Concept Art and Process

Here I am showing the process I have taken to create each of my characters.

First, I set up the camera on a tripod on the staircase to be able to take reference photos alone with the self timer. I want my characters to be semi-realistic in terms of proportions, so this is a quick and effective way to achieve that.

Then I have traced around the body forms in illustrator using a thin brush.

I have filled in the body areas that are unseen - for example the top of the back. These are important for the animation to ensure that characters stay believable and that there aren't chunks missing from them. The

Here you can see all the lines drawn. There are overlapping lines in areas such as joints so that these can be effectively animated.

Here I have filled the lines with a white to see how the character's limbs look in place and without the overbearing cluster of lines in the above image.

Here I have started adding the texture swatches that I have created in photoshop to test my colour scheme.

You can see that here the hind legs and the palm of the hand is a much darker shade than the rest of the skin to add depth, but I think it looks tacky, so I might have to make the skin all the same shade.

Here I have drawn in a neck.

Here is the same character as above but with the thighs and palms the same colour tone as the rest of the body. This works a lot better and looks less confusing and distracting. It allows the viewer to appreciate the body rather than be distracted by it's unevenness.

Here you can see all the body parts on different layers. As you can see, there are a LOT which gives a lot of flexibility when animating.

The window I am working with in Illustrator. Note the amount of layers to the right.

Here I have drawn a new head for the character and I've added in the arranged hair which was scanned in (check previous post). Finally, I have a finished character!

This is my female character - notice the hair. I am very happy with this result. The character's eyes are blank and will show a lot of static to emphasise their "blank" nature and the effects of modern technology on them.

Here I have simply moved the girl's head down to make her seem more hunched over from long hours in front of the T.V.

Here is my photoshop screen where I have finished up the scene with pills, pill bottles, floor and wall to make up the rest of the scene.