Saturday, September 3, 2011

Floats: Magic Kingdom!

While I take a break from the Creative Costuming aspect of this project, I'll share my first completed float design. But before I make the dramatic reveal of the MK float(scroll down if you're impatient), I wanna post the original "pitch", if you will, for the floats and the overall parade concept.

 PROJECT OUTLINE:

Location, Location, Location….


Being the first park, the parade would take the usual parade-route in Magic Kingdom. This would take the famous timeslot of the "3 o'clock parade".

What’s in a theme?


There would be four main-parade floats, each representing one of the 4 parks of the WDW Resort:
-Magic Kingdom
-Epcot
-MGM/Disney's Hollywood Studios
-Animal Kingdom



Two additional floats would open and close the parade.

Opener: Would showcase the original concepts of the Florida Project. A classic projector-screen showing footage of the original pitch by Walt Disney would be the main focus of the float.
Closer: Would celebrate memories being made now. A large photo album would be the focus of the float.  
Signs would be placed at the front of each float, stating when each park opened. The addition of the dated-banners is intended to give a sense of nostalgia to the veteran resort guests and trigger memories. "Oh geeze, Animal Kingdom was opened in 1998?! That was forever ago!"

Each float would have a center-piece, representing the park's main icon.
-Magic Kingdom: Cinderella Castle
-Epcot: Spaceship Earth
-MGM Studios: Chinese Theater (the Sorcerer's Hat will be represented by Sorcerer Mickey as a riding-character on the float)
-Animal Kingdom: Tree of Life

Surrounding the center-piece would be small models of the most popular rides/attractions of each park. ***May be changed to represent the different areas of each park as opposed to select rides. I figure guests may get upset if their favorite ride is not showcased.

-Magic Kingdom: Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, PotC, Small World, Space Mountain, MK Railroad

         OR: Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Adventureland
-Epcot: Test Track, World Showcase, Soarin', Universe of Energy, Journey Through Imagination

        OR: Future World, Imagination Pavilion, The Seas, The Land, World Showcase
-MGM: Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, Toy Story Mania

OR: Hollywood Blvd. , Pixar Place, Echo Lake, Animation Courtyard, Sunset Blvd., Streets of America
-Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids

       OR: The Oasis, Discovery Island, Africa, Asia, Dino Land USA

“Everybody neat and pretty?”


Performers dancing around each float will be dressed in attire that represents their respective park, focusing on iconic imagery from their park.



-Magic Kingdom: 4 sets of dancers (male and female) that represent

  • Fantasyland (carousel dresses for the girls, princely attire for the guys)
  • Frontierland(cowboys and parlour girls),
  • Adventureland (tribal and pirate wear)
  • Tomorrowland (cosmic).

-Epcot: 4 sets of dancers (male and female) that represent

  • Future World,
  • The Seas & The Land (seas= female, land = male)
  • World Showcase (quilted clothing representing the countries)
  • Imagination Pavilion (vibrant colors and patterns/shapes to clothing)

-MGM Studios: 4 sets of dancers that represent

  • Classic Hollywood, Twilight Zone (b&w clothing and makeup)
  • Pixar Place
-Animal Kingdom: 4 sets of dancers that represent the Asia, Africa, Oasis, and Dino Land, USA portions of the park. Incorporated into each float will be select Disney characters that fit with the feel of each park or are best associated with it. -Magic Kingdom: Tinker Bell -Epcot: Dream Finder & Figment -MGM: Sorcerer Mickey Mouse -Animal Kingdom: Rafiki
So that was the original pitch. Some things have been changed, such as what's being represented on each float. I realized that it'd be easier to represent certain rides and signage as opposed to specific areas of the park.

OKAY! So if you've read this far, or skipped to the bottom you lazy...*ahem*, here is your reward: The Magic Kingdom float! Well....the front of it at least!

The rough concepts.
I'm quite pleased with how it came out! I tried a new method with coloring by adding color to the lines via a mask. I think it gives the picture a teeny bit more dimension.

Incase you can't read the notes on the rough, the train goes around the base of the float. The same concept will remain with the rest of the floats with each park's respective mode of transportation. Gives it a fun feature and breathes a bit more life into the float overall!

I will be doing a separate drawing of the back of the float. Not gonna have much to it, I'll tell ya that much right now. And while this is the first float I have completed, it is NOT the first float of the parade. The Florida Project float would show first.


PHEW! Enough reading for you folks? Here, have a cookie for your efforts.
~

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