after some time, the conclusion to make a series of characters for a briefly proposed game setting finally emerged. struggling to make the a realisation of the direction i wanted to go with this module the decision to base my dissertation on the connections people form with characters and how it effects society and cultural understanding.
from researching the subject throughly i managed to create a theme for the world that the characters would be a part of, then pushing forward to make them in response to cultural and empathy based themes.
throughout the project i wavered on what practical work to do in response to my essay, as well as the ability to synthesise between the two. when making the characters i thought back to the essay and how research such as the case studies of cultural attitude towards characters and decisions game designers must make to create characters that would be accepted and thought about.
from my visual development and research i have become aware of how variety in cultural backgrounds and visually different characters can impact thoughts on character. thus effecting the way people interpret how that character lives and their empathy and opinion with the character.
as well as the general aims of the imagery i wanted to make, there has also been a shift in thought process within my own strategy of character creation. how to approach the subject and what is nessesary to know about the characters your wanting to create before starting.
Wednesday, 11 January 2017
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
final presentation boards
looking at my final proposal/presentation boards i feel like i have made a good step forward when it comes to quality. not only in the imagery i have used, but also the use of space in the boards. i have allowed the imagery and visual research to breath, yet be understandable compared to my other examples in the past. as my career will depend on the clarity of conveying concepts, it is essential that i become more effiient in the process.
looking at these boards i have used my final designs and the developing small concepts that lead to each one.
i have made a blue border to make the board seem clear and fresh.
looking at these boards i have used my final designs and the developing small concepts that lead to each one.
i have made a blue border to make the board seem clear and fresh.
Sunday, 8 January 2017
final character concepts
looking at these characters in terms of visuals i feel like i have made a step forward in understanding proses of character design. although they arent the best images i could have imagined, the context and media used has really felt like an accomplishment.
the colour and pattern variation i feel are sucesful in respect to the little knowledge of photoshop i have,
the designs themselves have been looked into in terms of cultured clothing and skin tones, as well as pattern.
where my concept design have come-
from the start of this module to now, my practical ability has improved very much in my opinion.
-digital ability improved
-my technique of creating pages of designs based on shape ans rough lines make me enjoy sketching much more
-to me enjoyment and self progress is more important than anything else, thus when i dont make work im happy with i go backwards. however this module eventually let myslef make work i was happy with.
-the way i now use photoshop has greatly improved. as i was moving through the characters i made i noticed the speed and confidence in my ability was increasing, and in seeing this i was happy with my work and myself. it kind of relates to where i looked at the instant rewards in games been more addictive than real life. i felt a similar sense of achievenment.
-digital ability improved
-my technique of creating pages of designs based on shape ans rough lines make me enjoy sketching much more
-to me enjoyment and self progress is more important than anything else, thus when i dont make work im happy with i go backwards. however this module eventually let myslef make work i was happy with.
-the way i now use photoshop has greatly improved. as i was moving through the characters i made i noticed the speed and confidence in my ability was increasing, and in seeing this i was happy with my work and myself. it kind of relates to where i looked at the instant rewards in games been more addictive than real life. i felt a similar sense of achievenment.
Thursday, 5 January 2017
full lore
the making of my game characters i want to describe the world and the characters in order to evaluate how accurately i have represented them.
the world is a slightly futuristic land that has been victim to corruption and war. pretty standard concept so far. however this leads to why there was war and whos sides the characters were on.
the war was caused because of a disagreement with how the use of technology was going towards violent features as opposed to maintaining human life. this caused a civil war that cracked a rift between the cybernetic accepters, and those who believe that they are above it. whilst in the process some people chose to abandon the land and live on the perimeters of such violence, and stay out of the way.
i wanted to make 3 characters that are from the people who are above the use of cybernetic enhancements however the two youngest will be somewhat rebellious as ones designs suggests that he assists in creating the technology, whilst the young lass is someone that has chosen to alter herself with the outlawed machinery.
the biggest vistims of the war were the people that promoted the machinery and the violence. the 2 characters from this catagory are both effected by the war and the illnesses that come with the act. one has had multiple damaged limbs to the point of removal, and the other has developed an illness caused by the proximity to the chemicals used to make the machinery communicate with human beings.
lastly there is one that lives away from all these events im calling a natural dweller. they avoid technology and live with the land somewhat.
