Jan 262010
Yes, the witch at the end of LotD is Lemonee Wee. I’ve been getting feedback from disappointed fans who say they’ll miss the old design.
So to answer the question, why the redesign?
- Mainly: because the original design (by my friend and ex-Disney colleague David Wilkinson) was very different to my own style. In the semi-realistic world of Brackenwood, Lemonee Wee’s ‘Cartoon Network style’ now clashes terribly. The old design was well-suited to ‘Bitey of Brackenwood’, but that’s back when all of Brackenwood was very simply drawn and animated. Still, I was getting the occasional feedback that Lemonee Wee somehow didn’t fit the rest of the world. Anyway, since then, the series has evolved in every way. Rather than a pointy witches hat, straight from cliché, she now has a hooded cloak. Rather than a huge nose with a big wart, straight from cliché, she now has a face.. just like Bitey is now has several colours in his skin, hair and horns, rather than a single flat colour for each.
- Partly: because in the feature film, Lemonee Wee is not a grumpy old broom-riding cliché with warts. She’s one of a race of people with their own unique history and traditions.
There may or may not be some narration in the Dashkin sequel, but Lemonee Wee definitely does some talking so if I can get the same voice actor on board, you’ll be hearing her again.
Havto say i support the old design over the new, but maybe make her look more like a witch? Id say the style of the new Lemonee Wee is more like disney, the over realistic style used to tell fairy tales by dinsey (snow white, beauty and the beast.etc)
I think you should give her more personality but then again its up to you =)
I think you’ll change your mind about the Disney-ness after you see more of her. So far we’ve just seen a static image with a bit of hand movement
I thought this was a completely new character at first, but I definitely like the new design. Maybe you could explain the change through a youth potion or spell? Then again, it might feel shoehorned, in one of the movies.
I suppose another option might be a Doctor Who regeneration sort of feature for her species.
Just, to me, the change is kind of jarring, but definitely one for the better!
I have to say I think the new one is fairly clichéd too, perhaps just in a different way. I preferred the simpler art style on the whole, though, so that may just be my personal preference coming into play, but she reminds me now of a somewhat generic Dungeons and Dragons character. There’s not much that’s memorable about her.
I always thought it was excellent that even though she had barely any face she had so much presence and personality, and I don’t get the same immediate sense of that from the new one.
It’s not as strong a silhouette imo. Having said that I’m looking forward to seeing her in action… and hopefully being wrong
thanks guys. Good feedback. This design will probably improve as the series goes on, just as Bitey, Sage and Fatsack have. The crux of it is that she’s of a human-like species but I’ll try to keep her away from being too generic.
I tried to push this same point to you in the forums, but I think I was too full of myself when I did it. I’ll remember to relax a little next time I got feedback. Looking forward to the new brackenwood!
I definitely prefer the new Wee. Way more epic.
I like the new design a lot better, personally. I wouldn’t say it’s generic DnD, because for me, DnD doesn’t carry any kind of generic connotations. This design looks like something someone could legitimately build as a live-action costume, which enhances the realism.
She’s a lot more dynamic, I think, because she’s more flexible. The old design has the same problem the tight Dexter-type character has, where any broad action forces the character to stretch like taffy to meet the motion.
I’d be curious to see what she looks like with the hood down, and how she differs from a human norm.
I agree with bezelbub. maybe you could make her nose big or something hehe.
I actually like both versions, but its hard to tell which one’s better until we see it in action(all we saw was that magic stuff coming from her hand)
But doesn’t she look too young(she’s almost just a girl that an old woman in the new version) for a wise and experienced witch? (I remember having read somewhere before that u wrote that she and Auld sage chat sometimes bcz they are some of the few intelligent beings in brackenwood).
The new costume is definitely very good.
You don’t have to be old to be intelligent X)
Anyway, she’s young for a reason which will become apparent in time. Sage is old, wise and experienced, and we don’t want to have two characters that are too similar.
yeah ,you’re right. thanks for clarifying that.
While I do like the new design of Wee, I genuinely am going to miss the old design. There’s just a charm to it that’s just…. well, Wee. I do look forward to seeing AND hearing the new Wee in the LotD sequel. Is she going to wash Bitey away again like she did the first time? LOL I imagine the effects are going to be phenomenally better! Also wondering if any other creatures (prowlies, fatsacks, etc) are going to get redesigns as well? Didn’t see too much change in LotD.
Not too much else will change as drastically as Wee has. Sage is due for a gentle redesign but just a bit of white fur here and there.. which tbh is really only to hide his doodle. Then again, Watchmen got away with showing some huge blue danglies.. maybe Brackenwood can too haha.
