Final model sheet- COMPLETE.

After applying the same colouring technique to the drawings I last posted, creating the model sheet was a simple case of applying it to my background, then thinking of some descriptive text to clarify the motion depicted in the pictures.

I think it's turned out very nicely; I like how the feathers make quite a gradual shift into the cloak, and the way I've laid it out looks simple but effective. 

... I believe I might actually be done with this first unit. Huzzah!

2/3 model sheets done!

I'm very pleased with the outcome of my model sheets so far. The colours and textures work well, giving a dark and grungy effect, while the typewriter font contrasts a little with the more natural themes of the story.

For my final sheet I'll be drawing some of the poses, plus the transformation from a crow.

Creating model sheets - the character.

To make my model sheets I've used a range of different programs for different things. I started off by scanning in a light sketch of the front, back and side views of my character complete with proportion guidelines.

Firstly I drew out the linework in FireAlpaca. I like using this program for lineart most because of its simplicity, user-friendliness and the correction feature.

Then I decided to bring the drawing into Paint Tool Sai. This is my preferred software for colouring because it's designed to lend a painterly, traditional look to your art, whether it's markers, pencil or paint. I set the eraser to the same brush settings in order to get that smooth but streaky look to the body of my character.

With the initial layer of colouring done, I chose a fuzzy setting on the watercolour brush and painted beneath the layer, darkening it up and adding more texture.

Since the hands and head are a lot more solid than the rest of this character's body, I chose to colour those in block white with the standard pen. I temporarily turned the lines white to make the cleanup of messy edges easier.

The result so far:

At this point I brought the image into Photoshop. The fully black linework makes the design look a little flat so, locking the transparency on the line layers, I've used a soft, chalky brush on white to make certain lines stand out more; also towards the bottom of the body I've done the same so that it looks more transparent/spectral.

The result:

At this stage I'm ready to design the model sheet itself!

Development - 'The Scavenger'.

This is the first time I've drawn this character entirely digitally, and although I love the scrawly style of my traditional drawings I feel as though I've gotten too carried away, when in fact the smooth, stark tones lend this character a more sinister presence. The lack of detail in the body also makes it look more 'ghost-like' than before. 

As far as the background goes, playing with various textures and blending modes has yielded a nice result. I'd definitely like to make the model sheet for this character dark and grungy, though I'll be experimenting with some mixed traditional media in order to make it truly unique.

Inspiration.

This is some concept art for the banshees from the game 'Fable II'. It makes me think about the texture of the hood/robe- will my character's 'robe' be actual fabric, or part of its actual body?

From this screencap from the game itself we can see that the banshee hovers above the ground and is always surrounded by mist, though her 'children' are simply black, semi-transparent shadows. I think it may create a nice effect if my character was always hovering, but shifting and manipulating its body as it moves. I'd also like for the black areas of its body to be vaguely transparent, both because its a supernatural creature and to make the skull and the hands stand out.

This also makes me consider attempting a puppet for my character, which I could construct with various black/grey rags, wire for support, and Sculpey. 

Character design- 'The Scavenger'.

1.

2.

3.

By putting together all the quick sketches of this character since its conception, I can see how its developed and improved over the months. The shape of the body has gone from simplistic and smooth to more skeletal with a more obvious 'robe', as we can see by the hood and the way it clings to the creature's bones. 

It has also developed proportionally; after a lot of uncertainty regarding just how tall 'the Scavenger' would be, I've come to realise that this character would suit having a body that's ever-changing and generally intangible- other than the head and claws, of course.

This has led me to consider further what would be the best technique for animating such a creature. I'm in the process of creating a cut-out style test in Adobe After Effects using my grungy pen and marker sketches, but in order to achieve the exact consistency I want, I'll definitely need to experiment with a wide range of medias and research further into existing designs.

Inspiration.

Here are some stills and a model sheet for the 'Cat Beast' from '9'. I like how the creature is a combination of the organic skeleton and other mechanical parts; it suits the post-apocalyptic aesthetic very nicely.

