Character Design Presentation Final

Character Design Final Presentation

Character Design -Week 9

This week we talked about environments. I was given words at random and told t do some sketches based on these words. They were a civilised arena.

Dylan Expression Sheet

Dylan Turnaround

Character Design Presentation Progress

Maybe jumping the gun a bit, but I've started to put together my presentation for Thursday week. The blank pages are reminders of what is left to do. Watch this space!

University Yr 2 Project Character Design Presentation

Albert Snare - Villain development

Character Design -Week 8

For this lesson we were split into teams and given a synopsis for a show called Jetpack Jones. We were then told to design the characters.

I got Jetpack Jones, the hero archetype and his sidekick / love interest Tessa Brainstorm. I also had to design logo's for their division the "Galactic Aviator Force: Rocketeer Division.

Character Design Problem @Justin

Hi Justin, hope you are well? Can you have a look at the image below. I'm having a problem drawing my hero character (Dylan) in the front profile. My problem is in the face. I can picture him in 3D but can't seem to to join up his snout with his jaw line and then the jaw line with his neck. I just can't make it work! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Character Design -Week 7

For this lesson we talked about environments and how they can shape the look and feel of characters populating them. Using elements of existing creatures I was assigned the environment space and told to design a character that would live there. I brainstormed ideas, referencing deep sea creatures. I liked the idea of a creature using solar rays to travel, like sails capturing the wind, so I also looked at butterflies. I then moved onto a whale inspired creature and a creature with multiple limbs, floating around space able to grasp asteroids and meteors to travel.

Character design - Week 6

Dylan silhouettes and sketches;

Dr. Albert Snare silhouettes and sketches;

Character Design -Week 5

For this lesson we were assigned a persona and told to do quick silhouettes, trying to emphasis a character archetype. I was given Elvis impersonators. The second part was the same theme but with more detail with emphasis on folds in clothes. For this I was assigned pirates.

Character development sketches

I've started blocking out shapes for all of my characters, including Dylan, Snitch and Albert Snare. I'm still struggling with Dylan's anatomy, particularly his legs. I've tried putting a dog's head onto a human body to see if that would work. Having a lot of fun with Snitch, although his basic structure is quite similar to Dylan.

Character Design -Week 4

For this lesson we looked at body shapes and positions and how they convey the emotions of their characters. Taken turns with our class mates, we posed in variations positions and quickly sketched out their outlining shapes...

We then moved on to faces. Taking examples from other characters, we had to change the emotion from the original picture altering the size and shape etc...

My characters were Disney's Hercules and Winnie the Pooh:

Character Design -Week 3

For this lesson we were assigned a random word and told to draw inanimate objects from that word and give them personality. I was assigned the bedroom:

At the end of the lesson, we were given a random cartoon character and told to draw a prop using the shapes and personality of the assigned character. I was given Jafar from Alladin, so I tried to design a suitable throne for him:

First attempt:

Second attempt:

Designing Dylan

I have established my main character is a humanoid dog. To start I looked at some images of Alsatians and did a couple of sketches to understand their anatomy and basic shapes.

With a basic understanding of dog anatomy, I have started to block out some shapes and begin designing Dylan. I have shown these images to Justin as I was struggling with the legs. He recommended clothing could suggest the shape of a dog's legs and feet in a humanoid form.

Dylan the Canine Ghost Hunter - Treatment

A few tweaks and amendments to my treatment following Justin's advice and now with character biographies, I introduce:

Dylan the Canine Ghost Hunter

Treatment

In London, England reports are growing of supernatural sightings and paranormal activity.  What started as unexplained phenomena in the suburban areas surrounding London has spread to the inner city. Hospitals are inundated with people literally frozen with fear. The more the ghosts scare people, the more powerful they become. People are afraid to walk the streets at night. Ghosts are a very real problem.

In an attempt to combat the scary spirits, the British Government commission Dr. Winston Newton (a brilliant scientist), to research animals and their sixth sense like ability to detect ghosts. Using his beloved pet Dylan (an Alsatian), he attempts to isolate his genes and harness his sixth sense. However, an accidental radioactive explosion in his lab mutates Dylan’s genetic structure, giving him the ability to walk and talk like a human. Using Dylan’s heightened sense and superhuman strength, and Dr. Newtons scientific know how, they hunt down the ghosts; expelling them back to the netherworld using Dr. Newton’s invention, the Exorkismos-ray gun. Dylan becomes known as the “Canine Ghost Hunter”.

In retaliation to our heroes, the ghosts resurrect an evil Victorian veterinarian called Albert Snare, arch nemesis to Dylan! In Victorian London, Albert was perceived to be an honest vet by day, but by night he performed evil experiments on his victims. Now with ghostly powers he has returned….

In an attempt to replicate the conditions that created Dylan, Albert captures a common street rat and experiments on him. However, his attempt was not completely successful.  Apart from gaining the ability to speak, the only other side effect to the rat was a slight increase in size. With his limited intelligence, the rat is easily corrupted and becomes Albert’s loyal sidekick… Snitch.

