Photo bashing Exercise - Insect Woman

 Photo bashing Exercise - Insect Woman

To start the year, we were given a non-graded project of creating a character design using the process of photo bashing. This was something I was really excited for because I remember wishing I could add a simple wood texture or textile to projects before, and instead having to hand paint that on which was very time consuming and frustrating for me. The character had to use a base of either a male or a female body, and then utilise references collected by Craig on Pinterest of 'interesting insects and curious creatures', a daunting task initially but I was willing to give it a good go.

I looked through the Pinterest board and in my head sorted a lot of the insects into groups; there were many insects with large armour plating sections that could be interesting to bash into a defensive knight or samurai, there were delicate creatures and patterns such as butterflies and moths which could create a royal, elegant character, and there were many references of insects with "furry" elements like antennae or frills to create a winter/cold environment character. I looked around me in labs and saw a lot of people, including the example on the board, were creating a "strong, armoured warrior" types, and I wanted to subvert that completely. I loved the elegance of the moth references and thought that some of the references had almost a "lace" like appearance that I could use as a motif. Moths also had a lot of "fur" references, so I wanted to create a elegant, royal winter character from these references. 

I also at this point had seen a dress which led me to the designer "Cary Santiago" who produces some absolutely stunning work, bringing fabric folds to look like parrots to life, so I was adamant I would at least have that on my references board even if it was not from the Pinterest selection.

Reference Board

I loved the shape of the fur at the head of the moths, creating a look similar to a fur lined cape when combined with the wings. I wanted my character to have this, however I did not want this cape to dominate the silhouette and then I started looking at making a layered skirt like in Santiago's dresses. I thought about lace and structures you can have in lace, and a tall collar similar to Elizabethan collars came to mind as an interesting motif to keep my character looking "royal". I am not very strong when it comes to sketching, but this was my initial set of sketches for my ideas.

Initial Concept Sketch

Pros: 

• Clear silhouette through the layers of the skirt and collar
• The shoulder pads add a royal flair
• The cape being layered gives the design a lot of texture and interest on the back view

Cons: 

• The shape language overall is very sharp, which feels at odds with the mood board references being soft round shapes
• This design has no fur elements

Interesting:

• The antennae shapes at the head piece could be pushed into a more elaborate shape
• The hair looks very edgy and futuristic, not sure if it fits the theme but would be interesting to explore.

I started referring to this character as a "Moth Queen Attendant" at this point, as I felt this character would be one of the glamourous ladies in waiting around a queen but not the queen themselves. From this direction I began adding elements through taking references in my mood board to create a more rendered view, and through my process I changed a few design elements.

Initial Photo Bash

Pros: 

• Clear silhouette accentuated through the shapes around the head
• Elements of fur lining has been added to soften the shapes around the body
• All the elements look structured such as the bodice area looks like it has been corset boned, adding realism.

Cons: 

• The shape language reads as disconnected - the top is pointed and sharp as well as the heels, and the clothing has round, circular shapes. 
• The colours feel very clustered and cold, and the addition of the fur makes the character look even colder because areas such as the front have not been insulated the same.
• The patterns also feel disconnected and clash, such as the fur and the wing patterns for the skirts. It makes the design look really busy and uneasy to look at.
• The body looks unconsidered and unreadable - originally I wanted her to look like she was covering her exposed skin as a sign of respect but it just looks flat.

Interesting:

• The mask elements give a impression that this is a character in a role than an individual person, like her individuality is not the thing that is important. This pushes the "NPC" vibe for her design and could be explored in a more explicit mask design.
• The extension given to the feet makes the character look less human and more insectoid, but this has not been pushed enough yet. Adding more obvious elements like extra arms could push this further.
• The fur around the neckline contradicts to armoured shoulders, I think choosing one direction of either soft or structured would be a good direction for the character.

With this in mind, I sketched a design over the top of my photo bashing to establish a more cohesive direction for the character.

