Project "Mind the Gap"

[Giugiaro]

Good Morning everyone!

Has I said in my introduction, I'm working on a manga called Mind the Gap which features personifications of each Underground Line, the Overground, the DLR and the Tram Link Systems. The Characters were designed originally by Rin [r-ninja in Deviant Art] and were created one year ago, in 2010.

Because I'm not from either London or any part of Great Britain, I'm too much off to really know how is the life of the Underground, it's stations, it's "individualities" and other characteristics of that System, the other rail-based Systems and the city of London.

But since no one has started to give attention to the characters designed by Rin, I started to make some redesigns/restylings to encourage the original author to do something. But, anyway, I ended up alone in this initiative and I kept going with the restyling of the characters and planing each biography, personality, age, name and relationship for the characters. I also trying to use vectorial drawing to simulate animation frames and I'm pondering if I should start a Manga chapter or if I should find someone to help me develop this first.

So I came to this forum to get more in touch with rail enthusiast who are more knowledgeable of London and its rail transport service and to eventually find some popularity to kick off the "prototyping" and start doing the Manga seriously.


All my art related to this project will be submitted to this folder on my Deviant Art Gallery.


Hope you'll like the result. Maggie is really looking forward to it!

 

[43021HST]

Thats a very original idea for anime is it normally consists of the same old crap. I'm not a manga fan, in fact I'm sick of the sight of it on deviant art. But those drawings of the London Underground are certainly unique.

 

[Aictos]

I'm looking forward to seeing the artwork for the Premier LUL line - The Met

 

[Mojo]

Looks good.

But do you have permission from Transport for London for the use of the roundel? They have been known to take a heavy handed approach to businesses and others in the past where their trademark has been misused.

 

[district]

I'm looking forward to seeing the artwork for the Premier LUL line - The Met

You spelt 'District' wrong

 

[Ivo]

But do you have permission from Transport for London for the use of the roundel? They have been known to take a heavy handed approach to businesses and others in the past where their trademark has been misused.

First things first: The serious stuff. If you haven't already, be sure to apply for this permission. As an ex-employee of Transport for London, Mojo will know how seriously they take this kind of thing.

Anyway, as a "Part-Time" fan of anime, I love the idea of adapting LUL for use in a manga! You have one prospective reader at least

The thing that gets me though is that not all of them have a definite gender. Among those whose genders are clear, I think Northern is hot On that point, I would have to guess that Victoria is a male, but it is a guess. Isn't this the obvious one by gender?

And lastly, I don't see a Tram anywhere. Having said that though, is there a chance that this was intentional?

------------

P.S.: Can I just commend you on your ability with the English Language? It is excellent!

 

[starrymarkb]

It brings these to mind... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS-tan

As for gender ambiguity - the Japanese do that very well (mmm Hizaki) - I think Bishōnen is the style

 

[Ivo]

It brings these to mind... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS-tan

As for gender ambiguity - the Japanese do that very well (mmm Hizaki) - I think Bishōnen is the style

And don't I know it. After being subjected to about sixty episodes of Sailor Moon (the Japanese version, which is actually very good, as opposed to the downright awful version we got), I would like to think I've gotten good at being able to tell, but apparently not. Having said that though, I'd be worried if the 2000 and XP characters in your link fell into the category of "not the gender they appear to be"!

 

[WestCoast]

Looks interesting!

You could also do some designs on other National Rail train operators. I'm thinking that Virgin Trains might like this sort of thing.

I'd love to see what the Northern Rail, Merseyrail and Arriva Trains Wales characters would look like!

 

[Ivo]

Looks interesting!

You could also do some designs on other National Rail train operators. I'm thinking that Virgin Trains might like this sort of thing.

I'd love to see what the Northern Rail, Merseyrail and Arriva Trains Wales characters would look like!

That sounds like a good idea for a good vs evil anime! You could have all the "good" guys, like c2c, SR, ME and the OA operations (the ones that don't get much bad publicity) against the "evil" SE, SN, XC and others (the ones all the bad press is about). And each episode takes place in a different place in the UK, as the good guys slowly make their way to Westminster to solve all the railway problems in the country.

[N.B.: The above selections are based on the stereotypes I have become used to on this forum.]