The model sheet itself gives good indicators to how specific parts of the creatures body works- definitely something I'll take into account when creating my own sheet, though for my character it would be details of the organic and sometimes intangible, ghost like elements of my character.

Outcome of Character Design unit.

An update of how my character for the character design unit ended up looking. As late as I am in updating this, I'd like to reflect on how pleased I was with the outcome. The character ended up well fleshed-out both in style and substance; he's definitely a personality I feel I could write some interesting and funny short stories about in the future.

As far as translating the design to 3D was concerned, time constraints meant I was unable to fully build the character; however I was able to build the parts necessary to rig the entire body. Here you can see that I was able to give my character the reclining posture that I tended to draw him with by adding extra controllers in the spine. The only things I slipped up on were the head and foot controllers- fortunately this is something that could easily be fixed at a later date by changing the direction my character faces and re-organising the hierarchies. Overall I was pleased with how he translated to a 3D model, and was able to animate him with a basic walk cycle for the deadline.

Expressions.

I've drawn out some basic expressions for Rutherford along with a few different angles for his head/face, then done some simple colouring to try and work out how the lighting would work and whatnot.

A staple part of Rutherford's expressions has become the little line that shows the quirk of his upper lip. I think it gives him that snootier edge. I've tried working with how the ears can show expression too - flattened for sadness or anger, upright for excitement or laughter, a slight curl at the tips for vague interest. Drooping the nose/snout also works for portraying sadness or disappointment, while turning it up more dramatically can give either a pompous or mischievous look depending on the rest of the expression.

I'll be taking a look at how other animal characters' expressions are handled in cartoons for more potential ideas regarding my character. Using the shape of the face and ears itself seems a good way to give him more life and show his true thoughts, mostly since his eyes are very simplistically drawn and often neutral/bored-looking.

Character poses.

I've been playing around with how my character poses and moves - having such a long-limbed creature with such a short torso has been a little awkward to position at points, however I believe I've managed to capture his personality quite well with just a few pose ideas.

Here I went for some basic poses - walking and sitting. I've decided that to have him completely reclining during most of his daily activities is a must. It perfectly portrays his lax attitude, while the elegant way he holds his legs and his long strides give that air of haughtiness that characterises him. Either way, he doesn't seem particularly impressed despite the fact he has it all. When it comes to animating my 3D model, I feel that the length of these limbs will suit more elegantly jerky movements rather than being completely smooth (á la Tim Burton, perhaps?)

For these poses I've gone with a slightly different approach - looking at how beneath the poise and loftiness Rutherford is, at the end of the day, a silly spoiled brat. The demanding poses on the right hand side show the extremes of this - very rigid poses compared to his usual languid stance in a blatant display of selfishly commanding his unfortunate butler's attention. On the other hand the pose on the left depicts a childish glee in him sneaking some extra booze after bed-time while already intoxicated (even more childish is the fact he still needs a bed-time) - however in this respect we also see a glimpse of Rutherford acting how his species would in nature: sneaking and prowling. No matter how ridiculously pampered this character is I decided it was a must that he display some fundamental fox-like movements.

These pose sketches have really helped to set my character's personality firmly in mind in a much broader spectrum than simply a snooty aristocrat. I feel like his childish side, while annoying, makes him also somewhat endearing when we consider how dignified he strives to appear for the most part.

Secondary characters.

In order to get more of a general feel for the setting in which my character (Lord Rutherford) dwells, I've decided to sketch out some secondary characters he is likely to encounter on a regular basis.

This is Edgar - Lord Rutherford's butler. He has served the Rutherford family for three generations now, and is avidly loyal despite his impressive age and short-sightedness. This old hare is forever concerned about Rupert's behaviour - from his frivolous spending of his family's treasury to his combined laziness/childishness/lack of responsibility. And let's not forget how monumentally sheltered and thick the fancy fox is - he can hardly put his own clothes on without help from his faithful yet exasperated servant, never mind mingle among the commoners.

