Character & Background Design
For this assignment, we had to create an original character based on a storyline we got from our teachers, and also design a background for it.
Character Options
There were 2 options we could choose out of. Character A was a noble warrior with a famous background, who has always lived in cold and snowy areas. Character B was a hunter who has known nothing else but survival, and grew up by theirselves in the dangerous woods. I went for character A, because I like the aesthetics of snowy areas, and drawing a knight sounded interesting to me.
Moodboards
I started off with making a moodboard for the character and another one for the background, to really get to know their personality and their habitat.
Later I also made moodboards to get inspiration for poses and weapons.
Sketches
Then it was time to start sketching. I really wanted to try out a lot of different options. In the lessons, we got taught how to design characters based on shapes, and how those shapes could show the personality of the character. So I tried to experiment with that as well.
I came up with 3 concept sketches, and worked those out.
For the final character, I decided to choose the middle one. A circle is too friendly, but a triangle is too evil. The description of this character is noble, but mostly based on strength. So I figured a big, broad silhouette would show off that character type best. So I focused on that design and worked it out, including his weapon. I chose a sword, because that's most typical for a knight.
I also made a few sketches for the background and made 3 final concepts to choose out of.
I really liked the first one, but that would be way too difficult for me to draw in this limited amount of time. So I went for the last one, because I liked the composition of the entire drawing the best, and the character was the most visible in this sketch.
Finalising the Illustration
Time to work the sketches out with a drawing tablet. I started out with the character. Unfortunately I don't have many process pictures of both the character and the background. I went for a lot of grey colors, because that's typical for knight armor, and it would blend in nicely with the snowy tundras. I added a few red details, because that's the first color that came to mind when thinking of how to make the character look more noble.
For the background, I did look up reference materials for the ice, snow and rocks, because I have never really drawn that before.
End Result
Evaluation & Feedback
Looking back on it, I am happy with the end result, but it's not my best work. I like how the background turned out, but it could've been better. The character is pretty basic, and the shading & textures are minimal. I wanted to avoid drawing faces, but I think that would've been a good challenge for me.
The teacher gave me a V and G. "Very nice job. A lot of process sketches which is good, the end result looks good. The final drawing could've used a bit more shading, highlights and contrast, but it still looks nice."
