Real Worlds - Initial Thumbnails

 Real Worlds - Initial Thumbnails

Forge Fathers

For my initial thumbnails for the Forge Fathers, I used what information I gathered from the initial research and shape language study to create some initial sketches. For these, I used a mix of basic sketches to create more in depth designs, and silhouettes using the lasso tool to create shapes to try and master the shape language the forge fathers use. 
For the first sheet, I didn't really have a specific focus other than trying out the shape language for different things, like the character, helmet and weapons, as well as general shapes. For the second sheet, I focused specifically on the character and the parts of said character, using thumbnail 2 as a starting point for variations. When I have mastered the general shape language, I will then decide on a full description and backstory to the character, as well as what context he would appear in within game.
In terms of sheet two, I thumbnailed different parts of the character, such as the kneepads in thumbnails 11 and 19, and wrist guards on 17 and 21. 16, 18 and 20 are all variations of the armour for the character, and 12 to 15 are all head variations.
For the final sheet of initial thumbnails, I focused on variations of the character using the armour variations I created, as well as some modular weapon designs below that I may or may not use for the actual design. Overall I feel I created some very competent designs for the Forge Fathers.

I showed this to some of my friends online that aren't involved in this course but do play a lot of video games and asked for feedback. I first told them that "I wanted this to be a morally terrible space dwarf, who serves as an intimidating boss-type character within the game I'm making." When asked what genre, I responded with "Souls-like." Here are some of the responses I received.

Friend 1: "I really like 22, I think the shoulder pads compliment the overall bulky nature of the character"
Friend 2: "22 looks really good - I think it looks the most intimidating. In terms of weapons, I like 27 - make it bigger than the character to make the overall shape of the character more intimidating being able to wield that weapon."

I overall agree with this sentiment, and that's what I will go with moving forward.

Matsudan

Moving onto the Matsudan, I first started sketching ideas for the head. I wanted to create a more vicious look for this character, so I focused on creating an aggressive appearance for the head. After that, I focused on creating a few cuirass designs inspired by the pre-existing Matsudan things. This is so I can get in the right headspace when it comes to drawing my character, but I will show them these designs in the client review in case they prefer one of these designs instead.

Moving onto the next sheet of thumbnails, this is where I really started drawing ideas for the character overall. I focused on giving the fallen ronin the overall shape and armour form of a Matsudan, whilst trying to maintain the more vicious look. I wanted to make it look like the Matsudan had been wandering alone, with little to no supplies, and I think I did quite well here.
I asked the same friends as before regarding feedback for these designs. This time I described this character as being "A fallen Ronin that the player can control, seeking to escape the Nightstalker's whispers." (For clarity's sake, I did show them what Nightstalkers may look like to give them ideas."
Some of the feedback I received was as follows:

Friend 1: "I really like the approach to 10 and 11 with the broken sword and the hat. I don't know what the name for the hat is but I know that it defo gives samurai vibes"

Friend 2:"Agreed. I think 10 and 11 are really good. I think the hat should be the defining feature here - I don't think 12 or 13 really gets close to the same idea you're going for."

With this said, I went 10. I think I prefer the armour on the body with 10 over the others too, so this is more personal preference between 9, 10 or 11.

Because this is a player character, I wanted to create some thumbnails for the fallen ronin depicting different weapons they could possibly use. I think all of these would be weapons the character could wield and find within the game, but for the sake of poses and art, I stuck with the broken sword since I think it is iconic to the look now. 

With all this done, next in terms of art was the character sheet for the client review.








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