The Step Outline

The citizens of London, England are being haunted by ghosts. The Government hire Dr. Winston Newton to investigate animal’s sixth sense ability in an attempt to combat the ghosts. A radioactive explosion in his lab mutates his pet Dylan into a humanoid figure. Using his new abilities and Dr. Newton’s inventions, they return the ghosts to the netherworld.

The ghosts resurrect an evil Victorian Vet called Albert Snare to fight back against our heroes. Albert and his loyal sidekick, Snitch (a rat Albert experimented on) attempt to thwart our heroes on a daily basis.

The Premise

Weekly cartoon series about Dylan, a mutated ghost hunting dog and his attempts to rid the world of evil spirits. Each episode brings new conflicts with his arch nemesis, Albert Snare, a resurrected Victorian Vet and his sidekick Snitch, a rat he has experimented on.

Character Biographies

Name: Dylan
Age: 3 (21 in Dog years)
Height: 6ft 1inches
Hair / fur colour: Brown/Tan/Black
Eye colour: Brown
Profession: Ghost Hunter

Back story:
Dylan started life as traditional canine. One of seven pups, he was reluctantly given away by his family to the local pet store with his siblings. There he was adopted by kind scientist Dr. Winston Newton. Dylan’s highly active nature and willingness to learn kept Dr. Newton on his toes. A strong bond formed between the pair, Dylan is extremely loyal to his owner.
One day a radioactive accident during one of Dr. Newton’s experiments mutates Dylan’s genetic structure. His body changes into humanoid form and his intelligence increases dramatically, giving him the ability to talk. With his new found abilities and Dr. Newton’s inventions, he vows to rid the world of the growing ghost problem.

Name: Dr. Winston Newton
Age: 42
Height: 5ft 8inches
Hair: White-frizzy
Eye colour: Blue
Profession: Scientist / Inventor

Back story:
Winston Newton showed scientific flare from an early age. Encouraged by his parents, Albert and Barbara Winston, he attended Oxford University and was a prominent member of the OUSS (Oxford University Scientific Society). After graduation he gained fame amongst the scientific community in a variety of work including the study of genetic structures and radioactive energy. A self-confessed workaholic, Dr. Newton never found the time to raise a family, instead finding companionship in his beloved pet Dylan, an Alsatian dog.
Commissioned by the government to understand the sudden rise of ghostly activity in London, Dr. Winston examined Dylan’s genetic structure in an attempt to understand canine’s sixth sense ability to detect ghosts.  An unfortunate accident involving radioactive energy changes Dylan DNA, transforming him into a walking, talking dog. Together they form a team of ghost hunters, Dr. Newton helping his colleague with his scientific genius; inventing tools such as the Exorkismos-ray gun that enables Dylan to send the ghost’s back to the netherworld.

Name: Albert Snare

Age: Unknown
Height:  6ft 5 inches
Hair: Black
Eye colour:
Profession: Victorian Vet / resurrected ghost

Back story:
Originally from the 19^th Century, Albert Snare was once a respected member of society. Well educated for his time, he was a valued animal Doctor even trusted to work with Queen Victoria’s pets. The public were shocked to discover he used his patients to perform evil experiments in an attempt to take over the world with an army of animals at his control. After his true nature was unveiled, he disappeared. Cause and time of death are not on record.
In an attempt to fight back, ghosts in modern day London resurrect Albert Snare who prominently becomes Dylan’s arch nemesis. Resuming his evil experiments, he captures a common street rat and turns it into his sidekick Snitch.

Name: Snitch
Age: 1
Height: 30inches (including tail)
Hair / fur: Black
Eyes: Red
Profession: Street scavenger / loyal servant to Albert Snare

Back story:
Snitch’s early life was tough, even for a rat. The runt of a litter of 15, he was small compared to the rest of his siblings. Struggling for survival, he scavenged the streets of London for any form of food. One day he is captured by Albert Snare and subjected to one of his evil experiments. He gains the ability of speech and even though he grows in size and strength, he still has the physical appearance of a rat. Despite being the victim of Albert Snare, Snitch develops a sense of loyalty towards his captor and becomes his obedient sidekick.

Character Design -Week 2

This week we looked at the basic shapes of cartoon faces. Our first task was to draw simple faces and experiment with sizes, shapes and positioning of eyes and noses etc.

From here, we looked at bodies. Examining examples of famous characters we had to determine key areas of mass and how these shapes define the character:

Batman:

Slightly out of proportion Superman: 

Hulk: 

Getting to grips with the basics, we were free to experiment with the shape, size and positions of these keys areas of mass and see what kind of characters we could create: 

Character research images - Sidekick

Taking Justin's advice, my sidekick is going to be villainous rat. Although he is a victim of Albert Snare's experiment, he has developed Stockholm Syndrome and is a loyal companion accomplice. I started by looking into rats' anatomy:

Some examples of rats in other cartoons to draw inspiration from: