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Show ABSTRACT Thi e ea , I e ha i i a i a i ked i a d i e ki e i c ce a d cha ac e de ig . Wi h i da i g de Fi & Media A aj , I e dedicated most of my coursework to learning about the elements of design, character a ea a d a i ic de e ac ici g cha ac e i e . Thi ai a e e e , I e de ed i e each eek ei he ai e a d ife d a i g. I e a e ded ife d a i g sessions, examined the concept art of various film and cartoon television series, and have even made animations of some of my characters. My primary aim for this creative project was to hone my abilities in working with different mediums. I have explored a variety of different mediums: pencil, watercolor, pastels, pen and ink, digital drawing and more. In developing my collected body of work for this year, I also worked to produce content in a number of styles to diversify the visual qualities of my pieces. Some are quickly rendered concepts for characters, while others are fully rendered pieces which took more time to flesh out and complete. As a result, my portfolio is rather variegated in what it looks like. Though my next goal is to create a more cohesive feel to my body, I am pleased that my portfolio thesis does demonstrate my flexibility and adaptability with different types of artistry essential to professional conceptual design. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii INTRODUCTION 1 METHODS 4 RESULTS 7 iii 1 INTRODUCTION I roll my pen between my fingers, adjusting my sketchbook tucked under my arm. Thinking of a new idea, I hear the click of the lid from my pen. I pull my sketchbook from under my arm, and feeling the hard black cover, I open it carefully to prevent loose sketches and scribbles from fluttering to the floor. I tilt my head and lean against a wall, raising a shoulder to balance myself with my backpack. Crossing my fingers, I flip through the pages hoping for a blank sheet of paper. I tuck my short blonde hair behind my ear, smiling to myself as I lower my sword onto the sketchbook. I swipe it across the page, in quick and sharp movements. I slash my weapon, jabbing it into the paper. Lines swoop and swirl together, and I watch my drawing come to life before my eyes. I leave my mark upon the page. Evidence of my conquest is apparent all across my fingers, my hands, my clothes and sometimes even my face. Those who know me well are never surprised. M f ie d ge e a k e a Abb a d he ke chb k . I i rare to see me without it. Sometimes they tease me playfully, and are quick to let me know when I have graphite smudged on my nose. In any case, I know that I wouldn't be myself without pen and paper in hand. My pen is what empowers me to engage with the world around me. Whether I am working out a visual representation of a mathematical concept in ca ke chi g ag i f a e I e bee eadi g, ke chb ka dI are inseparable. Whenever I want to capture a memory, express a new idea, or to simply place something into my heart, all I need to do is turn to a new page. This is the quirk of mine that I value most of all. 2 What I love most about my sketchbook is that it allows me to explore new ideas. With every new subject I learn, every twist and turn that happens in my life, and for every new place that I go, I begin a new project. Each is different from the last. This semester, my project has been to practice character design. Throughout my time studying Film & Media Arts at the Universi f U ah, I e d dec a i g a emphasis in animation and a minor in drawing. Of every facet which exists in film production, the realm of concept art and character development caught me the most. I was fascinated in how artists could produce designs for sculptors to model and animators to bring to life. Looking at a story, feeling its mood, and interpreting it visually resonated with me as an artist. For my thesis, I decided that I wanted to develop my skillset that could help me to work towards the ultimate goal of working in visual development. What I adore best about character design perhaps are the small details which lend themselves to the visual appeal of a character. Consider the vast differences between characters like Mickey Mouse, Batman and Homer Simpson. Mickey is very rounded and made f ci c e . Thi d a a ica c a agai Ba a a g a , da k, i design, which is far more angular. And then Homer is instantly recognizable with the a e f c a e e ha a k he e i e f Ma c G e i g S i gfie d, i h i pastel yellow and blue hues. Visual language says a lot about how we interpret characters: Mickey is bouncy and fun, Batman is intense and brooding, while Homer is a comedic postmodern relic. This is how we come to associate different characters with different works of media and varied creators, from SpongeBob to Jack Skellington and Charlie Brown to Peppa Pig. 3 Elements like color, expression, contrast, shape and line all contribute to what gives a character its personality. For me, my sketchbook isn't what I use to take a step away from the world. It is what I use to immerse myself into it. Fictional characters, in many ways, are what make us. Many of us can remember the movies and cartoons which were most integral to our chi dh d a dh he ec ib ted to who we are. My continuous practice of sketching is more than building a skillset, but it is an integral part of me. It represents my love, experiences, learning, victories, losses, joys, and sorrows. My character designs, in many ways, represent how I see the world. Most of all, I love to share them with others. 4 METHODS For my thesis, I decided to design as many characters as possible and then to select my favorite designs for a digital portfolio. As a part of my study, I elected to practice life drawing and portraiture as many good concept artists do to improve their work. I found that as I drew from life, my grasp of anatomy and expression greatly improved. While learning to draw with a live model or from a mirror reflection was incredibly tricky at first as opposed to working with photographic references, doing so strongly helped me to build an internal memory bank of what bodies and faces look like for my conceptual and cartoon work. This is even apparent in examining many of the de ig idea f I e i cluded in my portfolio. While some drawings do depict fun or interesting cha ac e , he e e i hed ha he I d d ced a d he e d f he semester. When it came to producing life drawings and portraits, I mainly worked in three ways, which were to attend life drawing sessions, draw my brother (who I live with and is often around my living space) and to draw my reflection. One of my favorite self portraits I dd e a f a ef ec i he T a Red Li e ai d i g a b i a d. I sketched out a few angles of myself, and using what I knew from studying portraiture, filled out the rest. Another a self- ai I d d e a a ide a g e I managed to accomplish by setting up some mirrors to allow myself to see what I looked like from that view. When it came to drawing other live models, I tried out different mediums as well. I used pen and ink, crayons, markers, colored pencils and charcoal. I found several interesting effects from these approaches in terms of experimenting with shadow, highlights and contouring faces. 5 When it came to my illustrations and character design, I learned to interpret what I e gai ed f ife d a i g i e f ca a d g a hic i ai . He e i he e I experimented the most in regards to testing styles. Some characters served as studies in mediums, some in different color palettes, others still in terms of theme and story. A few ae ick idea I d j ed d i a ke chb k i hi ac e i e ,f instance. Some of these I included in my thesis portfolio because I liked the ideas or energy I had going with them. Still, other characters included in my portfolio are more developed. For instance, ed a i gI dd e fac b gI d de i g, a i a i g a d iggi g i Ma a. I did this to see what it felt like to come up with a character and see them through from early drawing stages to an animated segment. Of course, the animated clip of this character still has much room for improvement in terms of fixing up some jittery movement, render quality and lighting. However, I did manage to make some of the i c e h a d ef ec he e with my concept art. This mini-project ai f he cha ac e a I d h within my overall thesis ed has allowed me to gain a clearer picture of how working from concept art works in the film industry. Being able to invent a character and make them come to life was a very multifaceted process. First, I had to think of what kind of character I wanted to make. I love monsters and have always been intrigued by them as a kid. Following that, I knew I wanted a d de h ked ike he a c ea ed i D c of protagonist I would e e ecia F a ke ed he I a i e. F ei ab i g hi the type ai f thought, I still wanted this fellow to look appealing and friendly as if he were going to be i a chi d e fi . I e ed he idea f a c b g i h a a i e, h ki g f a e b a 6 small, smiling youthful face that would give the character a touch of innocence and friendliness. For my 3D model I simplified my original design to give the cyborg a more cartoonish look. In the film segment, I rounded out the character more by determining that despite his hefty robotic stature that I would attempt to make him smooth and graceful, and lend him some poise to contrast with his build. I felt this would subtly contribute to his paradox at the axis of his concept, and overall, the effect worked out quite nicely. I did e ec i c de e e f i . Whi e I d ced a hi g ha I e fc ade a d e , I fe i ac iced hi ece a e e e i c a e ha I e worked on as to keep the final collection concise and yet multifaceted. For instance, some of the more polished drawings were done in stages. One, where a skateboarding werewolf swordfights a steampunk vampire, I drew multiple versions of before landing on a more clean and presentable image. I drew the wolf in many poses on grid and lined paper until I found something I liked, which I then duplicated for my final piece. N e hi g e he e , he e I had ea e de ed, I ch e ke che ha I had i c de ea .O e e e de e f b ed i hich I d d e in watercolor sepia tones is one instance where I might go further to develop more thought out drawings or 3D sculpts. Still, as a micro collection of characters, they offer their own unique setting and mood, and thus I included them. Overall, my portfolio thesis as a body of work is essentially a grouping of my fa i e high igh f ki g . M e ha a hi a e e e.I hi g h gh, I g a i e bi g ad ha hi fe e hi g I e bee ga i a i ha a gh how to overview a variety of sub-projects, and plan them out. e 7 RESULTS I e aded i age a eb i e: www.thecanvasrose.com The site includes two primary pages. The first is a portraiture and life drawing gallery. The second is a character design and illustration gallery. A ,I i c di g a igge a i gf e f he i age he i e. The ife drawing section of the website includes some anatomical drawings of male figures, while the illustrations include depictions of cartoon blood and violence. |
