didn't even know that you and Joe weren't part of Naughty Dog, even if I didn't saw any of your work when I was a kid I always saw you as the designer of my favourite character because the credit said so. But even if what you shared with us is completely different from what I thought before I appreciate it.
My only hope is that one day maybe you all can meet and clarify everything and return friends ;).
Oh and I'm still waiting to see something about your fantastic new project :D.

K100 said...

Hi Charles.
I just want to thank you for all the great artworks of Crash Bandicoot (Old and new)that you give to us.
And I have just read your comment about ND. Thank you for being honest with us about this.
And good luck with your future projects ! :D

And sorry about my english, I'm a fan from France. :)

Charles Z said...

K100 and Gabriele and everyone else, thanks for your comments.

When I started this blog last May I didn't realize it would be getting this much attention from the Crash crowd. I'll continue to feature Crash content as there's still quite a bit that hasn't been seen yet and I'd like to get out to you.

I want to reiterate that working on Crash and all the games I was involved with, Spyro and Jak & Daxter included, was a lot of fun and we all had a good time when it was happening. Keep this in mind when you think of them and when you see that art. We all had a good time and enjoyed the experience while it was happening and that's what matters the most.

Unknown said...

Awwwwww!!!
SO CUTE!
what a great artist