Initial ideas:
At first, i didn’t have any ideas, so i tried to see if any would come from sketching. As i tried making characters with the silhouette method, i felt directionless and my ideas didn’t really resonate. i found it helpful to think more about the backstory of the character before trying to draw anything, so i could have something to research and base the design off of a personality and world, instead of trying to pull something out of thin air.
Story:
instead of using an existing IP, i thought it would be more interesting to create my own world for the character. my idea is a fantasy Victorian setting, perhaps a bit steampunk inspired, and it will be about a delusional part of the fantasy nations navy which went rogue after they lost a war with the aquatic people, who live in uncharted waters and can breathe underwater. there is also toxic gas around this area, which is a big reason why the humans lost, as they only had rudimentary gas masks which were ineffective and easily pulled off. this crew decided that the war was still ongoing and continue to fight in it, expecting a heroes welcome when they return having killed every last one of the aquatic people. of course, this doesn’t go to plan, and they need to return to land often to recruit new members to continue their doomed mission.
as for the style of the character, i think i will try to be realistic, as i would like there to be a lot of detail and imperfection/ asymmetry. also, i am going for more of a gritty and dark atmosphere to match the tone of the story. however, as it is fantasy, i will exaggerate some elements of the design to make it memorable.
Mood-boards
initial sketches
something i’ve struggled with recently is drawing clothing and props in a logical way, so i decided to analyse my reference images closely and try to collect ones from different angles so i had a more in depth understanding of them. for example, with the harpoon gun, i looked at modern spearguns and took the railing and reel from them, and i combined it with aspects from 1800s whaling mounted harpoon guns, and then for the handles and trigger i took inspiration from tommy guns. i think i will experiment further with shapes to make an appealing design, however having decided how it will work and combining different elements to make something original, i feel more confident in experimenting now. i think i will change the hammer to be more like this, so it feels more old fashioned:
i thought it would be interesting to have a character with a jacket worn over the shoulders like a cape, however i’m not sure how i would approach a rig for this.
I think it would be interesting to have a character with a combination of elements with the clothing, combining naval uniform with more pirate like boots and hats. this could symbolise how they’ve gone rogue and are on their own but still cling to the idea of order and a cause. they will also be decorated with trinkets from the aquatic people they’ve killed, such as scales or necklaces. I imagine the clothing will be recycled and passed down from the casualties, so it will be worn and torn and stained. i also think it will be fun to design the gas masks they will use.
Artist inspiration:
i really like the below character designs, and i would like to try replicating the realistic style combined with fantasy elements and clothing. they are very complex, and although i am not at that level yet, i want to aim for a high standard in this project
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/kKEZA
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/oJ2DXO
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/D5walG
character thumbnails 2
i made some various character thumbnails, and i liked various aspects from each of them, so i combined the elements i liked the most to come up with another concept. i think i will make more variations of this design as i feel the it could be better, however i like the elements its made up of, it could just be more balanced and have more visual interest. at the moment, it feels like the torso and legs are divided in half, which is too uniform. overall i think the proportions need adjusting, as right now a lot of elements are the same size so they fight for attention. also, some elements are quite rounded which i may turn down as this character is meant to appear dangerous but still meant to represent order, so i will keep sharp and square shapes. i think now is a good time to think about the character as an individual and decide of facial features and smaller details.
some iterations of changing proportions and shapes and adding details
a sketch of the character with the harpoon gun, looking at this i think my design is quite boring and generic. while this isn’t terrible, i think i will put more thought and do some variations of the clothing elements, especially the hat.
thumbnails 3
tried making some variations of the silhouette, i like the asymmetry of the last one, and i like how some of the hats appear to take the shape of a crown. i also like the simplicity of the third one, but i like the complex layered clothing of the first one.
looking at these thumbnails, i think if i were to team up with another student then it could fit into various semi realistic IPs, such as resident evil or bloodborne/ souls games, but i could also make it realistic.
