Character Design // Task 3: Execution

 CHARACTER DESIGN // TASK 1: PERSONIFICATION

Week 1 - // 29/03/21

Ibrahim Fazal Ahmad / 0337423

Information Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylors University 

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INSTRUCTIONS 

To no surprise, I accidentally ended up working ahead. So I began on the development of my hero pose pretty early on. Firstly, I began on his original gesture drawing pose which I had further developed. This pose was my personal favourite capturing his strength and stability as a fighter but showing off some of the snarky attitudes he has as well. But, the anatomy is basically impossible. 

Figure 1: Final Chosen Gesture

So I went on a tried fixing it into a more realistic pose. I also moved the shadow arm he has into a much more open and visible position so people would clearly know when they see his silhouette. I kept the legs in the same position only fixing the torso. 

Figure 1.1: Edited Gesture

Next, I did some more proper anatomy for the character trying to use simple shapes to block out where I thought his joins and limbs would be while keeping his proportions and body type in mind. He is not someone who is extremely slim but he's fit and I wanted to make sure that is clear when seeing him. 

Figure 1.2: Gesture Anatomy

Here is after I combined the fixed anatomy and my original idea sketch. Well after I did line art over the two layers of course. I polished everything up and gave him some more proper detailing. Such as his glove, boots, and chest plate. 

Figure 1.3: Hero Pose Line Art  (Version 1)

After consulting with Mr Kannan, I made some minor changes to the piece. The most major one being his face. I changed it from a completely side view to a three-quarter view. Mr Kannan told me it would give his face more depth and interest as well. I also made the lost pieces of fabric from his waist cape longer and the amulet more protruding. Mr Kannan said we need to break our silhouettes, stop making these tiny details. Make them noticeable and interesting (with balance of course). 

Figure 1.4: Hero Pose Line Art  (Version 2)

Next, I did the base colouring for the drawing. I typically fill the entire drawing with one base colour (the skin colour). After which I will make new layers for each piece of item among the same category. So the boots and chest plate were under the same layer. I kept with the gold, red, and blue colour scheme. It was the most "Greek" as it looked just like old hoplite armour in terms of colour scheme. I also made his normal eyes purple to emphasise his magical abilities and his blind eye a pale and bright blue.

Figure 1.5: Hero Pose Base Colours

After which I moved on to the colouring process. Here is the silhouette of the character after everything has been completed. My colouring process is not the most organised at all. It's more based on feeling and intuition rather than a strict process. But one thing I always do and recommend anyone colouring is to shade using analogous shades of the base colour rather than the exact same shade. Below I explain how I colour/shade as simply as I can. 

Figure 1.6: Colouring Explanation

Figure 1.7: Hero Pose Silhouette

Figure 1.8: Hero Pose (Version 1)

After showing Miss Anis, she told me to rework the shadows as they currently look less like shadows and more like tentacles. Also to add in some highlights on his character as it is currently missing that strong highlight. Below is a reference image I used when redesigning his shadow abilities.

Figure 1.8: Shadow Reference Image

Here is the sketch for my reworking of the shadows. I tried giving it more of an actual "shape" of sorts. I kept it sharp and angular but also somewhat flowy. A hard balance to find for sure.

Figure 1.9: Shadow Sketch

After which I did the line art of the shadows. I did very thin line art as I wanted to render it after doing the base colouring. 

Figure 2: Shadow Line Art

Here is the base colouring, it is of a rather pale purple which I initially chose as his shadow colours. But after looking at this I felt it was too pale and rather underwhelming.

Figure 2.1: Shadow Colour (Version 1)

Instead, I rendered over it, adding in a lot more contrast between super dark and brightly saturated purples to give it a much more impactful and dramatic look. I also made it slightly transparent around where it overlaps him so it doesn't look completely solid.

Figure 2.2: Final Hero Pose

Here is the PDF of my Task 3 Presentation:

Figure 2.3: Final Presentation PDF

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FEEDBACK:

Week 9: Add in highlights. Rework the shadow abilities, currently, look too "tentacle" like. 

Week 10: I asked Mr Kannan for some feedback on my key art as well. He said that the feeling of depth is missing from the materials. 

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REFLECTION:

Experience: Rendering is always the most gruelling part. Though fun, I tend to focus on unnecessary details to make sure everything is perfect. I also realised that texturing is a lot more than just, overlaying a texture. You also need to make a conscious effort to paint over and add more. Creating the shadow was the most difficult part for sure. I wanted to capture the sharpness of the style I draw in, but the fluidity of shadows. A tough task but I hope to have achieved it well.

Observation: Texturing is not just overlaying on top of a layer. It is studying and understanding what the material is. How does it reflect in the sun? How does it react to an object nearby? Will it reflect it like a mirror or will it only have slight ambient occlusion? Colouring, in general, is a long process but it is by far my favourite and I will always enjoy it.

Findings: Referencing helps immensely, always. In reality, our brain is a powerful tool that we can exploit to get fantastical and crazy ideas. But without a strong visual library, our minds generate that. We need to see something first before we can imagine and expand past it. Trying to create a shadow arm based on shadow powers with minimal reference showed in my first iteration. Reference is there for a reason, use it when you can to expand your library before you rely on your ideas alone.