I had difficulty visualising the underlying forms of my character at first, so I traced over my previous drawing to get a better idea. I made several versions and tweaked it until it looked balanced.
I found that some of the asymmetrical elements would be easier to adjust in 3D, such as the top hat and hips. When drawing the clothing, I kept some of the lines of the body underneath at a lower opacity so I will be able to refer to it in 3D. I also used different colours so it would be easier to differentiate between objects.
I took my three favourite sketches and drew them digitally to decide which to move forward with. Although I think they would all fit into the Rango IP, I have a preference for the Jerboa character because of its more animalistic features and potential for iteration.
I turned my sketches into silhouettes and noticed some errors with my jerboa character which I fixed in the 4th silhouette. I experimented with a few more ideas and I have concluded that, although I find them visually appealing, 7 and 9 don’t quite fit my chosen IP. 6 and 8 are just not interesting enough to continue with, and 3 seems too simple. 4 and 5 are my favourite ideas so I will sketch them in more detail and decide which character to move forward with.
Above I have rendered two of my characters and although the bird character has interesting shape language, I slightly prefer the Jerboa character because of the personality and I find the design more appealing and a better fit for the IP. I also think it would be more fun to model in 3D.
feedback: was to think about how my character will look in 3d, for example how will the tail come through the trousers, how do the ears look underneath the hat and from different angles etc. This is all what I’ll need to think about when making my turnaround. For the bird character, I also put the bandolier above the gun strap which isn’t practical and makes the rifle inaccessible. I also could have given him an insignia of some kind to make his role in the world more obvious. Additionally, I need to think more about what textures I will use for the fur and clothing, and how the clothing actually works, especially the white shirt on the jerboa.
In my first few sketches, I was trying to build a character based off of my narrative piece, however I think I will find it easier to design how the character looks first and then think about the story after as I felt a bit confined by my earlier description.
After my first few sketches, I decided I needed to take a more creative approach as my designs were looking quite basic and I was stuck trying to make one version work. Below, I used a highlighter to draw a random shape and I tried to find a character within it. This method yielded results that were more true to the spirit of my chosen IP and gave me some designs which I may develop further when moving on to some more detailed silhouettes.
I have decided to make a character that would fit into the world of the IP Rango, however it will have an output quality suitable for a game such as the league of legends IP
Mind map
Character narrative piece
My character is a morally grey scientist who draws fear and fascination in equal measure. In the city, her radical alterations to the living beings were met with disdain and resistance, yet in the desert, she finds an audience who both revere and revile her, acknowledging her talents with a wary respect. Her specialty is integrating prosthetic limbs with deadly functionality, helping gunslingers beat the odds which some locals consider cheating. Because of this she is suspicious and unfriendly towards strangers, and conducts her business discreetly. Amidst the grime and grit of her surgical endeavours, she maintains a façade of elegance, her delicate dress juxtaposing her psychotic personality and the crude implements of her trade. Despite all this, she has found a place within the small frontier community that she inhabits, and has helped many who have passed through it to make a name for themselves, for better or worse. In doing so, she has been able to work towards her goals of scientific revolution in undisturbed peace.
product benchmark
I chose this model as a benchmark because of its good stylized proportions and good quality despite low polycount. Textures are effective and colours work well together. Ropes on the cape and other details are painted/sculped in as a texture rather than hard modelled. Looks like it could all be one mesh except for the hood and cape which could be separate. I could potentially have a separated clothing element to animate and pair with the base mesh when baking.
