Minions Extra Feature

As promised, some behind-the-scenes stuff from the latest "Minions" toon posted over at Minions for Hire. This is my employment office set. I thought this came out pretty well, considering how quickly I threw it together. Some notes on the props and set-pieces.

I've used my "universal wall/floor" for the backdrop. This is just a sheet of foamcore board with some shelf-paper stuck to it. I'm getting pretty tired of it, and so are you by now, so I need to make up some new ones for variety. The wood flooring is just a couple of cheap floor tiles I picked up at a dollar store (three for a buck). The "glass" walls are actually a couple of Plexiglas sign holders, a couple of pieces of Plexiglas held in a self-standing wooden base. You can buy these in any office supply, but I got mine for cheap at a thrift store.

The desk is actually a couple of pieces of scrap wood that were used as packing material on some unassembled bookcases I bought last year. They were pre-finished, so all I had to do was find something of the right height to support them. One goes on top, and the other leans against the front. Instant desk. Mind you, I didn't want to take the time to cut down the front one and used it as-found, which is why the desk is so darned tall.

The window is actually a small picture frame, sprayed black, with a photo-copy skyline taped to the back. It hangs on the background using a thumbtack.

The briefcase actually came with a novelty manicure kit (I removed the contents, naturally). I got mine from American Science and Surplus. Item 32646, $3.95 each. (Mind you, you'll need to spend $20-30 on an order for the shipping charges not to eat you alive, but they have lots of cool stuff, so that shouldn't be hard. Or just buy a whole pile of briefcases!)

The phone is a fridge magnet. The in-basket is the lid from a novelty box I got on clearance at a craft store a while back. The wastebasket is a desk-accessory cup I got at Staples office supply. The filing cabinet is a novelty business-car file. These are sold mainly as premium items (there's a business name printed on top) so they're hard to find at retail, but they show up at gift and office supply stores sometimes.

Several items here were just made on my printer. The cut-and-assemble storage boxes with removable lids can be downloaded from Jim's Print-minis. You'll find all sorts of printable props and goodies there. I simply made the sign and desk sign in Microsoft Word and printed them on card-stock. The papers on the desk and in the briefcase were printed in Word as well (three point type), on regular paper, then cut down to size with scissors.