RUST ~Final Major Project~ Character #01 Concept Development

Idea's developed for my main protagonist, the ''old caretaker droid and the main protagonist, an unlikely hero who fancies himself as somewhat of a detective, and naturally inquisitive about the world beyond''. The first full body sketch I did was taking several elements I liked from my initial thumbnails and research to get a general idea... though I think the sort of body structure looks pretty cool, I'm not too happy with the head so I took the time to sketch out various different types to fit his character, and give him a strong personality. 

I really liked the styles of head that depicted the eyes as just lights, as I think with eyelids to cover them, would give this character a strong personality and be able to translate his emotion with just the positioning of the lids (a very simple yet effective method used a lot in animation). I also liked the idea of his default expression being one of a face scrunched up in concentration as if to look off into the distance (daydreaming maybe), with his eyelids subtly on show and his over extended under-bite style jaw on a slant as if hes really pondering something. I think this gives him the inquisitive look i wanted, though at the same time I also want to make his self proclaimed 'detective' attitude shine through also, so was considering looks that may show this off to its fullest. A neat idea that i liked, was to dress him in makeshift detective gear, e.g. like the hat and raincoat worn by New York detectives in old black and white cop movies. The downside to this design choice though, is that it seems a less subtle way of showing off his personality, and at the same time covers the intricate detail of his body work. I need to consider how I can show off this aspect to his character in a more subtle way, and is something I will experiment with even into the modelling stage, so that i have a decision by the time I am ready to texture. 

When developing the digital version to a final design, i considered the silhouette at all times, making sure the original pose i had sketched showed off the detail in this characters body, with all his plates hanging off and cables all loose. Recreating him in Photoshop allows me more freedom to add details to him, such as colour schemes and attire/prop choices, as well as surface detail like paint marks, damage and maybe things such as code numbers and warning markings? These are areas in which I am definitely going to play around with, all little ares in which i think will help make his character and design much more stronger. 



As well as this, I want to create artwork of each character in situation, which I think will give them a better sense of their personality, and their identity within this world I have created for them.