Transformers Junkers
Early Development
The Concept: (In Progress)
I hold a special place in my heart for junkers, lemons, beaters, and old-but-not-classic cars. What started as a joke has sprouted into a project idea that I intend to catalogue here as I develop it farther.
Note: Don’t make me do graphic design, please.
While still early in the design process of this concept, it’s already given me the opportunity to explore both complex toy design and return to my character design roots.
Weeks 1 and 2
I picked a few old cars that have a cult following and had interesting and toy-like shapes. For this first figure, I chose the Suzuki Samurai/Jimny circa 1980s/90s.
The name “Jimny Cricket” was obvious, but instead of leaning towards Disney, I treated it like a surf nickname. The vibe matched some of the marketing around the old Jimnys.
Because of the complexity involved with a Transformer toy, my main focus in my first few pages, was to draw as clearly as possible and establish the character of the figure.
A Jimny is such a compact vehicle, and I knew it would be a small figure when compared to other Transformers. Seeing this as an opportunity, I played with headgear, because the head is relatively big and would have room for definition.
Suzuki Samurai sometime in the 80s based on the vest.
1987 Freightliner (Optimums Prime: Bumblebee)
I liked the look of a robot with big legs, so I sketched out a character form goal and then split the car into sections, working out the origami of it from there.
After designing the main parts, I “assembled” them all into a final figure. Some mobility problems are still to be resolved, but the basic form of the figure is more or less established.
As mentioned before, the scale of a Jimny is pretty compact. it was important to make sure there were enough panels to build the form. Using Photoshop, I spliced a handful of reference images together to make sure it all fit.
I also included call outs for Pantone colors, pattern ideas and sticker direction. Including a sticker sheet would be a neat idea for this whole line of junkers.
Week 3:
To better show exactly how each part folded, I made a couple quick animations.
Animating is not usually part of my design process. But in this case, it was useful to communicate how different panels move.
What’s next for Jimny Cricket?
Develop the personality of Cricket’s alternate (vehicle) mode
Begin the process of making the physical model using existing toy parts
Find ways to free up movement while in transform mode
Further develop joint and hinge options
Design the stickers and decals