A nameless beggar - one of the worst of inhabitants of the town of Oakvale which lies at the foot of Rutherford Ridge. This sort of poverty is rife; and while Edgar will manage to pester Rutherford into showing some charity for the sake of the family image, the pompous young Lord will often handle these lowest-of-the-low peasants with an expression of disgust and insensitively cast his small change to the ground rather than in their tin. Desperate as these poor folk are, they have no option but to graciously accept what they can and make do with it... Until next time.

More character ideas may come depending on my time constraints (though the deadline approaches fast), since the world Rutherford inhabits and the people he interacts with fleshes him out as a character more on a whole, and pinpoints his specific character traits based on his prejudices etc.

Character elevations by hand.

Here we have the final, in proportion elevations for the character sheet, ready to clean up and colour in Illustrator and/or Photoshop.

Line practice.

My first time creating vector linework for a character. While the brush I applied has caused many gaps in the lines to occur, I definitely think the smooth, tapering lines suit the character's elegance. Not bad for a first attempt.

Oh, and his name is Rupert Rutherford.

General Inspiration - Tokyo Plastic

I was highly entertained while researching some of the productions by this team while also slightly disturbed. All in a good way, though. I do have a certain love for the creepy and gruesome, after all.

On watching this for the first time, I was almost put off by how sickeningly cute this was. As beautiful as the smooth, shiny style was, it seemed far too much. 

Needless to say, I was surprised (a little more pleasantly than I'd like to admit) when the grumpy creature in the sky decided to make the little critters explode with some sort of heat ray. I find it both disturbing and amusing that the sun continues to beam happily in the background while the inhabitants of this cute and colourful planet screech in pain. Even their skulls are adorable. Overall, a genius idea. I approve.

Another somewhat disturbing sequence, this little fellow appears to have a mouth that smiles at the eye-creature, but it in fact turns out to be an eye socket by the end. There's something disturbing about creatures that are nothing but masses of flesh and human parts, and for that I like the design all the more  - along with the fact that the switch from mouth to eye socket is very cleverly done.

A more genuinely cute ad campaign. I found these two characters very endearing - I loved the shoe details like the laces and fabric types. It reminds me somewhat of the sackboy design from Little Big Planet.

Character concept - Fox

So, here are the first sketches I drew for my fox character~

The version on the right hand side was my very first sketch. At the time I'd wanted to create a character who was rich, snooty, horrible and generally not nice at all. The short, hunched stature and un-tucked shirt lends to that vibe, I feel, along with the exaggerated angry eyes. The version on the left was a test of the more tall, elegant and gentlemanly counterpart to this character.

Not quite happy with that design, but still attracted to the thought of making my character a fox, I decided to turn around the personality a bit. He'd still be very haughty by nature, but instead of being contemptible he'd be polite and genteel while still remaining otherwise naive to the troubles of those less moneyed than him. There would be flaws in the sense that he would be well-meaning yet manage to appear cold and insensitive whenever he attempts to 'help' others - for example he would cast coins at a beggar's feet rather than stoop down to place them in a tin or hat. With this in mind I made the character more elongated and smooth, with a refined posture and a pose that is laid-back but not uncouth. The original, shorter version could perhaps be kept in mind as an idea for how this character becomes as he grows old - perhaps he will lose his rose-tinted view of the world and become cynical or mean-spirited.

After the initial sketch which would determine the general proportions and tone of my character, I redrew him again with the laid back pose I mentioned. It was at this point that I added props such as a cigar and brandy glass, which I felt were perfect items to show his privilege above others. (Another potential prop I have in mind would be a cane or pocket-watch.) After drawing the close-up sketch to the right, I decided I would prefer his head to be completely smooth, with no styled curls. I then drew the side view to see how it would look, and was pleased with him having a smooth teardrop-shaped head. Here I also decided to give him a smooth tail with the idea in mind that he would be far more groomed than a mangy street fox. His tail would by styled, the fur would be possibly be smoothed down with products, and he would always hold it aloft and elegantly curled to show his refinement.

With the basics of the character's proportions and character in mind, I must next draw various poses and expressions that will serve to develop him further - that and decide on a name, of course.