Concept: Sasaki

December 27, 2010

To describe Sasaki in a sentence: she’s someone who’s skilled at computers but inept at living. In a word: a shut in.

The intention was to include a slightly more humorous character to alleviate some of the story’s grim atmosphere, but additionally to portray the high technology – low humanity themes in a slightly different light to more extreme embodiments such as Scratch or Baby Face.

Unlike the latter, Sasaki only has very minor cybernetic enhancements (see the hands and neck), and in spite of the strong focus on her VR headset it remains separate, a tool rather than a part of her being. At the same time I like the idea that it’s a part of her character while remaining detached, a barrier emphasised by the clash of high tech equipment alongside messy hair and ragged clothing. Sasaki might be seen as a bridge between the reader and today’s externalised technology over to the outlandish cyborgs populating the story – an uncomfortable middle ground between real and fantasy.

In terms of the design I’d envisioned Sasaki resembling a spider, an exaggerated number of lenses and cameras attached to the headset with cables and wires sprouting at odd angles like legs or webbing. As you can see I kept the eyes in but cut the cables down to a minimum; while it would have been aesthetically impressive it didn’t make much sense logically – even now we have extensive wireless technology so why would they need additional hardwiring in the future?

 

 

Leave a Comment » | Planning | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Ozy

Concept: Scratch coated

December 17, 2010

Just uploading a more refined design of Scratch wearing a coat as seen in my last concept. I tried to strike a balance between aesthetics and functionality, making it vaguely resemble the trenchcoat of a classic detective while being modern and reasonably easy to move in.

Leave a Comment » | Planning | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Ozy

Sketches: Scratch in action

December 8, 2010

Just thought I’d quickly upload these rough sketches I did to test how Scratch might appear in different poses. Given that she’s one of the most physically active characters in the narrative (as it currently stands) it’s important that she looks right in action. Also, note the jacket in the right hand image, an addition I’m still working out – it needs to look suitably modern for a future setting but at the same time I don’t want it to appear frivolous, rather being sleek and utilitarian.

2 Comments | Planning | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ozy

Concept: Baby Face

November 25, 2010

I recently drew up a redesign for my ironically named antagonist – ‘Baby Face’.

Additionally, during an illustrator exercise today I used one of the figure drawings for colouring work, inadvertently creating my first colour concept! It’s pretty rough, and I’m not sure if vector art is the way to go on the final graphics but it still gives a nice sense of how he might appear in the comic itself.

The idea behind the character is that of a cyborg who has taken his modifications to the absolute extreme, cutting away almost all human features in favour of a blank face plate along with a single Cyclops eye. His signature weapon – a deadbolt gun built into his palm – can also be seen in the top right corner. I’m quite pleased with the head’s look, however I’d say his body and clothing may need some re-thinking. In particular I’ve received criticism about his bare torso in the left figure: I was aiming to give it the look of artificial muscles which resemble but differ from organic ones, however feedback suggests this may have been a bad move, it needs to appear more obviously mechanical.

In my previous sketch for the character (below), he originally had a look more heavily inspired by classic sci-fi robots like Gort from the original The Day the Earth Stood Still. I ditched this appearance as it seemed like it would be at odds amongst more modern mechanical designs, while also bearing an unfortunately strong resemblance to another fictional cyborg…

Either way, It’s a concept I’m likely to end up revisiting repeatedly throughout the planning process.

Leave a Comment » | Planning | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Ozy

Concept: Curt

November 14, 2010

I figured I’d post up this concept sheet I’ve done for one of my comic’s two main characters – Curt.

Took a while to get this one right and honestly the consistency is still a bit off, but otherwise I’m fairly happy with the result. Either way it’s fairly likely I’ll return to it closer to the production stage for redrawing and general adjustments.

To explain, he’s probably one of the most human characters in Branch’s setting. Almost everyone around him has some degree of cybernetic enhancement or prosthetic replacement, so he’s probably best seen as a stand in for the viewer: someone new to this world who feels alienated and threatened by it’s ‘modified’ population. Generally of a cheery disposition (with the downside of being something of a coward)  he’s intended as a counter balance to the story’s other protagonist; ‘Scratch’.

His companion and unwilling guide in this strange new world is pretty much a polar opposite: with an entirely artificial body from the neck down, Scratch is more world weary and in tune with the bizarre environment around her, physically and mentally. The flipside of this being her cold attitude towards others and severe lack of empathy. Yup, that’s right, they’re an odd couple. Unfortunate it’s worked out that way, but rest assured I’m doing my best to move the writing as far away as possible from embarassing rom-com clichés…

On a small note of interest I had originally envisioned Curt’s role in the story as being played by another woman ‘Zi’ (who you can see an early design for below) but changed my mind on the basis it would probably be girl power overkill.

What do you folks think?

Leave a Comment » | Planning | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Ozy

Next Entries »