Final Design

I initially set out to create my character in low poly 3D, however due to a restrain on time, I had to leave my final design as a small series of interactions between my character and a butterfly. I wanted to show some kind of relationship between Clement and an object that would cause him to express a range of emotions. I decided to take my first three expressions further and push them slightly, as well as adding a fourth expression showing sadness.

I am happy with the character and think that he would be appealing to a young audience. His simple design would allow for easy animating and could be turned into a minimal 3D model in time. I will create a 3D version of the design in my own time, however for now I believe that these designs could take a place in my portfolio or still showreel. I would feel confident including this design in my work to show industry professionals when applying for a job. 

Individual close-up images:

Character Creation

I designed a character inspired by Clement, keeping in mind the 2.5D look I wanted to create as well as the conventions of a children's cartoon character.

I designed a head and hair design that I was happy with but could not pinpoint exactly what kind of eyes I wanted him to have. This was an important part of the design as the eyes are so full of expression and speak to younger viewers who can't understand dialogue. I used a slightly oil pastel/crayon style brush to draw the character to give a styalised and hand-drawn looking design. I was inspired by Jeff Turley's style of lighting in which he places harsh sunlight shown through white lines on to the character.

I experimented with the sizes of the iris and pupil until I found one that jumped out to me. Out of the choices above I felt as though the bottom right was the most appealing and the closest to how I saw my brother, It also suited the cartoon conventions I looked at earlier; large boldly-lined eyes.

I then drew a standard neutral pose and played with emotion. I created an intrigued/shocked look, a tired/unimpressed look and a happy look. I tweaked these emotions to create ones that were the most similar to Clement's natural expressions. For example, instead of drawing a closed mouth smile to show happiness I drew an wide open mouth smile showing the few teeth he has as he would do in reality.

Research for Character Design

I chose to base my charater on my little brother, Clement. He is two years old and quite the character. I found some footage I shot of him last Summer wish was perfect in showcasing his personality. This helped me to study how he moved, talked and reacted to his environment; I sat down with a sketchpad and sketched a few things of interested I found whilst watching.

Contacting Industry Professionals

Whilst completing this project I have also been working alongside a group of animators in animation studio, 'Playback Studio'. It has been very beneficial to already have a taste of industry and be able to showcase my work to them as well as offering advice on their own work. Unfortunately it has taken up a large portion of my time, but on the other hand, it has made me feel much more at ease in terms of speaking to professionals and I believe I will be able to contact future potential employers with confidence.

Existing Industry Influences

There are many concept artists within the animation industry who I look up to for inspiration and motivation to draw. For this project I decided to look at a few artists in particular who I felt suited the look I wanted to achieve.

Jeff Turley

Bobby Pontillas

Shiyoon Kim

I felt as though they all capture the playfulness and innocence of youth beautifully, as well as having a great eye for design and colour. I will use their work to inspire me throughout the process of creating my character.