Revision Sketch

• The inspirations I started to draw from were a combination of the fire keeper from dark souls 3, and the game Hollow Knight due to its many insectoid characters and iconic design. 
• I changed the mask to be this more recognisable shape since the original had too much clutter to end up identifying what it was on the character, and I simplified the antennae into a single pair akin to moths. 
• I made this iteration a lot softer, more nurturing and warm - this character was never intended to be stand offish or a "defender" character of the queen but an intelligent advisor and status symbol, and so the lady would have to be dressed more elegant yet functional than imposing. 
• I gave her flowing hair to establish that this was a character wearing clothes and not a mechanical construction, as well as to act as a contrasting colour to the planned white of the head pieces and pale skin.
• I gave her an extra set of limbs to add more silhouette interest, and gave her a staff as they often indicate intelligence much like wizards. The staff is in the shape of a crook, both to mimic that of a Jack Frost winter character and to mimic a shepherd crook as she would be guiding the queen and her subjects
• The front skirt was closed to mimic that of a winter dress and to give more surface area for designs inspired by moths.
• The shoulders were given a small "shawl" cape, both to mask the extra arms as well as to soften the character so she appears distinctly feminine. 
• I gave her centre hands a muff to hold to again enforce that this is a cold environment
• Her feet were mostly hidden, but were changed to reflect a ballerina on pointe. This made her feel extra elegant, but was ultimately very subtle.

I was MUCH happier with this design, and moved to render this into a final concept.

Final Drawing - The Lamp Keeper

The final iteration had a few alterations to the original sketch, namely in the shape of the mask and the addition of the lantern. the motif of the moth made me think of their attraction to light and how that could influence "moth society", and so I thought it would suit this character who had been offered a high honour in that society. This made me official brand this character as a "Lamp Keeper", not a Queen's Attendant. The way I saw her was she was almost like a "Moth Magician" or "Wizard" akin to how Merlin would have been to Arthur maybe. 

Pros: 

• Clear silhouette aided through the addition of extra arms and props in the arms. There is also a shape that is more defined to the face with less elements around the head, making her easier to read in this version.
• The fur is now a consistent type throughout the character and looks like it serves a practical purpose, not stuck on like before.
• The layers of the garments are clearly distinguishable through both colour/pattern and in shapes.
• The shape language is now consistent - it is mostly round, soft shapes with feathered extremities in the fur and antennae.

Cons: 

• I think the mask on the face reads as "too stylised" or cartoonish, and is very obviously similar to Hollow Knight. A different pattern could be considered to match the diamond motif in the rest of the patterns.
• Large areas of the fabric, specifically the brown/purple outer layers, are very flat. Some texture or added detail could be added.
• the extra hands in the muff get lost slightly because the muff blends in value and the arms are small, so rearranging them to be more noticeable and adding some kind of dark trim could define this area more.
• the feet are lost, it should either cut just above the ankles or go straight to the floor to avoid this.
• The arms are literally just grey shapes - these should have more detail to show the gloves either in seams or wrinkles or highlights.

Interesting:

• The character reads as an important figure now due to adding extra props and defining elements
• The glowing orbs around the character from the lamp really sells that this is a fantasy magician, as well as the purple of the lantern. The purple fits nicely with the rest of the tones and could be interesting to build on if I wanted to expand the universe with more characters/storylines
• I know that there will be a boss + arena project next term, and since this character is inspired from 2 games that have amazing boss and arena designs (Dark Souls especially here although Hollow Knight has some very interesting themes too) I will likely build on that with some extra writing or designs.
• Insect parts work best for me when I use them as spring boards to paint over, as their shapes and colours work as almost "alien" elements that feel real.

Conclusion:

I really enjoyed this process and it was very enlightening. I think I enjoy these shorter projects where I can world build around my character a lot more than I originally expected, and I am really excited to build on this into another project. I guess this character counts as my first "OC" I have ever made, and that feels like a pretty big achievement overall