comparing these brief lores i thing that looking at the characters, these come through somewhat in the designs. however there are improvements that i would make if i was to redo the module, such as time management and the lack of detail in the imagery.
the world is a slightly futuristic land that has been victim to corruption and war. pretty standard concept so far. however this leads to why there was war and whos sides the characters were on.
the war was caused because of a disagreement with how the use of technology was going towards violent features as opposed to maintaining human life. this caused a civil war that cracked a rift between the cybernetic accepters, and those who believe that they are above it. whilst in the process some people chose to abandon the land and live on the perimeters of such violence, and stay out of the way.
i wanted to make 3 characters that are from the people who are above the use of cybernetic enhancements however the two youngest will be somewhat rebellious as ones designs suggests that he assists in creating the technology, whilst the young lass is someone that has chosen to alter herself with the outlawed machinery.
the biggest vistims of the war were the people that promoted the machinery and the violence. the 2 characters from this catagory are both effected by the war and the illnesses that come with the act. one has had multiple damaged limbs to the point of removal, and the other has developed an illness caused by the proximity to the chemicals used to make the machinery communicate with human beings.
lastly there is one that lives away from all these events im calling a natural dweller. they avoid technology and live with the land somewhat.
comparing these brief lores i thing that looking at the characters, these come through somewhat in the designs. however there are improvements that i would make if i was to redo the module, such as time management and the lack of detail in the imagery.
Wednesday, 4 January 2017
future to do and take away
this module has been an experience. both in positive and negative ways.
positive:
-i have learnt a great deal about the career i want to enter
-the ability to use digital media has improved somewhat and i now have a greater understanding of brushes and how to approach digital techniques
-what makes a character isnt just the appearence. yes it is a vital aspect of a character but they are more than that. to realy get into characters you need to believe that you are creating an entire person that has lived its own life.
- my fondness of the subject of character has greatly increased knowing some of the studies and research that has arose from gaming. such as the work from jane mcgonigal. possibly one of the only books(reality is broken) that has maintained my interes tand informed me of the possibilities that i had no idea of within my field of practice. from this entire module, other than the personal practical progression, reading her book is the most inspiring to keep going with character design and gaming.
-i have developed insite into what employers want within this field
-more than anything else i feel like i made things that i have enjoyed and have meaning to me. something i didnt do in the first 2 years of the course and i really suffered for previously doing that.
negative:
-my health greatly suffered from this module- with how i managed my time, and overthinking the dissertation i managed to work myself up and somewhat stall myself from progression.
- time management was absolutely atrocious because i didnt know what i should focus on
-the written element of the module in my opinion, was messy and not to the standard i wish i could have done.
positive:
-i have learnt a great deal about the career i want to enter
-the ability to use digital media has improved somewhat and i now have a greater understanding of brushes and how to approach digital techniques
-what makes a character isnt just the appearence. yes it is a vital aspect of a character but they are more than that. to realy get into characters you need to believe that you are creating an entire person that has lived its own life.
- my fondness of the subject of character has greatly increased knowing some of the studies and research that has arose from gaming. such as the work from jane mcgonigal. possibly one of the only books(reality is broken) that has maintained my interes tand informed me of the possibilities that i had no idea of within my field of practice. from this entire module, other than the personal practical progression, reading her book is the most inspiring to keep going with character design and gaming.
-i have developed insite into what employers want within this field
-more than anything else i feel like i made things that i have enjoyed and have meaning to me. something i didnt do in the first 2 years of the course and i really suffered for previously doing that.
negative:
-my health greatly suffered from this module- with how i managed my time, and overthinking the dissertation i managed to work myself up and somewhat stall myself from progression.
- time management was absolutely atrocious because i didnt know what i should focus on
-the written element of the module in my opinion, was messy and not to the standard i wish i could have done.
Monday, 2 January 2017
colour and clothes
using photoshop to colour my sketches i had desided to keep my neater sketch lines in the image, i feel in this instance it adds a little bit more detail to the images.
however my main focus of these characters now is how they are finished up. i have the lore and who they are somewhat final, now i want to make sure i compliment that through the finalisation of the designs.
with there been 3 area variations where thecharacters are from i wanted to make the clothing and fashion trends noticably different.
so far with the few characters finished i believe that im accomplishing that. there are noticable differences between not only the colour choice but also the style and material features.
the natural dweller:
-the clothing is kept up using natural and more pelt like materials. as they resent technology due to what it did to so many people through the people that abused it, they want nothing to do with it. they live without it and sustain themselves through the land and trade.
