For a while I thought I lost this. Looked around for some time and then double checked the Crash archives very thoroughly. Just before I panicked... Sure 'nuff... It was there!
By request here's the very first original color chart for Crash from his days as Willy the Wombat. You can clearly see the primitive limited polygon modeling on the character. There was a tab of paper clipped to the top with notations I made. It read...
Fur - oranger
Pants - bluer - brighter
Shoes browner - darker
Back "flame"
Gloves - brown like shoes, darker tone than printout
Mouth area - nice & pink
I think this was provided for me when I was prepping some concepts for the cover of the first game or maybe ND needed help with color. Not quite certain but in any case here it is. I know that Crash fans everywhere will appreciate the historic and artistic significance. Good thing I held on to this stuff. So here ya go guys! Clicking on the image will give you a better view.
HOLY CRAP CHARLES, NOSTAGLIA COMMIN BACK TO ME!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry about that Charles, got a tad bit carried away there! Awesome posting this and thank you! Love Crash's face!
This is history! The very first Crash Bandicoot model ever created if I got it right. Thanks Charles, thanks for everythig you have done for us fans and for Crash, because thanks to you Crash will live!
ReplyDeleteHey Charles, now that I look at it, the first Crash model resembles this model Vicarious Visions used in their GBA titles (i.e. The Huge Adventure, N-Tranced):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.crashmania.net/images/characters/chcrashxs.jpg
Hey Charles, did other characters in the first game received the same treatment too in terms of 3D Color Charts? Also, when ND was developing Crash 2, they redid Crash's model; did the Crash 2 model received a 3D Color Chart too and other characters (Here's the Crash model:
http://www.crashmania.net/images/characters/chcrash23ctr.jpg)?
Sorry Charles, links are not working, check here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.crashmania.net/?menu=ch&page=crash
Pat, I wasn't aware of what was happening with Crash as far as his remodeling on the subsequent games after Crash 1. This is the only color chart / CG model printout in my possession. ND reworked him slightly after the first game and he continued to evolve depending on who was producing the games and who was in charge at Universal or Sony Japan or what have you.
ReplyDeleteYou'll notice that in the color chart I posted Crash has three fingers and a thumb. ND changed his hand design in later games to four fingers because of Japanese sensibilities. His nose was also reduced in size after the input of Sony Japan.
In game Crash always had 4 fingers in total for each hand except for Twinsanity. Crash only have 5 fingers in the High Poly renders but in the game he have 3 "spikes" and a thumb.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why Sony was like that with Crash. The original Crash 2 manga is the craziest comic I ever read (Thanks to Crash Mania) with strange scenes like one where Crash pees!
Wrath of Cortex, CNK, Crash Tag Team Racing, Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant are the only current gen Crash games with the characters having three fingers and a thumb (like cartoons).
ReplyDeleteWhat I think was clever of Radical Entertainment is that they included a Japanese Crash model when Vivendi Universal shipped Crash Tag Team Racing in order to appeal to the Japanese market. They gave him the usual four fingers and a thumb, small nose, pacman eyes, etc...
What I think future developers do when they receive the Crash license is that they should make a Japanese Crash model when the games are shipped to the Japanese area.
Hey Charles, were you involved with the classic death animations when Crash gets harmed (I.e. burnt and disintegrated, flatten, angel, turning into bits and pieces when being touched by an explosion, etc...)?
He have 4 fingers in every game. Look at this screenshot, he Have 3 fingers and a thumb.
ReplyDeleteThey gave him 5 fingers only in High Poly renders because of Sony. And I still think that it is strange that they wanted this when Mario and Sonic have 4 fingers...
Ops, here is the screen: http://images.wikia.com/crashban/images/1/1c/Cortex_Hologram.jpg
ReplyDeletePat, I started to go down that path with Crash. I did something with his pants on fire and perhaps a few other things but ND started getting involved with the character more along these lines after I did most of my initial work.
ReplyDeleteGabriele, at first Crash had 3 fingers and a thumb for the US and Europe market but they gave him 4 fingers and a thumb for Japan. After a while ND figured it was easier just to give him the Japanese hand in all versions cuz it didn't matter in the west. As I've mentioned previously ND was always very sensitive to what Sony Japan wanted. If they told ND to give Crash a third eye and four arms they would probably have done it.