Ambitieruimte - Periode 11
Character & Expression sheet
Planning and learning goals
For this project I wanted to make a character and expression sheet. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try some new things with my art style and the type of things I draw.
My learning goals for this period were experimenting with my art style and realistic planning.
Before starting with this project I made a weekly planning/to do list. Also writing down when I wanted to do which milestones.
Weekplanning ambitie project
Deadline 5/6 april (nog onzeker!)
Week 1 (15-16 Maart): Planning afmaken, mood/stijlboard, research
Week 2 (21-23 Maart): Schetsen & Final Design
Week 3 (28-30 Maart): Uitwerken Final Design in Character & Expression sheet
Week 4 (4-6 April): Final touches character sheet + presentatie/behance
Milestone 2: Wanneer concept schetsen uitgewerkt
Milestone 3: Als gekozen ontwerp getekend is, en ik bezig ben met de character sheet zelf
Eindpresentatie: geen powerpoint, geen behance
Poster, mini cardboard cutout stand(s)
During the project I also used Trello to make to do lists for smaller tasks, like which part of the character sheet or design I was working on.
Character design research
The first thing I did during the research phase was think of what kind of character I wanted to design. I made a short list of ideas that were interesting and which race/theme I could go with.
Fantasy/sci fi theme
Character race/theme ideas:
Goblin
Alien
Humanoid met animal features
Witch
Fey
Devil/demon
Insect/butterfly inspired design >alien design based on insect
With the prompts of this list I made a few Pinterest boards to decide which theme I liked the most.
I ended up going with the alien/insect concept. It looked the most challenging and seemed like a fun way to try some different things. Plus I've always really enjoyed sci-fi stories and characters.
Moodboard drawover
With the concept chosen I compiled the pins from my pinterest board into a moodboard and made a drawover to decide which elements I liked and wanted to try in my own design.
Having my idea in mind I started on some sketches for my alien design.
After having finished these sketches I had my first feedback moment with a teacher. I got the suggestion to make a list of things I had to include in my character sheet. Also what kind of character sheet I was going to make, was it for a 3D modeler, movie, costume designer, etc. I decided I to make a character sheet for a 3D modeler/game artist. So based on that I wrote a list of what I had to include.
Concept sheet list:
Turnaround character T of Y pose
Character personality showcasing pose
Closeups details character
Props/weapons
Textures and colours
Colour palette
Expressions
Looking at the sketches I made before, I started chose some things that I liked from the designs to include into a more finalised design. I circled those and started working on a new sketch. I also worked out the outfit/details some more. I wanted to inlude the horns and ears from my moodboard to give it that insect-like feel. The colour palette I used to colour the sketches was inspired by one of the beetles I used in my moodboard.
Around this time was when I had planned Milestone 2, so I showed my sketches and concept to Job (my project manager) for some feedback.
He liked the design so far but said I could change certain aspects to make it less human and more alien. Also to choose more specific elements from insects to include in the design. The posture was also a bit too straight, so I got advice to make it more bent and insect like.
He liked the design so far but said I could change certain aspects to make it less human and more alien. Also to choose more specific elements from insects to include in the design. The posture was also a bit too straight, so I got advice to make it more bent and insect like.
Redesign, Full Body Pose & Expression Sheet
Working with my feedback from Milestone 2, I altered my design to make it feel more alien. Once I was happy with my redesign, I started working on the sketches for the Expression sheet. I made 6 different emotions for it. (Neutral, shocked, sad, happy, scared and angry).
With a more finalised design that I was happy with I could start working on a full body drawing that was posed. I wanted to make drawing that would showcase the personality of the character a bit more and was dynamic. I took a few pictures of myself as reference and made a sketch based on that. I included the weapon as well to make it a bit of an action pose.
Having finished the sketches for everything I started working on lineart and colouring everything. For the expressions and character sheet I used mostly flat colours and some light shading. For the full body drawing I did more detailed shading.
Final Product
For the final character sheet I added some text and arranged all the elements in a nicer layout. I showed this to Job again for my third milestone.
Feedback:
I can see that you have incorporated the feedback from the previous milestone. The design looks good, and I especially think the face turned out very well. With the emotions in the expression sheet you can also clearly see that you have used a reference to draw them from real facial expressions. For next time I would pay attention to the clothing, that it also sticks out a bit from the character. Now it really sits directly on the skin.
Evaluation
I am very proud of my final work. The final design is strong and playful. I thought it was a fun assignment to work on, especially because I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit more. I can see my progress especially at the expression sheet. I really notice that I improve myself with every assignment.
Now for my learning goals. My first learning goal was realistic planning. For my planning I had a clear overview for myself every week through my 'weekly plan'. I knew what I had to get done in the part of my process and when. I got my milestones done on time. Though, for next time I would like to ask for feedback more often outside of the milestones. So that I also have more time to process it. For my next project I would like to plan more moments for that.
My second goal was stepping out of my comfort zone and experimenting with my artstyle. I tried doing this by drawing something I usually wouldn't like an alien. I usually draw humans/humanoid things. So I wanted to challenge myself by creating a kind of species. During the project I noticed I was inclined to go through the steps too quickly, by designing an outfit immediately after making one sketch of a design. So I stepped back and started working out the body more instead of jumping into clothes. The long research process also helped me realize what I wanted my final work to look like. All these steps helped me develop my style to fit the character more and I'm very happy to see how it all worked out in the end.