Oh, and to satisfy Beardy, he can be the wise overlord that the good guys look to. There's always one somewhere...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I just had a look at all the character descriptions, as copied below:

Bakerloo - The rough speaking, inquisitive type. (Baker Street being where Sherlock Holmes lived).
Central - The laid back big brother type. Also the tallest (seeing as Central line is the longest).
Circle - The party animal.
District - The sporty big sister type (focusing on the fact you reach Wimbledon on this line).
Hammersmith - Metropolitan's quiet younger brother.
Jubilee - The youngest of the underground lines, has a lot of energy and loves hi-tech stuff.
Metropolitan - The oldest. Finds things rather quiet these days what with all the new lines, but is still the fastest when he needs to move.
Northern - The busiest line. She's a soft spoken, slightly creepy girl who always has grime on her face and apparently speaks to ghosts.
Piccadilly - Token tsundere. He wakes up before everyone else so tends to get a bit grumpy.
Victoria - The main character(?). Second youngest, but always ready to Do His Best (tm).
Waterloo - Despite her short height, is actually one of the older lines. She's blunt and to the point.
Overground - Young, bright, and cheerful.
DLR - Serious-business type. Wonders why twice a year strange people board dressed in silly outfits with strange props.

I absolutely love the DLR description! I wonder all the people I know who go to the ExCel Expo (to which it refers) would make of this?

 

[Giugiaro]

First things first: About the roundel, I’m using it because it was already used by Rin. I kept using it has the main symbol to refer the project has “It is really about the Underground!”. Anyway, there are two things that might happen if TfL founds out about this project, or they’ll ask to use the characters for its mascots, and I’ll be very happy for that, or they’ll put me in really big trouble, which is something that I want to avoid, always.
If there is some way to solve this, I’ll be open for any suggestion.

About the project, it is intended to be a children’s and young teenagers anime, focusing on teaching about using the ticketing and the Oyster card, the timetable and the map, security issues and explaining why there are risks when going too far in playing in the stations, rules of etiquette on the public transport (why should people stay on the right at escalators) , curiosities about the present Underground and its history, tips and tricks to travel with comfort and efficiency by public transport in London and other more general things like saving money, being responsible, acting in emergency situations, having a healthy life, being a good friend, etc…

About the characters, I’ll present publicly all the names, bios, genders, ages and personalities in a Word/PDF file. Anyway, I’ve posted in Deviant Art some information about that aspect, has well has Tram Link character:

I have the names, the ages, the basic bio's, a fictional private room shared by the group, and the titles for the first 10 Anime Episodes (Or Manga Chapters...). I also have other anime characters in which each character will share the personal characteristics and behaviours, for example:
- Maggie (Overground) will behave somewhat like Sumomo (Chobits);
- Waterloo (and City) will have a strong feel of reason like Kotoko (Chobits);
- Bakerloo will react like Edogawa Conan while acting has a detective (Detective Conan);
- Daniel (DLR) will share a lot of his personality with Death the Kid (Soul Eater) except for the Asymmetriphobia thing...;
- The party beast Circle will have Black Star's active behavior (Soul Eater);
- Jubilee will be very docile and cheerful like Angol Mois (Sgt. Frog) but will have more of the "leaderness" and a more stronger presence than Mois-chan;
- Picadilly will be very responsible like Saki Tochō (Miracle Train, where r-ninja had the idea of personificate the Underground lines);
- North(ern), Central, District, (Hammersmith and) City, Metro(politan) and Victor(ia), by now, will have a very unique personality with almost no correspondent characters in other anime.

Only one character will be entirely made from scratch by me, which will by the representative of the London Tram Link.

Anyway, I still have to re-style the remaining characters... Central, Circle, Metropolitan, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo. And I still have to create one for the London Tram Link, which is missing!

Characters about other TfL Systems, other National Rail operator characters and even characters of other metropolitan services from other cities and countries, will depend on the story and the course of our main characters.

There is another issue which is about me and Rin. Rin hasn’t returned to Deviant Art since July, plus he still hasn’t replied me about the question of me being the one to develop the first steps on the “Mind the Gap” project. I was waiting for him to do something since April, but since he never told me if he had anything done or planned, I started doing things by myself:

(The characters I’m restyling are from r-ninja, the original author), I started to restyle some of the characters, starting with North and Jubilee, to inspire the real author to start giving work to the characters he created, but he never had guaranteed me he would ever going to work with his characters again, and then he never replied me, has he never came back to DeviantArt since July.

Because of that, I started to work completely by myself with then, and because I was giving a lot of attention to Sgt. Frog at the time, I started to restyle all the characters to Mine Yoshizaki's style, because I think the style is excellent for children and really easy for me to work with.

I'm trying to find contact with r-ninja to ask him permission to work with "Mind the Gap" has it was mine, because I'm using characters which I don't have all the rights and someone can accuse me of plagiarism at any time, though that's NOT my intention.

About the possible Manga, that will depend on my technique and experience on drawing, if I’ll be working alone or in pair with someone else and if I’ll opt for Manga or Anime (this last one being a very though challenge for only one person, maybe impossible). It also depends on the two issues mentioned above, which will change completely the course of the project.

