Floats: Animal Kingdom!

Not as insane to draw as the MGM one, but still a lot of work!

Florida Project → Magic Kingdom → Epcot → MGM Studios → Animal Kingdom

 Well, this is the last of the main floats, and I didn't wanna make it lackluster in comparison to the others. It still feels like it's missing something...

Right from the start, I wanted the carnotaurus skeleton and Everest to be on the float. The skeleton isn't exactly a landmark, but I dunno...something about dinosaur skeletons in general are always a striking image to me.

Originally, I wanted various animal prints to go around the base of the float, similar to some signage you see when entering the park. But after looking at the over-head signs that are at the ticket booths, I decided to go with those carvings. Yeah, those were fuuuunnn to draw....

Rafiki's there to represent his Planet Watch/Conservation Station. I thought about putting Simba at the top, but him and Pride Rock are always paired; Rafiki fit better with the tree. You can probably spot Flik easily at the base of the tree. I had to include him for myself because he's one of my favorite characters. Hooray, creative outcasts! *brofist*

For the back of the float, I really wasn't sure what to put there for the longest time. I thought about placing some key scenes from Kilimanjaro Safari there (like the 'upside-down' tree, the lions' rocks, the tusk-worn mud walls), but the Safari was already represented by the truck. Putting animals back there didn't make much sense, either, since they were already being represented by the base of the float.
Then I thought about Camp Minnie + Mickey, but that really isn't a great location or notable for anything other than the Festival of the Lion King, and being what *could* have been Beastly Kingdom. Hmm...Beastly Kingdom.... IDEA! *ping*
See, back when Animal Kingdom opened, I was SO excited for the park. There were tons of promotions going on for it, including the McDonald's Happy Meal toy-line. I got a few of them, but my favorite was definitely the dragon. You can see the dragon's silhouette on the park's logo and his head on one of the ticket booths before you enter the park. But a lot of people don't know that the dragon was supposed to represent a mythical creatures section of the park. Long-story short, the idea was abandoned and turned into a campground. The dragon is still hidden away in the park, unbeknownst to most guests. So I wanted to represent him somehow! I still wish Disney would pick up the blueprints again with this part of the park, but something tells me that's a big fat NO. Especially if they're working on this Avatar land (ugh).
I also like that now I have three genres of creatures represented on the float that don't exactly mesh with the ones on the base: the ones that existed (dinosaurs), the ones that may exist (the Yeti), and the ones that possibly could have existed (dragons, mythical creatures).



One float left! Then it's on to the back-details of the floats.
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Float Count: 5/6

Creative Costuming: Discovery Island! +Finale

Ladies and gentlemen, it's here. The last costume set of this project.


FINALLY! *throws confetti!*
I've been working on these since...what, May? I can't remember. But whatever, this phase of the project is DONE! And now I can focus fully on the floats, which is actually a bit easier, believe it or not! I don't have to worry about anatomy with those, haha.

So here's the last of the Animal Kingdom sets, and the last set in the Creative Costuming series, Discovery Island/Oasis.

Not sure if I should consider this the Oasis or the Discovery Island... Clearly, the inspiration here is the centerpiece, the Tree of Life. It's always an amazing experience to head out of the Oasis and see the Tree, even when I know it's there.
The Oasis is noted for the various birds that populate it, like the macaws. I wanted to incorporate them somehow, so that's where those ropes and feathers come from.

Well, I hope you folks enjoyed watching this part of my project! Stay tuned for the floats!

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Costume Count: 28/28

Creative Costuming: Africa!

ALMOST DONE. ALMOST DONE. ALMOST DONE.

Here we have Africa!

Okay, this set was a little easier to design than Asia, but to color? A whole-day nightmare. I'm still not happy with it, and I doubt I ever will be. Don't be surprised if these colors change a bit.  
Also, please, nobody read too much into their skintone.

Like the Asia set, I wanted to use face-makeup to represent an animal. At first I wanted to do zebra stripes, but cheetah spots are closer to markings that are traditionally African.

ONE SET LEFT, FOLKS!!!!
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Costume Count: 26/28

Creative Costuming: Asia!

Alrighty, back on the trail with the Animal Kingdom costumes, now that MGM is done and outta the way.

Here we have Asia!

This one [along with Africa, which will be the next set] was a bit tricky to figure out. I mean, how do you come up with a design to represent a smaller version of a whole continent?!


I remembered the flags with the various animals on them being a consistent decoration in Anandapur (on the Trek, near Everest, etc.). So I definitely wanted to include those. The Yeti being a prominent icon of this area was another thing to consider. Thus, I used one of the masks you see while waiting in line to face off with the beasty. The tigers on the Trek were another 'icon' so I had them represented in the make-up of the performers.

The inspiration for the clothing was taken from statues and drum decorations found around Anandapur. The color scheme was a pain to figure out because I didn't want them to be too dull or too vibrant. For now, I'm okay with these colors. But who knows, I may go back and change them if I come up with something better!

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Costume Count: 24/28

Creative Costuming: Dinoland, USA!

I'm gonna jump around a bit. The floats are more complex to work on, so I'm saving those for last. I just really wanna get the costumes done and outta the way! There's not a whole lot of them left [which I will explain in a future post...], but let's kick off the Animal Kingdom set with Dinoland, USA!

Now...I really don't like the majority of Dinoland. Which pains me because I LOVE dinosaurs! I still remember being disappointed by this area back when it first opened up. Even during the 4 months I spent in WDW, whenever I went to AK, I always avoided this area. Really, I think I only ventured in on one of my last days just to ride Dinosaur/Countdown to Extinction for the first time. That particular area of the land, I like. It shows dinosaurs for how they really were. Not some happy-go-lucky carnival critters...

For these costumes, I wanted to pay respect to the beauty of dinosaurs, or rather, their remains. So I donned this pair in some paleontologist duds, with some fossils thrown in. I used the color scheme of the main signage that you pass under when you enter this area.

There's some interactive bits to their costumes. The brushes on their hands would emit dirt clouds when they clap, and the magnifying glasses on their heads can be moved around by them. Maybe to inspect some guests watching the parade?
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Costume Count: 18 /32