Macaho - character development!

Macaho is a free spirit, she is always running around getting the most out of life. She has never had true sight but can see though her enhanced perception of vibrations and hearing.

When angered she is a force to be reckoned with and like a fire she can be consumed in rage until there is little fuel left. The symbol on her chest is an eye with a cross though it, this is representative of how one can see more than with there eyes.

I hope you like my first designed character concept for the Sick Juju tribe! The idea and concept originated in my shape and form exercise. With the design in mind I sketched out some poses and ideas to flesh out the character. 

Thank you for staying tuned to the Sick Juju updates! If you have any questions please feel free to email me at SickJujuu@gmail.com

I have more designs and concepts to come and I shall keep you posted!

Contextual studies in character design!

Hello, after a short break for halloween I have returned to continue showcasing the progress of my development :) Currently at newcastle college we have began a unit called contextual studies. This unit seeks to involve my class in an investigation into the style of character designed in the 1920s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and present day.

As an aspiring animator and illustrator I am excited to develop character designs following these parameters. In the animation industry it is important to constantly develop character designs keeping in mind style, form, audience and influence. In order to demonstrate I understand these styles I am required to showcase a character design in each of the era styles mentioned. 

Over my short break for halloween I spent a lot of time drawing out character designs and performing idea generation exercises in order to identify and conceptualise character designs for this unit. One such exercise was a shape breakdown experiment:

This exercise was designed to help me develop analytical skills in order to assist in the approach of character development. In the first part of my experiment I Identified key shapes that made up the 'formula' of a character design, this process helped me breakdown the characters in order to better understand a complicated image is in its basic form. Reversing this process I created poses using reference in various forms in order to serve as a starting point for different character experiments.

Using the body forms as a starting point I created a series of idea sketches with a mood board for reference in order generate potential character concepts that i can further with development.

The next stage in my process is taking 1 or two of these characters further in development, I will keep you posted in the mean time! Any pointers for my design process ? Interested in having a chat? Email me at Sickjujuu@gmail.com