Character Research & Design Ideas
When beginning this module, I first decided that I wanted to create a person. I was struggling with initial ideas, so I decided to experiment with a character I had created from my Scriptwriting module. The basis of my character is a regular painter, but because I needed the character to be more interesting, I decided to make adjustments to the plainness.
To begin with, I first started with the hairstyle of my character. I decided that the ethnicity of my character would be Chinese and to ensure accuracy, I began researching the hairstyles within the different eras of Chinese history.
In ancient China, men were not permitted to cut their hair as it was seen as a sign of “cutting off a part of your parents” because they gave you life (Anonymous, 2017). With this information, I experimented with different long hairstyles within the different dynastys, using images I found online as references and inspiration.
When sketching ideas for hairstyles, I created a moodboard ranging from modern to traditional; I experimented with different onces and decided traditional suited my character better. Using the moodboard and research that I had conducted, I tested the different hairstyles from the different dynasties such as Ming, Han and Qing as well as incorporating accessories into the hair.
For the clothing, I researched different dynasties of clothing and produced a moodboard to work from. Using the moodboard, I sketched out different ideas of hanfu throughout the dynasties and ultimately opted for the Han dynasty.
As for the accessories, I wanted to add bracers because I’d like to implement the idea of my character having an added role rather than being a regular painter; with bracers, I wanted to enforce the idea of my character being presented as some sort of fighter/warrior.
Furthermore, I want to go into detail with the design on the bracers to further represent my character; therefore, I sketched ideas such as dragons and other designs that may have been present during the Han dynasty. For footwear, I sketched a few ideas for boots and embroidered patterns on them.
I wanted to explore the ideas of a more modern character like the character from my Scriptwriting module, so I designed modern outfits a painter would wear, but ultimately decided on traditional.
As for the style, I wanted to take inspiration from the game Gujian 3 because I like the artstyle.
When creating my final sketch, I used an asset as a reference for an anatomy guide (Gibran Machaen, 2017).
When conducting research for my character, I initally wanted to create a regular painter, but I thought it might be a bit too simple; therefore, keeping the same idea of a painter, I wanted my character to have a paintbrush but used as a weapon.
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