Character Research

 
DJ Sona (League of Legends)

http://euw.leagueoflegends.com/

The design for this character was actually inspired by the Hatsune Miku character design. I love the idea of a changing colour helmet and the over the top colours. I feel that it makes this character stand out amongst most as her design actually changes in game. But it also has uniqueness to it despite being highly based off another existing character. When designing my own character, I want to incorporate some bright features from this character as I feel that it'd make my characters just that bit more eye catching.   





Weiss Schnee (RWBY)

http://roosterteeth.com/show/rwby

I love this design of the character overall, especially the jacket she wears due to the red on the inner collar as it stands out against the pale blue and white of her clothes. Fans of the show like this character in particular, not only because of her personality but because her clothes really convey her personality and how she is from a high class background. The theme of ice on her clothes connotes that she has a cold personality so before the audience hears her speak, they already partly understand what type of characteristics she has.  I will defiantly look back at this character design when making my own character design as its bold and unique but is also from the show my character design is based from. I believe this character is remember-able for her character design more than her personality. 




Homura Akemi (Puella Madoka Magica) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puella_Magi_Madoka_Magica

I like the top design for this character as it somehow suits the personality of the character. It's flattering without being revealing which is kind of unusual for female characters considering most show a lot of skin (which is not a bad thing.) It's complex without being too over complicated and could make any body type look good. Accessories can still be added to improve the look without taking away the characteristics of the design. When coming up with character designs I will look at this character again for inspiration as a lot of people who have seen this show liked this character in particular for her clothe design and distinctive look despite not being the overall main character. In conclusion, this character is remember-able for her character development during the series which tells me personality traits is what really sells a character and makes them more interesting to viewers.




Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid)

Miku is a highly popular pop-star idol in Japan but is also fairly popular in other countries. I reckon that due to her over the top look shes the most popular out of all the characters associated with Vocaloid (the digital band which she is from) Though she doesn't really have a personality or a backstory, she is shown through various songs which shows her development as a character. I think that it is crucial that a character develops slowly and doesn't just have one main personality throughout as that would get boring and tedious. Other characters like DJ Sona from league of Legends has also been inspired by the Hatsune Miku design. so when it comes to making my character design, I will try to include as many design traits as this character seeing as how popular she is.

Inspiring Images

I may take some ideas from this sketch as I love the idea of a screen for a head. The drawing style is also pleasing and not only does it show the character at different angles, but it also shows sections of the clothes in further detail with some description. Its fun to look at but also has a slight professional vibe to it. The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't have any colour so its not as eye catching.




I adore this art style and the use of colour. It shows the character at different angles but in different positions. I think the variety of poses makes the art more pleasing and eye catching so I will try to include this when i make my turn around sheet. I may also use part of their art style as I like the way they draw the mouth, eyes and hair of the character. I may use this art style when doing character design but for my final design I'd want to make it more realistically. The only issue I would change is that it would look better if they added detail and a colour palette of the colours they used.    




I like this style of art because its detailed and semi-realistic. Although, it is lacking in detail/description and could show the characters clothes separately along with the weapons. However, i like the angles used as they're not just standing still in a common pose. The close up of the face in detail is also a nice touch. I will remember to include that when I make my turnaround sheet. 

Proposal

After thinking about my options and looking at my past projects to see what my strengths were, I have finally decided to do character design. I found that character design was probably one of my strongest skills, not only that, but I also enjoyed doing to project immensely as well. So I figured that it would be something I could put all my effort into while having fun.  

For this, I will do multiple sketches of how the design is progressing, detailing what I have added to the character and what I have taken away. After I have a final sketch of the character, i will proceed to draw this character in multiple different styles as well as using different tools while doing so. For example, I will draw it in pencil, pen, digitally, markers and water colour etc. 
I not only plan to just do a detailed sketch of my game character, I plan to animate the final drawing as well using digital drawing software such as Photoshop. The reason why I want to animate the final design is because I believe it will grab more attention, as majority of people will (most likely) just do a drawing of a character design and develop that. I however, want to be a little different and try to expand my skills as animating is something I am passionate about. 

As for research, a survey will need to be taken so I can look into what my age range (target audience) likes. I will ask questions such as: 'Do you like realistic art or cartoon?' and 'What features make up a good game character?' 
I will also have to look into existing characters to see what makes them so popular, what I like about them and can include in my design as well as what the audience likes about that character design. E.g what are their dominant features that make them so recognizable.  

I want my work to look as professional and unique as possible when doing the 'turnaround sheets' as well as the final GIF image of the character. When it is finished, I want it to look detailed and well thought out and planned as I feel this will appeal more to others and show how much work went into making just one character.

When presenting it, I will put all my best sketches onto a black board. This should help my work stand out. As for the final animated drawing, I shall turn it into a GIF (moving image) and upload it to a website along with the other sketches i did to lead up to the final design.

This is a rough idea of how I want my Turnaround sheet to look. I like how it shows all angles and that the other drawings don't need colour to look good and professional. The main thing I would change is that they should either show a close up of the face or draw the clothes individually and annotate them. 

   

When I make my turnaround sheet, I want to add different facial expressions like how this turnaround sheet does. Although the design is simple, the art sells the character and gives you a feel of their personality. I will try to do this for my turnaround sheet as I want to get across the characteristics of the character.

Student Name: Chosen Theme: Title of Work:
Week / Date	In Class Activity	Independent Study
W/C April 27th 2015	Proposal Review with Tutor	Thursday 30th of April is an Interview day and students are not in.
W/C May 4th 2015	Look into popular game characters and write what I like about them, what the audience likes about them and what features of that character are most recognizable. Etc.	Monday 4th May  is a bank holiday and students are not in.
W/C May 11th 2015	Develop some quick sketches and rough designs for my character using certain elements from other popular characters. Make a ‘turnaround sheet.’	Look at other turnaround sheets to get inspiration.
W/C May 18th    2015	Finalize my design and draw that final design in multiple different materials. E.g digital, markers, water colour and pen. Work on the final drawing to be ready to animate.	Make multiple copies of a turnaround sheet.
W/C May 25th    2015	Half Term
W/C June 1st 2015	Complete Practical work
W/C June  8th   2015	Individual Presentation Deadline
W/C June  15th 2015	Deadline week-Check all work and hand in project	Friday 19th of June is an Interview Day and students are not in. Deadline: Group A: Thursday 18th June 2015 Group B: Thursday 18th June 2015.

(This was my original idea that I was going to do before I changed my plan.)

For my final major project, I have decided to make a music video to the song 'Nine in the afternoon'by Panic! at the disco. Although, instead of just using film, I will also be applying my own art by using the skill I learned in Premiere, which is the green screen. I figured if that the green screen technique can be used with film, it could also be used to apply animation/drawings onto a clip of film. 

In order to get more inspiration for my idea, I will look into the original music video for this song as well as other music videos that use drawing and animation. But I will also have to look into copyright issues as my end product could be presented publicly. I will have to make sure that using the entire song won't raise an issue. I might also take a survey including with this research as Primary research is more reliable. I will ask questions such as 'what do you think makes a good music video' as well as 'do you want the visuals to match to the lyrics?' This will be important as I will want my target audience of young teenagers to appreciate my work as much as possible.