Week 3
- Alisha Gupta
- Sep 4, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 24, 2021
Character Design
The third week took off with an exciting exercise on Character Design. I noted multiple important points from the presentation that were fairly clear and simple to understand, Starting with the most important element in a good character design is connection. I find the hardest aspect of today’s form of media is getting audiences to care about your characters without which the narrative itself falls empty. If audiences can relate to them they will automatically be invested in your story. Thus characters are the main driving factor to a strong narrative.
The images shared in the presentation were perfect examples of classical 2D and 3D animation from studios such as Disney who have mastered the art of creating ‘living breathing personalities’ such as ‘Maximus’ the horse from ‘Tangled’ and ‘Megera’ from ‘Hercules’. The difference in both is that one was made for a 3D production while the other was for 2D animation.
However they have both been drawn keeping in mind structure that conveys the character’s personality through a balance of soft curves and angularity.
After this we moved into characters made for live action such as ‘Jar Jar Binks’ from one of my favourite franchises of all time’ ‘Star Wars’ where he makes an appearance in the early 2000s when VFX technology was beginning to evolve. I personally preferred the charm to classical animation but since the rise in 3D software VFX is increasing in relevance and I find that is an industry I am more inclined towards.
Following this the presentation discussed shape language and silhouettes along with nailing the structure because once we have a grasp, on how the character’s body functions we can draw better which translates to creating good anatomy by using simple volumes, which I feel is a great method to approach any character with and lastly being open to changes in its interpretation, since this field of work is a collective effort that should combine the ideas and suggestions of everyone involved.
What's behind the door? | Exercise in Character Design
For this task we were given a list of questions to think about and write down answers to before we began any drawing. I made a list of answers to my character and I found the act of noting down helped me visualize my character better. I was even influenced by the door given in the presentation since its from one of my favourite shows of all time ‘The Haunting of Hill House written by Shirley Jackson and adapted by director Mike Flanagan. The theme of the abandonment from the show is what inspired me to move into my character’s world.
List of questions given to think about:
These were the answers I wrote down in points-
1. The creature came to be here because he was left behind by the human family who took care of their kind and Had to flee their home abruptly leaving everything behind except his family but accidentally him too.
2. He was born in the room itself so it's a familiar space he knows but he can move in and out through spaces in the abandoned house by digging holes through the floorboards into the backyard for food at night and occasionally walks and rolls around on his padded feet during the day collecting objects.
3. He prefers to stay in the room because that's where he has been building his home- a large nest like formation piled with random objects and junk he found around the house since his main character trait is he’s a hoarder and has an affinity for shiny objects.
4. During the day he mostly lazes around sleeping in the room on a branch like formation and wakes up at night since he’s nocturnal and doesn’t need those oversized goggles to see better.
5. It cannot speak any human tongue but seems to understand the human expression and language by curling in front of an old television to observe the people and place since he’s lonely and finds comfort in their company.
7. He is very shy and fearful of any physical contact since he’s been all alone for nearly 9-11 months. He was born blind (like he fennec fox) which is why the way he felt the space around him was through touch and developed an attachment to hoarding.
8. He is herbivorous and likes to eat weeds and shrubs including dried ones. He can survive in dry temperatures even without water and uses his fur to insulate his body when it gets cold.
9. He smells quite terrible since he likes to crawl into dirty damp and often dusty cramped spaces and even into the holes he digs to get into the backyard which is why he is in dire need of a bath being covered in soot and dirt all over. (Although he seems to not mind )
10. He is quite small presently being a child that came out of a litter. About the six of a red panda (22-24 inches) like a small domesticated cat. He isn’t heavy either being about 3-6 kg giving him a rather adorable appearance which would want to make humans scoop him up onto their laps.
11. He is rather life like since I imagine him as a 3d character for live action, giving him a realistic appearance. Although his eyes portray more emotion than an ordinary wild animal and appear comically magnified when he wears he oversized goggles to see better (eyes with night vision inspired by the kinkajou)
To visualize my concept better I combined my character to be a combination of three real world animals because of one unique feature in each. I found doing the research for each exciting since taking from life establishes a well-defined foundation to build something fictional on.
The three animals I chose are- ‘The Fennec Fox, The Red Panda and the Kinkajou’.
I was instantly drawn to all three because seeing images of them with unusual expressions made by animals, added an element of humour and cuteness which is how I wanted it to appear alongside working on the believability factor, since I envision it as a character for live action VFX (similar to Detective Pikachu voiced by actor Ryan Reynolds.)
Additionally I made a collage of the environment it lives in which is the main setting for his story and I find that spaces are characters themselves. silently assisting the narrative. I made a few
rough early sketches in which the initial design gave him small antennas to use for smell and tracking (like a mantis) but then did away with it since it seemed a bit too alien to exist in the real world, which is why I redesigned him using the structure of the panda, long ears like the fox and large night vision eyes of the Kinkajou—which explained the oversized pilot goggles he never takes off being partially blind during the day when he’s trotting around the house hoarding junk.
My inspirations are a mix of hand drawn illustrations and stylized 2D characters such as ‘Gaetan The Mole’ from Disney’s Atlantis. My character is certainly not as old and brash like him but has the personality of a chaotic collector who can dig underground.
After I put together my research I made redesigns of the character with his goggles on and off and one where he’s hanging peacefully asleep such as the behaviour of a panda who doesn’t do much besides eat or sleep. I’m going to take him further with more poses including him before a background of his hoarding nest that he maintains in solitude being all alone with no real physical contact, that proves he’s in need of living breathing company.
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