Kung Fu Giraffes!

Beware, there's lot of text this time.

So, I visited my friend some time ago and we decided it was time to watch Kung Fu Panda 2. I had seen the first movie but never the sequel. Naturally, because it was a sequel I didn’t have any expectations before seeing it. I had just heard that in focuses more on Po and his past. Nothing else.

And I have to admit that I was surprised. The movie was darker and in some points very serious, even though the movie is comedy most of the time. But.. oh, boy. When the movie gets serious, it is very good. Seriously good. 

It was wonderful to see how many different animation styles they used in the movie. Chinese puppetry, 2D...Great stuff! I was also surprised to see how many characters actually got killed during the movie. You didn’t see them die but it was pretty clear. 

The villain was very well done. The design, animation and the voice acting were top notch! I can't describe how much I loved the mixture of disappointment and insanity in the character's personality (actually, I could but there would be so much text to read..). And of course I really, really liked those staring bird eyes. I can't remember when was the last time when I saw a movie villain, that was elegant, smart and charming but still had.. not empty, but heartless and crazy stare. It's hard to pull that off and make it effective. I mean, anyone can draw a crazy looking character. But to make it actually "feel"creepy and real, that's another story.

Okay, let's cut the story short. After finishing the movie I got so inspired that I decided to draw some kung fu fighting giraffes. Stop smirking! This is the best idea since sliced bread! Almost. Not quite but almost.

I didn’t want to draw fancy pictures of giraffes kicking some butt. I wanted to explore what kind of characters these are. I had some ideas what kind of personalities they could have which was a good start. So, I made some experiments with different styles trying to find the right style for the characters. Still haven't found it but I think I'm getting closer every step..

It's kinda funny that the orange giraffe turned from a loveable big sister to an arrogant and jealousy filled character. At least in my mind. It doesn't really show up that well in the drawings.. The white one is an albino. Like many albinos, he's also blind which explains why his eyes won't seem to focus anywhere.

This can sound very silly but I had lots of troubles drawing these giraffes on two legs. I didn't know how to deal with the front legs because they were so long. Finally, I understood that I don't have to make them as long as real giraffes have.

In case you are wondering what giraffe on two legs looks like if the front legs aren't shortened:

Holy geometry! Those legs are so long that you would think that animal is related to spiders or something.

Wait a minute. 

Spiders. Giraffes. Giraffe spiders. I wonder what those look like..

SWEET MOTHER OF BAMBI’S MOTHER’S KILLER!! What on earth is that and how to do you get rid of it?!

Maybe next time I will draw giraffes that actually do some kung fu.