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| 01 |
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I have a vague idea of what kind of character this will be - probably some kind of clerical/military officer type; basically someone who would look appropriate in a sort of static pose. I want to try to get some interesting shapes and dynamics from the character's outfit instead of from a crazy pose. This is mostly for my own convenience, so I am not limited by anatomical structure in coming up with an interesting silhouette. I fill the background layer with a warmish medium tone, and scribble out an initial line gesture on a layer above.
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| 02 |
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I start filling out the basic shape of the character, and lay down some of the main colors. At this point, I'm interested in trying out some wacky proportions, with a big alien ET head and long limbs.
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| 03 |
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I start solidifying the head and shoulder shapes a bit, since I am planning to make the face the focal area of the painting. This is where I am sort of breaking a basic rule - I start adding more detail to the face even though it's still really early in the process. I find that giving the character some sort of personality early on can help guide me in making choices about costume, shape, colors, etc. Again, not exactly the "right" way, but it's sometimes helpful.
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| 04 |
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A little more experimentation with shapes.
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| 05 |
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My shapes are causing the character to get a little crowded by the canvas edge, so I shrink him down a bit. Also, as I work more on the facial features, the character becomes a little more clear to me.
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| 06 |
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The Photoshop "flip trick" - does it still look right when it's mirrored? Hm, did it look right in the first place...?
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| 07 |
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I feel like there is room to start adding more shapes, to give the character just a little more dynamism and give me something to work with in terms of composition. The big arm gives the image a bit of asymmetry, which I tend to like. Also, it prevents the character from being the one big element right square in the center of the canvas, again a personal preference.
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| 08 |
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I start playing around with more shapes - the added shoulder spike gives the image a hint of depth. It's kind of a simple move, but having some behind and in-front-of stuff reduces the flat 2d feel somewhat. At least it does for me... Also, compositionally, the lines of the shoulder spikes, arm, and fingers direct the eye back to the face. Again, I have to reduce the size of the character a bit to keep him a comfortable distance from the borders.
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| 09 |
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The guy's proportions aren't working very well. I kind of like the big upraised arm, but it doesn't feel appropriate to the character somehow. Since this isn't strictly a character design, I have the freedom to change the character to fit the image. (Don't tell my creative director...) Here's where digital is nice - I can lasso body parts and move them around, scale them, whatever - nothing is sacred. In addition, the ear antennae things are clearly fighting with all the other spiky elements, so I take them out.
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| 10 |
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More scaling, rearranging. One of the things I did in this step was to give the body a line of action which mimics the shape of the arm somewhat. In step 08, it feels awkward because it seems like his body should tip over due to the weight of the arm. I add some clothing details, and try out a Napoleon hat, since that is who he is starting to remind me of.
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| 11 |
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Hat's too silly, so it goes. Also, smaller hand and bigger dress, to give him slightly more stature. I decide to bail on the big ET head idea and just go with a more or less normal, human sized head. I also start cutting into the big shapes, adding smaller details - this way, there is a lot of variety 2d drawing wise to entertain the eye. Detail is another very useful tool - since the eye is drawn to that, it can be used to direct the viewer's attention. One mistake is to ladle crazy amounts of detail all over the image. It's fun to draw and often fun to look at, but in my opinion it only emphasizes the 2d-ness of a painting.
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| 12 |
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Slight adjustments to the arm, costume details, and more work devoted to the background. It's still a very simple background which is meant to pop the character, but some additional texture is nice.
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| 13 |
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In the final step, I tighten up some of the details, give the other arm a crisper shape and more details, and solidify the lighting a bit. This character would have a lot of problems in a real time game, there is no backstory to speak of to explain the costume design, or why he is part robot, etc. This was more just a quick painting doodle done over a couple of evenings. When I work on a character design at work, usually there are several rounds of thumbnails, line drawings and marker sketches before I start painting. By the time I start painting in that context, a lot of the decisions have already been made, in terms of costume design, silhouettes, colors, materials etc. Hope you find something useful here!
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