Monday, June 17, 2013

Crash Bandicoot - Origin of N Tropy - Part 8

Dated February 19 1998 these drawings are the last batch from the development of Dr Nefarious Tropy from Crash 3. It took a while but I nailed the look and feel of the character after a lot of fun exploring the best way to visually define him. The body machinery has been simplified with the elimination of most of the gear work. The four smaller pistons are now two large ones. The exhaust pipes have been reduced to one and the time piece takes up most of the device. I followed up with a smaller full body sketch for the modelers at Naughty Dog along with back views as well. Hope you've enjoyed these entries and that they've given you a better look into the development of the Crash Bandicoot franchise.



6 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Charles, here's a neat little video I found of a Jak and Daxter easter egg in Naughty Dog's latest game The Last of Us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2f_lvzw_js I knew you would like this.

BTW Very nice job on Tropy's design!

Unknown said...

I recognize these designs Charles, they were displayed on ND's website, all except that last one I believe, along with the infant version of N.Tropy (spoilers for those who didn't finish Warped).

It was fun experiencing N.Tropy's origins, can't wait to see the next character you have in store for us Charles!

Charles Z said...

That's pretty cool Jacob. A subtle homage to J&D. Thanks for sharing the video.

There's more on the way Pat.

Mister Gribouille said...

N.Tropy the Badass!

Anonymous said...

I really love the process of design that went along with N. Tropy, being the important character that he is I'm glad he made the impact that he did on the story! Even though his character wasn't explored that much I think his design makes up for it, since he stands out the most, (I would say) in the N- Team.

I just have a quick question, (if it's alright that I ask), many fans have made very nice assumptions as to what N. Tropy's hair would have been designed like, and I was wondering if you had any input onto what you would have designed it like, (if you had ever given it thought).

Charles Z said...

Hi Veronica. I never thought about his hair until you asked about it just now. If I were in a situation where I'd be exploring what his hair looked like I'd come up with a few different versions and then see which design worked best. In production it would be a situation whereby the producers would decide. If I were doing this privately I'd probably ask a few people which design they liked the best or maybe ask Crash fans which look they prefer. In any case thanks for bringing this up. You've got me thinking about it now. :)