Growing Branch

Here’s a somewhat psychedelic addition to my concepts:

As I outlined in the original post for her design; Sasaki is someone of immense skill when it comes to computers and technical activities at the cost of just about everything else – hence her ‘den’ being something of a garbage heap. In one regard at least she serves as comic relief for the story, but her dysfunctional nature and living space also highlight the drawbacks of a life built around technology.

Unlike Scratch, Sasaki only has minor cybernetic augmentations rather than full replacement prosthetics – her use of externalised equipment pushing the character closer to reality than other more developed cyborgs in the narrative. Besides the Augmented reality helmet – and unseen virtual keyboard assumedly projected in front of her (expect a concept) – I was intentionally restrained with much of surrounding scene, making it not too dissimilar to the kind of slobbish dwelling that would exist today.

In line with the graphic’s themes, the concept is intended to depict contradictory symptoms of advancement and neglect, reflecting a very real social problem that’s arisen from our internet culture. Sasaki embodies a worrying misallocation of priorities, disregarding much of our real lives in favour of a more manageable online identity and its attached functions. Technology is an inherently blameless thing, but as with almost anything it can be taken to extremes and end up being abused for warped purposes to the point where it becomes consuming.

I took a risk by going for a more lurid colour scheme this time around, using a complimentary play of green monitor lighting against dark red shadow. Again this emphasises the technological domination of the space, while giving the scene both exciting and sickly qualities in line with the subject’s personality. Its got a few rough edges but it marks an interesting departure from the norm away from more conventional colouring and ultimately possesses a stronger sense of atmosphere.