Homework part 2- developing a character

4th October 2021 by Jahiem Walker | 0 comments

Using what I’ve learned, I’ll develop a design for a character of a series. Whereas I used one of my existing characters for the exercises, I’ll create a new character for this task.

To begin with, I came up with a quick logline;

ladies and gentlemen, boys and ghouls, welcome to the mysterious macabre manor! Join Marin and her undead dog Franky as they uncover the secrets of their hilariously scary new home, where there’s always a ghost or a werewolf or a headless chicken wielding an axe waiting around the corner.

Straight away, I know I’ll be designing a young female character who likes to explore, and her dog. The setting is a bit spooky, So I’ll try to design her in a way that makes her look both spooky and fun-loving. The series is a comedy, so she has to fit the genre.

I started with this quick mind map to give me a grasp on the kind of character Marin is; she’s a strange girl with a peculiar interest in the occult, but very polite and adventurous. I considered what types of things I could add to her design to give off a sense of who she is; I think if I give her round shapes and expressive poses and facial expressions but dress her up in spooky and odd clothing, the viewer will get a good sense of what she’s like.

These are the concept sketches I came up with for Marin and her dog, Franky. I wanted Marin’s outfit to communicate to the viewer right away that she had an interest in spooky things, but I also wanted her to come across as a fun and cute child, so I had to come up with a way to combine these contrasting elements of her character.

In the end, I chose to give Marin features that were both creepy and cute; She wears a ghost shirt, but it features a cartoony cat-ghost with the phrase ‘me-ooh’, and a headband with devil horns on it. I feel the accessories I chose for her sit well between cute and creepy; they capture Marin’s character well as they’re spooky things portrayed in a cute way. It’s a good way of blending Marin’s more mature interests with her childish mindset, appearance and nature. I used semiotics and combined imagery of ghosts, skulls and demonic symbols in her design, to clearly communicate what her interests are.

I also wanted Marin to be made up of mostly round shapes, so I chose to give her round looking facial features and puffy hair. Her messy hair and horns are what will make her recognisable as a silhouette, in combination with the way I choose to pose her.

For Franky, I wanted him to look more or less like a normal dog with some undead components; I wanted him to look a bit beat up without looking grotesque. I chose to expose his brain and damage one of his eyes, as this is a clear indication that he’s an undead zombie, and I’ll probably colour him with a dull green.

For my proper Marin drawing, I wanted her to pull a pose that would clearly communicate her personality and be recognisable even if she was a silhouette. I chose to give her an open, active pose, showing that she’s energetic and loves adventure, and always on the move. I also wanted her to look confident; Despite any comments she may get on her interests or way of dressing, Marin is confident in herself and isn’t shy to show off her interests.

I followed this up by adding Marin’s features. I gave her a big round smile to make her look friendly and approachable, as well as adding some horns on to her shoes so that she had another strong and recognisable feature in her silhouette.

Here I tested out some colours for Marin. I tried sticking with dark Halloween palettes, As i felt that in combination with her clothing, It would clearly communicate her love for creepy things to the audience. I experimented with giving her coloured hair, but I wanted her to look a bit more like an ordinary 13 year old girl so I opted for the more natural tones for the final outcome. I like the bottom middle design best as I feel it’s both spooky and vibrant; orange and purple are often paired for Halloween, straight away putting ideas in the viewer’s head, while also providing some nice colour contrast for Marin’s outfit.

Just to make sure her silhouette was clear, I blacked out all of Marin’s features to look at her shadow alone. I’m happy with it as I feel it’s clear and could be identified in a line-up of silhouettes as Marin.

Here, I created a profile for Marin. To capture the mysterious and spooky vibe of the cartoon concept, I added in a mystical book page background and a tarot card drawing of Marin and Franky. I tried making her description engaging while still being formal, so that it looked like something you could read in a book. I added 3 faces that Marin could make, each saying something different about her personality; her love for franky, her happy go lucky confidence and her curiosity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXzvMQjkRNg

It won’t embed for some reason, but here I drew up a very quick animatic of an animation test for Marin and franky. It captures the overall vibe of the series well; Marin’s innocent curiosity about magic often lands her in dangerous and crazy situations. The drawings aren’t very detailed, but I feel it’s clear enough what is going on in the animatic.

Lastly, I created this piece of concept art for Marin; pictured on the desk are magical objects and Marin’s phone, where she has taken a selfie with ghosts and franky. I feel like this contrasts the more mysterious elements of the series well with Marin’s childish nature and happy attitude; She’s able to befriend ghosts, who most would be afraid of, and still enjoys normal child things like taking pictures and using her phone despite her supernatural endeavours.

All in all, I’m happy with how this project turned out, As I feel I’ve truly learned a lot about character design and can apply my knowledge to other projects in the future. I like Marin’s design, and I feel I did a good job on drawing her. To improve, I think I could try out making up different types of characters; Both the characters I experimented with were happy young girls, and I feel like I could’ve pushed myself further out of my comfort zone and come up with a more serious character.

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Homework part 2- developing a character

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