Character Design Bible (and Location Design) - Toolkit 2

Location 1

Location 2

Character Design - Week 6/7

 I have started to focus my character designs, there will be some developments however, I think this will be close to my final product. I have also designed some quick props alongside some ideas for my third background character. The main thing I need to focus on now is making everything coherent so that the landscape and the characters look like they exist in the sam universe. 

Kaiju - In more detail. 

Colour and prop concepts.

Second and third character height repfrence.

Second character sketches.

Kaiju and second character.

Kaiju with colour.

Third character.

Below is some classwork in which we look at perspective, and developing our characters further. I started to draw my environment in detail, although I have chosen to go for a more simplistic style, it will be easier to plan out the scene when getting to storyboarding.

 

Tokyo street.

Initial ideas for main stills. 

Art Jam - Character Mash Up

 For this week's art jam Meg tasked us with morphing one video game character and one animation/film character together, as well as choosing a pose/ situation. I decided to choose spider-man as my video game, and Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice as my film character - the character with a camera, swinging through a city. I used some different reference images from other pieces of art and game/ film stills to draw my character. 

Character Design - Week 5

 After last weeks session I started to develop my sidekick character further as well as looking into facial expressions and basic landscape designs. After looking at some of my sketches this week, Justin suggested that I add more thought into the silhouette of my Kaiju character, and that my sidekick still needs some more thought as she is a bit on the generic side at this point. 

Kaiju Sketches 

Quick Landscape Design

Sidekick Sketches 

Character Design - Week 5

During this weeks character design we looked at facial expressions (human and animal), sidekick characters and folds in material. In particular, facial expressions and the importance of certain facial features. Eyebrows are the most expressive feature, so even if the character is an inanimate object, by creating an eyebrow from a section of that object instantly gives it character. 

Character Design Do’s and Dont’s

Animal Character Facial Expressions

Object Design

Project Sidekick Designs

Art Jam - Ink Blots

 For this weeks art jam we filled the page with coloured shapes at random. We then had to create characters out of these shapes. I found this task difficult but really informative as it got me thinking about shape/ form and how to make my own characters more diverse in shape as well as generally more interesting and dynamic forms.

Life Drawing - Week 2

 During this weeks life drawing we started of with a few quick poses. The model changed between two poses in minute intervals so that every time I went back to the other drawing there was some movement or change. We also did a few 30 minute drawings and I experimented with pen and mark making.  

Collaboration - Story Boards

 Both myself and Molly have created story boards for each skit. These are not set in stone but just so we can get the animatic together which Torran will do. 

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Character Design - Week 4

 I have decided to create a few more draft designs for the Kaiju and it’s sidekick. I like the idea of the Kaiju being childlike fitting with the chibi art style, a gentle giant of sorts. I’m still working on the stylisation but it is developing. Often in Kaiju films the creature has some sort of bond with a female character, the female character often with a link to music or song. I have decided that my sidekick character be a musician but also young to establish some similar characteristics. I also like the idea of bright acidic colours for the Kaiju, however, I am undecided if it would be more effective to have earthy tones to contrast the bright city.

Kaiju Thumbnails

Sidekick Thumbnails 

Character Design - Week 3

 This week we started off by looking at environments, the first task was to make a caricature out of an existing piece of architecture. I chose to emphasise the gothic architecture in Big Ben, focusing on the sharp edges and long line work.

I was then given a character and had to design a space which I thought they would live in. I was given Pharaoh’s palace and had to design the same with the word ‘decadent’ in mind.

As well as architecture and spaces we also looked at body language and the arcs the run through both human and animal structures.

Character Arcs

 Pharaoh Character Arcs

Animal Character Arcs

Art Jam - Monster Mash

 I took part in Meg’s art jam in which the theme was ‘Monster Mash’. I used randomised numbers to pick the number of arms, legs, eyes as well as a role and personality. I then had to create some thumbnails creating a character with two arms, four legs, 3 eyes, artsy and chill. I then had to pick the best one and go into more detail. I found this task really beneficial as I was able to create some designs in an environment where I didn’t care about the outcome, and I actually really like what I have come up with.

Monster Thumbnails

Final Design

Character Design - Week 2 - Kaiju Sketches

 After some further thought and research after my tutorial on Thursday I have produced some quick sketches. Kaiju's are essentially a mash up of already existing animals so i have produced a mix of characters made up of more traditionally friendly animals as well as some characters based from existing Kaiju. I have looked into H.P. Lovecraft's 'the Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales' as well as Tony DiTerlizzi's creature design and typical Chibi art.

 

Character Design - Week 1

 For the first week of character design we were briefed on the project and each given a creature/person as well as a specific art style which I will, over the course of this project, have to create a character from. I have a Kaiju and my art style is Chibi/cute. This will be an interesting learning experience for me as this is defiantly not my art style and I have much more practice with human characters. During this weeks class I was given an object (80s mobile phone) and had to sketch the object. The purpose of this exercise was to get me thinking about the type of character that would own this object and how the object in that character world. 

The second task was to take an already existing character (Tigger) and create an entirely new character that would fit into this world.

I also started to draw different Kaiju in the iconic Winnie the Pooh style. For the next class I will start to research Kaiju and their history as well as Chibi art. 

Life Drawing