Concept: Baldo

January 25, 2011

Baldo is something of a departure from my previous designs. Standing at the far end of the spectrum from Baer with his creaky enhancements, this is a man of immense wealth and power who would naturally flaunt it with some high end implants (see the cheeks, eyes and brow), at the same time though he’s someone concerned with looking good and as much as he’d want to show off it remains doubtful he’d embrace the more freakish cyborg features. It is thus that these enhancements are present but remain muted in comparison with someone like Scratch, Baer or indeed Baby Face.

Also being a criminal figure of considerable greed and villainy I wanted him to be good looking but somehow uncanny, as though by attempting to create attractive looks via cosmetic surgery he tried too hard and slightly missed the mark. His face is bizarrely thin and elongated, while there’s something unsettlingly vampiric about his features. Baldo isn’t as obviously unnatural as some of the story’s other cyborgs but should remain quietly disturbing.

I’m fairly happy with most of the design for the head and face but the clothing seems a little too bland and uninteresting by comparison. Reckon I’ll give it another go after I’ve gathered some new ideas.

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Posted by Ozy

Concept: Baer

January 16, 2011

Lieutenant Baer is not proving an easy character to draw or to write, I’m trying to duck under the horde of horrible clichés surrounding policemen but frankly avoiding one usually means stepping into another. He’s an immensely irritable character, but also someone who cares about his job and fiercely defends moral decisions. Yes, exactly that sounds like every fictional police lieutenant since the dawn of time I know, but I am working on fleshing him out in my script and including some less predictable traits.

In terms of the design I went for a particularly hard wearing look with body armour and the crude prosthetic arm.  Given that my setting is intended to be largely lawless and hostile (particularly towards the authorities) it seemed that reflecting this in the police’s increased precautions would be a effective idea. What I particularly like about this design though is the sense of outdatedness; machines age and become obsolete all the time, but supposing the machine in question is a part of you? Baer is a great deal older than much of the cast and while his cybernetic prosthesis looks tough it’s remarkably basic and clumsy compared to those of someone like Scratch.

These are the themes I’d like his character to explore, the sense of being out of step with surroundings as both a person but also as an example of technology.

 

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Posted by Ozy

Concept: Scratch redux

January 15, 2011

My recent proposal presentation went down remarkably well, however I did recieve one particularly strong criticism regarding my character concepts – not over the characters themselves or my drawing style but specifically over their clothing, being told that their garb was too generic, too typical of the genre. Taking an honest look at the designs with fresh eyes I feel inclined to agree; currently I’m wearing (sorry) my influences on my sleeve a little too obviously. So, I tried a different approach…

I’ve being toying with the idea of drawing design ideas from cyberpunk’s parent genres of Noir and detective fiction for some time,  but remained apprehensive. Putting an old school spin on things could be interesting but it could also push my setting into steam/retropunk territory and loose focus as a result.

It is consequently with some caution that I approach this new aesthetic, I don’t intend to saturate my design with it but a few nods in the style of certain characters ought to result in a more interesting look and feel to my cast and – by extension – the setting. In the case of Scratch (above) I’ve tried to emphasise her role as the allegorical detective in the narrative with the braces & tie combo. It makes her appear more masculine but given her relatively butch personality this isn’t exactly a bad thing, while it also projects a stronger sense of the professionalism intended in the character rather than the ‘futuristic basketball player’ vibe her old outfit gave.

It’s looking like a promising new direction for my design so I’ll see how far I can take it before I have to compromise.

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Posted by Ozy

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?

 

 

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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.

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Posted by Ozy

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