Anyway, I have to restyle all the remaining characters. About Tram Link, I’ll be asking you some question when I get to him!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
13 - 11 - 2011

Two new characters with full restyling have been added to the gallery, and they are:

Metro - Metropolitan Line

Piccadilly - Piccadilly Line


The artwork with the two characters can be seen on http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/art/Mind-the-Gap-Metropolitan-Piccadilly-267993641


Next up: Waterloo and City Line

 

[district]

When and where can I read the stories?

 

[Giugiaro]

District, the stories are planned but not being written on Manga. Has I said I'm still on restyling the characters and create the character for Tram Link, so something like some Manga pages might be done somewhat in the middle of 2012.

Hope I helped you!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Further to an earlier part of this thread:

Yesterday in London I saw souvenirs on sale which included T-shirts with the roundel worded "Mind the Gap" so I fear there is a high risk that they have already licenced out that variation to someone somewhere.

 

[Giugiaro]

Peter, it depends also in the way they are using the roundel (and who). I have a T-Shirt with the official Tube Map with the Underground seal on the neck that I bought the first (and still the only) time I went to London. Also, they had various roundel keyrings, half of then with the Underground written on it, the other with Mind the Gap, with much other things, like mugs, t-shirts, hood jackets and others. They were all merchandising from the tube, something that isn't normal from the place I come! (For example, you won't be able to find any official merchandise of the Oporto Metro, for example).



Anyway, I just coloured Waterloo character. The design is available to be seen at http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/art/Mind-the-Gap-Waterloo-267168638

 

[Peter Mugridge]

That certainly sounds like the same merchandise that I saw last week.

 

[Ivo]

Anyway, I just coloured Waterloo character. The design is available to be seen at http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/art/Mind-the-Gap-Waterloo-267168638

Does anyone else feel that this girl looks a bit moody?

 

[Nym]

She's trapped underground without anywhere else to go, of course she's moody

 

[Giugiaro]

It's been a while gentlemen!

Victoria has arrived on it's new style.

http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/art/Mind-the-Gap-Victoria-279820214


Now there is only two characters left from the original author to redesign before advancing to Tram Link's character.

 

[Ivo]

More good stuff here. I still like Northern though

Did you ever hear back from this "Rin" character?

Also, are you able to take partially-related questions by Private Message at all? There are a couple of things I would like to ask you relating to anime/manga, and specifically creation of them, but not to do with your project (which as stated before is something that would appeal massively to me ). Thank you

 

[Giugiaro]

Ivo, luckily I've found him again on his personal Tumblr. I've sent him a question so he can try to contact me directly. He hasn't be going through an easy life lately so I'm waiting calmly for his reply. Hope everything is al-right with him...

Unfortunately, real life kind of punched me in the gut.

Just to take this opportunity to explain what I’ve been up to:

Short of it, me and my housemate were evicted after my landlord decided to sell our house. This has meant I’ve had a lot to deal with at pretty short notice (everything from arranging viewings, evaluating, renegotiating and amending tenancy agreements, setting up utilities, making sure my cat doesn’t implode, dismantling furniture, packing, etc.) Moving house, especially not by choice, is not a relaxing dip in the toasty sea of mellow calm. It’s being pushed, fully clothed, into the icy waters of stress and anxiety, and having to wade your way out with little to no outside assistance before realising, just when you thought you were done, that your clothes are still soaking wet and you now need to find a towel and a decent radiator.


On top of this, I have a fulltime job with a commute on top of that, so I am essentially out of the house the most part of my waking existence. Usually when I get back in the evenings, I’m absolutely wiped, so the weekends are pretty much the only time I can get anything done. This… hasn’t really been an option lately. Especially given work decided I’d be in charge of organising most of our end of year operations this time around. Having a lot of extremely stressful and weighty responsibilities thrown at me from both sides has meant my health has suffered a little, but I’m making sure to rest when I can.

That said, my inbox has hit triple figures, and it really doesn’t excuse the fact my last post was kind of vague in explaining why (if at all) I’d be absent this long. I also genuinely didn’t think people would notice, let alone care, so I’d like to say sorry to anyone I’ve disappointed or let down, and just in general for neglecting this place the best part of (almost) two months.


But yeah, the situation on the whole hasn’t been great. I was kind of hoping to have a comic done for the holidays, but that’ll have to be saved for some other time. Boo and hiss to you, former landlord. I’m going to be away at my parents’ next weekend - hopefully upon my return, I can get back to making something vaguely resembling regular updates…

Assuming I don’t get anything done between now and then, I hope you all have an awesome holiday! And sorry again ☆╮(♉︵♉╮)

Source: http://rinbo.tumblr.com/day/2011/12/20



I'm open for private message receiving. Just send my something and I'll answer has soon has I get back.

