The Old Man

The design process 

 

After creating the younger version of my character I began building ideas and looking for references on an older person. Such as there facial features and how certain aspects change when we grow older. I wanted to create a character that I could compare how he was young and living before the incident happened, to how he has grown and changed his life to survive. I wanted this to show on the character.

Beginning with the design I pretty much just blocked out colours straight away and left it at that. At this time when designing the character I had a small obsession with trying to draw wrinkles. I find that they tell the story that I want to be told to the audience. It’s something that captures me and draws me in.

Starting with the eye I began to block out colours and form the left side of the face and nose. I tend to have some trouble with colours and how they react with each other but before I created my character I again watched YouTube videos on how I could better my technique.
I done these on numerous layers and used only one brush to block out the colours.

After blocking out colours I drew the pupils and used a hard edge brush to go back in and blend the colours together, making sure the edges of certain lines were crisp and clean. At this point I almost give up because with all my previous drawings I know that when it comes to the hair I struggle a lot.
At first I tried a method and began blocking out colours but it just wasn’t right, it looked unrealistic and I got really frustrated. After getting fed up with it I decided to take a break and again watch videos on how I would go about it. Several hours later I came back to my drawing and tried a different method.

Putting down the darkest colour I worked from the darkest shade to the lightest. Once I had the basic shape I went with a slightly lighter shade and worked out how I would want the hair to fall. At this point it was looking really blocking and I was really discouraged but I still continued. After doing this I went in closer with a hard edge bush and defined some of the more detailed hair. Knowing when drawing that you can’t see every single strand of hair, I began bunching up the colours so it looked more realistic. Adding the mouth and tweaking with stuff here and there, you can really tell the difference from where I started drawing the hair in number 5 to where I started to finish it in number 11.

Below is the final version of my character and I was pretty much happy with the overall drawing. I learnt stuff and pushed myself more in this design as normally I would have given up on certain points. I wanted to improve and I learnt a lot more in this one project than I did in several others.

 

 

Character concept

The inital design

Upon completing my Moodboard, I had the basics ideas of what I wanted to include within my character concept. Within my spare time I took the opportunity to study videos on YouTube of other artist that draw concept. With learning different techniques I decided to use them and experiment as I know I am still learning and picking my own technique slowly. Starting off with a basic scribble model I blocked out my idea so it was down and out of my head.

The first idea I just used a basic model. This was my base for the rest of my ideas and I pretty much just scribbled it out. I knew from the start that I wanted my character to wear a jacket that was suitable for all kinds of weather. Also considering the type of shoes he wears for the same reason, I decided on using some kind of boot since these were also easier to most likely come by in that situation, they are durable and reliable. Once I finished my first design I knew it was very basic with the lack of accessories.

My second design I decided to add a bit more detail. With the thought of the character carrying a backpack so that transporting stuff would be easier. I also made the pants tighter to the leg so that the boot would be showing at the top instead of the pants covering half the boot.

My third design I was considering my back story. Thinking how the nuclear would affect people I went into more detail again. Changing the jacket slightly I added a belt across the waist so he could carry pouches and of course an essential item, a water bottle. Adding bandage on the jacket and the jeans gave it the impression that he has been alive for a while and grabbed whatever resources he could to survive, therefor patching up whenever possible. I kept the backpack in this idea as my main thought was that his role would be to scavenge items for himself or a group. With it being a nuclear disaster I included a mask on his face so that he would be from harm when going outside. This went either way with my backstory as I had the possibility to have the world dangerous and that a person could not venture out without protection. 

After having my initial designs down I decided on the last two. With having different attire this gave the character a bit more personality. The first out the two is basic, it is bandaged up and just wearing basic clothing. The second one is a bit of all the previous ones; it is carrying a backpack for scavenging and has accessories equipped so that he can venture out for a long period of time. This is the basic means of survival and I wanted to show that on my design process.

Summer Project

Intro

Starting off with the summer, we had been handed a summer brief to complete. The project itself was to do with character concept and coming up with different designs for a specific character. The character itself had to be revolved around an apocalyptic period. We could create the initial story behind why the world was upon chaos but it had to be something not supernatural, something that would or could possible happen with an explanation.

In groups we discussed possible ideas such as a nuclear explosion, meteor, nature turning against us and the sun becoming too hot. Within these ideas we had to keep the aspect of that the character that we was designing would not know what is happening straight away, they would be guessing and initially that creates the whole story.

I personally wanted something just simple and I kept with the idea of it being a nuclear reaction. I had many ideas raging from that there was only older people left in the word, ages ranging from 40-65, with the odd younger one out there. This idea I thought had the feeling that the world was coming to an end, that life was ending and that gave fear to the character yet they yearn to stay alive. 

A majority of the world would be in ruins, with the odd base set up by bandits. Of course there would be little groups that would stick together, relying on each other to scavenge food and resources for the group. Within the group there would be set roles and people would have to abide and follow the rules for the group to stay alive. Also considering about the disadvantages and how it would really affect people, since what we all knew once was just wasting away; it would send anyone a little crazy right? This made a big impact on how I would want my character design to look since I had to consider all the possibilities he has been through up till that point. Such as if someone close to him had died, how would that affect the way he looked? I wanted to show emotion and I also decided to create an older character to give that feeling.

I had a number of ideas straight away and I was struggling between two. I was creating a male concept but I wasn’t sure about the age. I wanted to create a younger version and an older version, to signify that he lived his years, that he had been through a lot and managed to survive the apocalypse. I wanted to create an older version because I wanted to show more character, the pain he has been through and the audience question what he has been through.

With my ideas increasing I decided to create a moodboard so I could group up my ideas and references into one places. Looking for pictures on objects that would be used in that situation, I looked up water bottles, boots and a backpack design. Also while looking at references I kept in mind the kind of character I wanted to create, him being young or old I had to keep in consideration that younger the character the more that person could carry.

After a while I found a few pictures to help me and that I could look back on to keep me on track.