Feedback was to make the IP pirates of the Caribbean as that contains mythical creatures and i can have some leeway with the style of the game. i think this works really well. also, i have teamed with Elishka who is making a sea monster that would also fit the IP.
game concept
I think it could be an action adventure game, focused on exploration of a new part of the world (toxic waters). the player could play as Jack Sparrow or one of the characters from the film franchise, and could be searching for some sort of treasure and somehow ends up on this ship with the character. maybe this could be through their recruitment process on land. i think at first the character could seem helpful, but then it becomes apparent that they are unnecessarily brutal and they have a very unofficial and questionable regime. then the player could either choose to join them or oppose them (fighting with them against the aquatic people or, siding with the ‘enemy’), but in the end they would probably destroy the ship in some way, and the player would move on, being one step closer to the treasure. the ship could be destroyed either by an explosion from the oxygen tanks (a mistake, good for irony), or it could be destroyed by the aquatic people and creatures, depending on the players choices. so this character and crew would be an explosive introduction to the chaotic and dangerous world the player will need to traverse. i also think this character could survive the destruction of the ship, and might follow the player with a vengeance.
first person or third person game? game mechanics?
more concepts and thumbnail
throughout this design, i tried to use the three spikes shape in the hat throughout the entire character to make it more cohesive. i also thought of some ideas for gas masks, taking inspiration from some types of fish.
IP case studies:
Assassins creed black flag: This is the level of realism i will try to aim for in my character. the game also has a gritty aesthetic with complex and exaggerated costumes, but it doesn’t look out of place in the world.
sea of thieves: while its more stylized than what i’m aiming for, the concept art of the faces was interesting as their personality traits are conveyed well. I’d like to try some different concepts for face shapes of the character.
Zbrush practice. i was thinking about how i would be able to model a hat like the ones in the mood board above in Zbrush so i followed a hat tutorial and tried to apply what i learned to the shape of the hat i’m trying to make. for a first attempt it isn’t bad, but id like the real thing to be cleaner and have more of the distinctive shape i have in the thumbnail. but this has helped me visualize how the hat is formed so i will be better able to draw it in the reference sheet.
the main helpful things from the tutorial were the bend arc, the Zmodeler tool, and the dynamic subdivision thickness. also, the crease tool was useful for making the edges of the fabric softer.
I got some feedback in the zbrush toolkit and the advice was to make sure I have the right shape with good topology before using dynamic subdivide. there was also a way to group the sections of the hat by their world axis and I used this to work on each part of the hat separately. I also used the split to parts feature so I could have more control over what I was doing.
Character turnaround
my character turnaround, I think it could be more accurate however I think I will make some decisions as I am sculpting in Zbrush.
character bio/ backstory
Name: Mallory O’Mordha
Archetype: villain
Gender: male
Age: 35
Species: human
Agenda: eradicate all magical sea life
Personality: charismatic leader, brutal, hypocritical, egotistical
Alignment: lawful evil
Powers: no magical powers, finds them disgusting and heathen. Uses spears and speargun as weapons. Long range, might have a pistol or sword for close range. Good at battle strategizing and navigation.
Unique elements: Is respected and loved by the crew. Is good at talent acquisition and building others up. Cloak is made from mermaid skin.
Backstory: found a sense of community in the navy whilst fighting a war against the sea creatures to expand territory. The war was lost however he didn’t accept it and started his own crew with a group sharing the same delusion of assured victory. Maintains official appearance such as the navies symbol however desperate times have led to more pirate-like modifications to the uniform. Returns to land for supplies and to recruit more people for his agenda, this is where the player encounters him.
I chose the name Mallory because I think it sounds funny when next to the more sinister sounding surname O’Mordha it sounds musical and there is juxtaposition. this character would mainly be referred to as Captain O’Mordha. I think the name sounds old fashioned and would fit into the potc IP well.
as I was sketching I had the idea of making the cloak have the mermaid tail still attached to the skin.
I like this idea as it describes the character very well. You look at it and immediately think mermaid hunter. Further drawings:
I could also use this version where I tried to make the tail look more flowing and magical
more detailed sketch of the boots and gasmask (which may be connected to a belt.) I gave the boots spurs because although it makes no sense it looks good for the shillouette and sells the idea that this character is navigating uncharted places.
i have decided to scrap the gas mask idea unless i have more time later to model it as it is a complex structure that doesn’t add much to the silhouette of the character unless it is being worn in which case i wouldn’t be able to animate/rig the face fully.
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