I still have to solve matters related to the roundel and the trademarks. I wanted to make this a surprise comic for TfL, but maybe they wouldn't like this approach that much...

 

[Giugiaro]

Here is a concept of Jubilee on vector. I think I messed up a bit with the shadings but I think the final result is enough to understand better her design, has the first drawing was somewhat "chibi-deformed".


http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/#/d4nl3gw

 

[Ivo]

Here is a concept of Jubilee on vector. I think I messed up a bit with the shadings but I think the final result is enough to understand better her design, has the first drawing was somewhat "chibi-deformed".


http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/#/d4nl3gw

She's cute I still like Northern the most though, and now I think I know why. When I was little, I loved Dotty from Raggy Dolls (see this thread). Northern almost seems like a hot adult Dotty! Or is that not a good thing...?

Either way, I never got round to doing that PM, and I kinda really want it addressed to! I shall have to send it tomorrow now; it'll take too long to do now and I have to be up at 7 In other words, you can expect a Private Message tomorrow evening.

 

[Giugiaro]

Northern almost seems like a hot adult Dotty! Or is that not a good thing...?

I diverged a lot on that point. Rin depicted Northern to have around 25 years old, and the other characters between and around 25 and 35 years. I depicted Northern has being 12 years old, and all the characters I'm working on are aged between 10 and 18 years.

From what I could see on his October, 2010 submissions on Trumblr, his story would be much closer to Miracle Train's concept and design. Central freaked me out because originally in Rin's concept, it is a He, and not a She has I was planning. Anyway, I'm keeping with my ideas for Central has a girl... an 18 year old girl.


Have a closer look on his October posts. Those are the only art I could find in public from Rin, surprisingly found after I restyled 11 of the 13 characters (+1 missing).

http://rinbo.tumblr.com/archive/2010/10

 

[Ascot]

These are amazing! I hope you can get some sort of contract with either the TfL or local authorities.

 

[Giugiaro]

Thank you!

Circle has been added to the group again!

http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/art/Mind-the-Gap-Circle-286606658


Now there is only Central to treat and then up to Tram Link!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Hello again everyone! Hope things are still going well on the British Islands!


As for the Mind the Gap project, I just made something to commemorate my first year on DeviantArt.


Central is finally restyled and now all the characters from Rin have been restyled to the anime base.

You can see the result here: http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/#/d4qt29s


Now comes the most interesting part of the project before the start od the series. There is still one character missing that Rin didn't draw.
The Tram Link character still doesn't have age, gender, bio' nor personality, so it's now time to ask you, dear fellows, about the London Tram Link System.

I'm going to open another thread so that everything is organized. I'm counting with all of you!

 

[Giugiaro]

Hello everyone!

This last week I updated each characters image with their respective description. Now you can have an idea of the personality of each character, age and relationship in the group.

You only need to enter on the gallery link below or the image on my signature and browse the handmade drawings to read the descriptions. For those who are unfamiliar to DeviantArt, the description are provided below the artwork.

http://giacomo-giugiaro.deviantart.com/gallery/30844381


New things are coming this month.

 

[Ivo]

I would have responded sooner but having no Internet - again - doesn't help

It also justifies a certain decision the staff made, but let's not go there.

The descriptions look good, if a little thin, and give a clear idea about what all the characters do and don't like to do. I think I have been put off North a little after reading her description, and learning that she is only 13 (oops ), though - but not as a character.

Just waiting on our friend "in" Croydon now. I hope to see some good stuff about him or her in the near future! And feel free to ask whatever you like. Speaking of which, what happened to the thread you said you would post...?

 

[Dave A]

Hey Giugiaro. Firstly, welcome!

I must admit, I really like the idea of this and think it's great (but that's probably a bit biased as I'm an Underground enthusiast/employee ). Having never really had an interest in anime/manga (aside from Dragonball), this has really caught my eye!

As most have mentioned, the LU Roundel is more than just a sign, it's a MASSIVE commerical part of the business that they'll protect heavily. However, I'd think that if you kept the project under wraps as much as possible, maybe it would be a good idea to approach them when it's finished before doing any kind of publishing with it.

Finally, I hope the mods don't mind me mentioning this, but the best place on the web for LU input is here: http://districtdave.proboards.com/ - Have been a member myself for many years, and it's a great place for stories, info etc.

Best of luck with it & I look forward to seeing more.

 

[Clip]

Looks good that does fella. Though its worth noting that the DLR are going to change uniform very soon. Ill try and PM you the pictures when i can get them. Be interesting to see you do them in the new stuff.

And maybe get in touch wiht DLR about promo-ing it too as they are on a high at the moment with regards to the Olympics and being a major service provider so maybe they would like it.

Let me know and ill channel it to the right people.