Here's something for the Crash fans. These images are from Crash 3 and the origin of Pura which was Coco Bandicoot's pet tiger cub. They're dated January 29 1998. Unfortunately they're photocopies as I never got quality reproductions of the art I created for Naughty Dog during this period. On the flip side at least I made xerox copies so a record could be kept of what I came up with back then. I don't know if any of these drawings or the ones that will follow have been published before. If not then enjoy some additional art from the heyday of Crash.
Pura is a nice character but I feel the design could have been enhanced. I was provided with a sketch from one of ND's artists and was directed to use it as a model for the design of the character. I don't like working this way. I felt stifled and not able to fully explore all possibilities during the development process. I didn't make a big deal out of it and went along with what they wanted while trying to do my best with the concept. In any case it is what it is and it turned out okay.
Oooh! These are new to me Charles! ND never fully shown additional art of Pura, only these few were on their website:
ReplyDeletehttp://crashland.elynx.fr/ressourcebonus/siteofficiel/c3-character_fichiers/group-shot.gif
http://crashland.elynx.fr/ressourcebonus/siteofficiel/c3-character_fichiers/coco-tiger.gif
http://crashland.elynx.fr/ressourcebonus/siteofficiel/c3-character_fichiers/coco-tiger2.gif
http://crashland.elynx.fr/ressourcebonus/siteofficiel/c3-character_fichiers/coco-tiger3.gif
This was probably done by Bob Rafei:
http://crashland.elynx.fr/ressourcebonus/siteofficiel/c3-character_fichiers/tiger-color.jpg
Hey Charles, I heard from ND that Pura was originally to be a Panda Bear that Coco would ride on but was cut from being to similar to Polar, Crash's pet from Crash 2. Is that true?
Very nice Charles! Pura was another underrated character that I wanted to know more about. Something seems different about these early Pura sketches... but I can't put my finger on it...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links Pat. Good to see some of the originals again. The one you singled out is very likely Bob Rafei's concept. That's what I was given to follow. The sketch not the color version. Did my best to make it an appealing character based upon what they wanted.
ReplyDeleteI don't know the story behind Pura and the panda bear. I wasn't that involved in ND's conversations by the time of Crash 3. I showed up to create development designs based upon what they were coming up with through their own internal discussions.
Jacob thanks. You're probably sensing my attempts at adapting ND's concept. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the process. I prefer coming up with original stuff. Like I said in the post it is what it is and it turned out okay. People seemed to like the character.
ReplyDeleteGreat artworks Charles!
ReplyDeleteDid you know if Pura is supposed to be a male or a female? There are some different information about it...
Thanks Gabriele. I don't know if Pura is male or female. If I were to guess based on the name I would say female. What would you say?
ReplyDeleteIn the credits of the game Crash Team Racing they refers to Pura as "him", but the name and the fact that it's Coco's pet make me think that it's female.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people asked the dame question in Andy Gavin's blog and he doesn't remember unfortunately.
Another question: Who came up with the idea of Polar and Pura acting as a dog and a cat? Pura as a cat make sense but why a Polar Bear should bark like a dog? It's so hilarious, cute and strange at the same time.
Oh and who decided the names of the two?
I always thought he was male because to me Pura has always looked more male and female.
ReplyDeleteWow that really was poorly typed on my part wasn't it? Let's try that again!
ReplyDeleteI always thought Pura was a male because Pura has always looked male and to me has more male features than female.
I assumed Pura, which didn't have a name at the time I was working on the character, to be male. When he was given a name I wasn't sure if ND had decided to make him a her. All the name decisions came from internal discussions at ND which I was not involved with. Also the barking dog Polar Bear was entirely Naughty Dog's call.
ReplyDeletevERY cUTE!
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