As far as I’m concerned, I admit I was a little lost at first. Mostly because when I first watch your movies I’m flabergasted by the visual effects and animation. But what is good is that you can watch it over and over and over! So after seeing the movie a few times, it kind of is pretty obvious : it is Lemonee Wee. Too many details that point towards that direction, and a real fan would’ve eventually realized too lol, especially if he knows a little bit about Brackenwood (I mean, as far as we know, how many humanoids on a broom with a star-hat are there in this tiny planet? =P ).
That being said, although I understand why all the “negative criticism” that surrounded LotD (voice acting among others) kind of affects you and makes you want to move forward (after all, it IS your viewership), there’s still an important point we shouldn’t forget.
This is YOUR baby, YOUR creation! You’re pretty much free to tell the story of Brackenwood the way you feel like it should be (I know you like story-telling, which would explain the voice acting. And I personally liked that). I’m GLAD to see Brackenwood is evolving, storywise and graphicwise. What once was a “cartoon-style” animation (Bitey of Brackenwood style) is now evolving into something more serious-looking (and didn’t you always said that Brackenwood’s story wasn’t as jolly and happy as we might think, but rather dark?).
Brackenwood remains, is and always will be pure awesomeness to my eyes!
So don’t sweat it ! =D
you rock Mr. Smolik!
X)
I think we all suspect an old witch too be more powerful than a young one. But trust me, once you show us fans the power of the “new” Lemonee, most of us will be more than satisfied. The narration in LotD also sounded very wise, so I don’t think she lost her wisdom or power with her age.
The original Lemonee Wee looked funnier and that was perfect for the former Brackenwood movies. But honestly LotD is a big step and therefore I understand that a redesign was necessary. An important point is, that normally I don’t like change in a series. I think that many of your fans think the same and that’s probably one of the reasons why there are some disappointed fans.
If you look at the new design subjectively, it is much better than before. As you pointed out Adam, more details, less cliché and so on. Imagine Lemonee Wee looked like this (or close to this) from the beginning. Nobody would say “Hey you should make her a little old witch”, am I right?
I like the “new” Lemonee Wee and I hope the next movie will allow her to win the hearts of all disappointed fans back.
Hmm. Well I actually just assumed she changed her appearance because she’s a which. Not like Tonks from Harry Potter, but more like: 1. Make Potion 2. Shaken, not stirred 3. Drink Potion 4. Change Looks
Looks awesome to me! Oh yes, an update on the brackenpants idea–have pants which resemble bitey’s legs, with fur and everything!!!
While I do welcome the change of style and mood of Brakenwood in the latest movie, I have to admit that I think I just prefer the cartoony style as a whole. Waterlollies is still my favourite because to me it’s like watching Looney Toons (and I love Looney Toons). I do think Lord of the Dashkin is of just as good or even better quality, but just because something is better made doesn’t mean I have to like it more.
For instance, I love the Star Wars prequel trilogy… that’s all that needs to be said really.
As for Wee, as much as I loved the old design, the new Wee looks badass and I know exactly why you chose to change it. Keep up the good work!
I very much prefer the new Lemonee to the old, and wish to see how much more awsome she has become. I am interested also in the dream sequence. What was that giant that took out most of Bitey and Lemonee’s races? So far, they are the only of there kind I have seen, and if a single beast is like that, then I fear if Bitey tried to prank a group of them…
Over all… LotD is a step ahead of what I had expected when I loaded it up.
Hope the full thing comes out soon.
I much prefer the new Lemonee. It adds more depth and subtlety to this character.
Am I the first who found out the tatoos on her face?
Who else saw her shoes?
I found a glitch using the Opera browser zoom in/out function: The framing of the cartoon becomes misaligned. In the last sequence of her, I just found out that she was drawn from head to toe, but the normal framing of the cartoon doesn’t show her pointy shoes!!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/JohnSebastian/Lemoneesshoes.jpg
yeah when I have camera moves in a scene, I usually draw much more than I actually show. It gives me freedom to play with camera fielding.
i like the new look. it fits the story and character perfectly, keep up the good work!
the old one is much better.
more cartoon but also more expressive and charismatic.
also the old movies were more cool to watch, these ones are lovely but the old ones have more soul.
I like the new design of Wee, Personally I like the cartoonish one a little bit more…But the new one is still awesome!!!
I really like the new design, she looks more like brackenwood itself now with the facial art and skin tone, aswell as looking far more realistic and entrancing. The narrators voice fits Lemonee Wee aswell if that is who you are using as her voice.