Evaluation: creating the character reference
I created this character reference page using Adobe Photoshop and my graphics tablet. I sketched it out using a fantasy art drawing of mine and some photo reference as a guide and using my earlier work to replicate the character.
This iteration of the character, Lucidara shows her in more modest, casual wear than the others, depicting her at the start of the series before her ascent to the throne.
I wanted to show the character’s vampyric nature in this image as I felt that it was not so well represented by my other 2 main projects. I planned to make sure that this image also reflected her personality as a femme fatale, choosing a pose that suited this nature. I chose to show her with fangs bared and blood dripping to imply that she might have been caught out after feeding and realises that she cannot charm her way out. This was intended to reflect her two main approaches- seduction or violence and so tie in with vampire culture and mythology.
I used block colours with 1-2 highlight colours to reflect how the character might be more easily replicated for use in the digital graphic novel/series in a style commonly used in the genre. This streamlined the workflow very well and I think that it gives a nice, bold effect. I layered each colour so as to easily edit them and made plenty of use of the selection tools to quickly colour areas within certain limitations, e.g. colouring inside the lines!
The great-sword, Horizon, was designed with a heavily gothic influence but decorated with a gold-coloured hand-guard and pommel to tie-in with the Egyptian style. The dark blade has a vicious hooked edge that would - in conjunction with her speed and strength - increase the likelihood of severing limbs and hacking armour. This should make armed combat very visceral for the comic’s action scenes! The red runes add to the fantasy theme and reflect how the Ancient Egyptians often decorated important items with magical spells written in hieroglyphic symbols. It is drawn in the same style as the main character image but on a smaller scale so as to fit the writing on the page without shrinking it too much.
I used open-source photoshop brushes to create a grim-looking background in short time with quite a bold effect, while keeping the tones more muted to avoid distracting from the writing or images.
The text was written in red to maintain the theme and contrast with the dark background. I used a gothic style font that I downloaded for the title but decided that it would be impractical for the rest of the text. Lucidara’s grim background and traumatic experiences are intended to make the readers sympathise with the character and explain her vengeful nature. I tried to summarise the information that might be most useful when creating a full digital comic series such as size, powers, weapons and motivations.
In reflection, I am quite happy with the result as I have created a solid piece with clear themes and a style that presents the character clearly along with the more useful information that would be required. The client should be well informed and (hopefully) inspired by the character reference and be able to envision her role as lead in the digital comic.
I created this character reference page using Adobe Photoshop and my graphics tablet. I sketched it out using a fantasy art drawing of mine and some photo reference as a guide and using my earlier work to replicate the character.
This iteration of the character, Lucidara shows her in more modest, casual wear than the others, depicting her at the start of the series before her ascent to the throne.
I wanted to show the character’s vampyric nature in this image as I felt that it was not so well represented by my other 2 main projects. I planned to make sure that this image also reflected her personality as a femme fatale, choosing a pose that suited this nature. I chose to show her with fangs bared and blood dripping to imply that she might have been caught out after feeding and realises that she cannot charm her way out. This was intended to reflect her two main approaches- seduction or violence and so tie in with vampire culture and mythology.
I used block colours with 1-2 highlight colours to reflect how the character might be more easily replicated for use in the digital graphic novel/series in a style commonly used in the genre. This streamlined the workflow very well and I think that it gives a nice, bold effect. I layered each colour so as to easily edit them and made plenty of use of the selection tools to quickly colour areas within certain limitations, e.g. colouring inside the lines!
The great-sword, Horizon, was designed with a heavily gothic influence but decorated with a gold-coloured hand-guard and pommel to tie-in with the Egyptian style. The dark blade has a vicious hooked edge that would - in conjunction with her speed and strength - increase the likelihood of severing limbs and hacking armour. This should make armed combat very visceral for the comic’s action scenes! The red runes add to the fantasy theme and reflect how the Ancient Egyptians often decorated important items with magical spells written in hieroglyphic symbols. It is drawn in the same style as the main character image but on a smaller scale so as to fit the writing on the page without shrinking it too much.
I used open-source photoshop brushes to create a grim-looking background in short time with quite a bold effect, while keeping the tones more muted to avoid distracting from the writing or images.
The text was written in red to maintain the theme and contrast with the dark background. I used a gothic style font that I downloaded for the title but decided that it would be impractical for the rest of the text. Lucidara’s grim background and traumatic experiences are intended to make the readers sympathise with the character and explain her vengeful nature. I tried to summarise the information that might be most useful when creating a full digital comic series such as size, powers, weapons and motivations.
In reflection, I am quite happy with the result as I have created a solid piece with clear themes and a style that presents the character clearly along with the more useful information that would be required. The client should be well informed and (hopefully) inspired by the character reference and be able to envision her role as lead in the digital comic.