The Ark series: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[Image:Ark series pubdom.jpg|thumb|450px]] | [[Image:Ark series pubdom.jpg|thumb|450px]] | ||
'''''The Ark'' series''' is a series of non-fiction guidebooks chronicling Transformers [[character model]]s produced by [[Jim Sorenson]] and [[Bill Forster]] beginning in the year 2007. | '''''The Ark'' series''' is a series of non-fiction guidebooks chronicling ''Transformers'' [[character model]]s produced by [[Jim Sorenson]] and [[Bill Forster]] beginning in the year [[2007]]. | ||
Despite being a specialty product printed on heavy-stock premium paper which caters to a fantastically small audience, the series has sold ''absurdly'' well. | Despite being a specialty product printed on heavy-stock premium paper which caters to a fantastically small audience, the series has sold ''absurdly'' well. | ||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
===The Ark Addendum=== | ===The Ark Addendum=== | ||
In addition to | In addition to ''The Ark'' book series, Jim Sorenson has published several [http://boltax.blogspot.com/search/label/ark%20addendum Ark Addendums] on his blog, featuring character models too trivial to include in the book, or expanded profiles (such as weapon details) which simply could not fit in the print edition. | ||
====''The Transformers''==== | ====''The Transformers''==== | ||
| Line 339: | Line 339: | ||
|[http://boltax.blogspot.com/2012/04/ark-addendum-ginrais-trailer.html The Ark Addendum - Ginrai's Trailer Transformation] || April 10, 2012 | |[http://boltax.blogspot.com/2012/04/ark-addendum-ginrais-trailer.html The Ark Addendum - Ginrai's Trailer Transformation] || April 10, 2012 | ||
|} | |} | ||
==Post-release discoveries== | |||
In the years since ''The Ark'' series books were published, multiple model sheet collections and production bibles have surfaced through auction sites, social media and fan archive blogs, revealing that the majority of the models from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]] that Bob Budiansky and Jim Sorenson had in their collective possession at the time of publishing, were not final. The bulk of season 2 character models (as well as a few others) published in the books were older models that had received several revisions before making it into the cartoon, meaning that some of the details that can be found on these models had either been removed or redesigned afterwards, hence why some of them don't match up with what can be seen on-screen. | |||
Several of the season 3 model sheets that appear in the books, such as the ones for the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]]s, [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]], [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] all received entirely new models by [[Toei Animation|Toei]] to what was originally drawn up, with Sky Lynx and the Predacons being drawn from angles that are much more stylistic when compared to the standard ¾ angles used in past seasons, and also feature large, black shadows underneath their rear-view models, which also hadn't been used until this point. Also among the drastic changes in the art style are the "boxier" hand designs used on the Predacons, that would be utilized more frequently in the subsequent Japanese cartoons like ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]'', instead of the rounded hands that were more common in [[Floro Dery]]'s work for season 1 and 2. | |||
Also discovered years after the book series was published, were models for the ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' that were either not known about or fully understood at the time of publishing, such as the unique head design that appears alongside [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]]'s models in the books. For years, the fandom assumed the boxy Rodimus model used in the books was the model used in the film and season 3, but it was actually scrapped in favor of the sleeker design used for Hot Rod's final model. Rather than designing an entirely new model sheet for Rodimus that fit the slender aesthetic they wanted, all that was designed was a new head with the animators simply instructed to draw a larger version of Hot Rod's body with Rodimus's head slapped on top. Because of this, no official robot mode model exists for Rodimus, just a head design. | |||
The [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]] [[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] and [[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] were also given entirely new models by Toei for the movie, that had parts matching the other non-[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] Junkions, giving them a collective "mix and match"-type design, rather than the two stand-alone designs drawn by Floro Dery. The problem with the Junkion models though, is that the only known trace of the final Toei Junkion models as of [[{{CURRENTYEAR}}]], is a small section in the back of the ''[[Transformers Generations (guidebook)|Transformers Generations]]'' guidebooks. That being said, Dery's original designs for these two Junkions ''did'' still appear in season 3 of the cartoon, due to [[AKOM]] animating the two episodes they appeared in. | |||
==Related== | ==Related== | ||
* | * ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac]]'' | ||
* | * ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II]]'' | ||
* ''[[Transformers Animated: The Complete AllSpark Almanac]]'' | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ark series}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Ark series}} | ||
[[Category: Reference texts]] | [[Category: Reference texts]] | ||
Revision as of 05:03, 11 February 2022
The Ark series is a series of non-fiction guidebooks chronicling Transformers character models produced by Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster beginning in the year 2007.
Despite being a specialty product printed on heavy-stock premium paper which caters to a fantastically small audience, the series has sold absurdly well.
| The Ark series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
The Ark series
- 2007 — Transformers: The Ark — Character models for the US cartoon.
- 2008 — Transformers: The Ark II — Character models for the Japanese cartoon
- 2009 — Transformers: The Complete Ark — Omnibus addition of v1 and v2, with edits, additions, corrections and new content to replace pages that were dropped because they overlapped between the two volumes.
The Ark Addendum
In addition to The Ark book series, Jim Sorenson has published several Ark Addendums on his blog, featuring character models too trivial to include in the book, or expanded profiles (such as weapon details) which simply could not fit in the print edition.
The Transformers
The Headmasters
Super-God Masterforce
Post-release discoveries
In the years since The Ark series books were published, multiple model sheet collections and production bibles have surfaced through auction sites, social media and fan archive blogs, revealing that the majority of the models from the original cartoon that Bob Budiansky and Jim Sorenson had in their collective possession at the time of publishing, were not final. The bulk of season 2 character models (as well as a few others) published in the books were older models that had received several revisions before making it into the cartoon, meaning that some of the details that can be found on these models had either been removed or redesigned afterwards, hence why some of them don't match up with what can be seen on-screen.
Several of the season 3 model sheets that appear in the books, such as the ones for the Predacons, Pipes, Swerve and Sky Lynx all received entirely new models by Toei to what was originally drawn up, with Sky Lynx and the Predacons being drawn from angles that are much more stylistic when compared to the standard ¾ angles used in past seasons, and also feature large, black shadows underneath their rear-view models, which also hadn't been used until this point. Also among the drastic changes in the art style are the "boxier" hand designs used on the Predacons, that would be utilized more frequently in the subsequent Japanese cartoons like The Headmasters, instead of the rounded hands that were more common in Floro Dery's work for season 1 and 2.
Also discovered years after the book series was published, were models for the The Transformers: The Movie that were either not known about or fully understood at the time of publishing, such as the unique head design that appears alongside Rodimus Prime's models in the books. For years, the fandom assumed the boxy Rodimus model used in the books was the model used in the film and season 3, but it was actually scrapped in favor of the sleeker design used for Hot Rod's final model. Rather than designing an entirely new model sheet for Rodimus that fit the slender aesthetic they wanted, all that was designed was a new head with the animators simply instructed to draw a larger version of Hot Rod's body with Rodimus's head slapped on top. Because of this, no official robot mode model exists for Rodimus, just a head design.
The Junkions Junkyard and Scrapheap were also given entirely new models by Toei for the movie, that had parts matching the other non-Wreck-Gar Junkions, giving them a collective "mix and match"-type design, rather than the two stand-alone designs drawn by Floro Dery. The problem with the Junkion models though, is that the only known trace of the final Toei Junkion models as of 2026, is a small section in the back of the Transformers Generations guidebooks. That being said, Dery's original designs for these two Junkions did still appear in season 3 of the cartoon, due to AKOM animating the two episodes they appeared in.