-i believe that the clothing an colours show this, however i didnt want to make the clothing basic as i wanted her to look somewhat knowledgable and sophisticated and ready for what comes.
-in the use of bright and organic browns i think i managed to show this somehwat.
the young male:
- with this character i wanted to make it look like a practical teenage boy with rather trendy clothing aspects from where they are from.
- the boy is somewhat of an engineer that even though the culture that he lives doesnt allow the use of bioware and cybernetic enhancements. i want this character ti suggest that its still going on with the younger population in the outer cities.
- the colours used were chosen to be bright yet open, showing the climate of the place of residence and the personality of the yound lad.
the damaged/altered male:
- i wanted to keep the clothing and colour simple with this man, as he is one of the victims of the war that happened, he has now attained cybernetic enhancements and additional limbs to the ones he used to have. as this character is of a different place to the previous young lad the skin tone and the allowance of his new limbs are different. this man is from the 3rd place established.
-his clothing represents him as an individual as it is simple yet practican, this suits his role and personality.
however my main focus of these characters now is how they are finished up. i have the lore and who they are somewhat final, now i want to make sure i compliment that through the finalisation of the designs.
with there been 3 area variations where thecharacters are from i wanted to make the clothing and fashion trends noticably different.
so far with the few characters finished i believe that im accomplishing that. there are noticable differences between not only the colour choice but also the style and material features.
the natural dweller:
-the clothing is kept up using natural and more pelt like materials. as they resent technology due to what it did to so many people through the people that abused it, they want nothing to do with it. they live without it and sustain themselves through the land and trade.
-i believe that the clothing an colours show this, however i didnt want to make the clothing basic as i wanted her to look somewhat knowledgable and sophisticated and ready for what comes.
-in the use of bright and organic browns i think i managed to show this somehwat.
the young male:
- with this character i wanted to make it look like a practical teenage boy with rather trendy clothing aspects from where they are from.
- the boy is somewhat of an engineer that even though the culture that he lives doesnt allow the use of bioware and cybernetic enhancements. i want this character ti suggest that its still going on with the younger population in the outer cities.
- the colours used were chosen to be bright yet open, showing the climate of the place of residence and the personality of the yound lad.
the damaged/altered male:
- i wanted to keep the clothing and colour simple with this man, as he is one of the victims of the war that happened, he has now attained cybernetic enhancements and additional limbs to the ones he used to have. as this character is of a different place to the previous young lad the skin tone and the allowance of his new limbs are different. this man is from the 3rd place established.
-his clothing represents him as an individual as it is simple yet practican, this suits his role and personality.
Sunday, 1 January 2017
telling a story through character design
i want to use cop as a module that not only informs me about what factors effect the profession i want to be a part of, but i want to develop some skills that i have not practiced that much. by this i mean digital media.
as right at the start of this module it became apparrent that digital imagery is much preferred to traditional means in character design, i feel a huge need to develop some sort of digital knowhow.
last year i did one brief that i chose to do digital imagery with and i feel that allthough i learnt some key features of photoshop, i didnt really get much better using the tool.
therefor this module may be a means to find out what im capable of at this given point.
as character is a wide range of things, i want to touch on what makes a sucesfull character, as well as what character means to the audience
_
i have looked at how culture effects character design. for obvious reasons when making characters the culture its created in will have the biggest influence over appearence and personality. however what else would it control?
looking at events that have happened over 2016 i have found one example of a game that has caused multiple problems with multiple cultures.
overwatch is a new game that revently was released, but the makers have been one of the biggest companies that produce games. Blizzard has been making games such as world of warcraft. so naturally this company needs to keep appearences and customer satisfaction high as it is a well known company worlwide.
so knowing this its unexpected that it would have managed to cause some issues with some countries.
in 2016 blizzard has managed to make russia ban one of the character lore comics as it includes homosexuality. nothing rude, just the main character of the game overwatch kissing someone assumed as her girlfriend
then there was also another issue that a skin for a character offended a religion and was requested to be takes out of the game as it missrepresented Devi
-shows that games are influencing cultures
-why risk bad publicity?
-who will it effect amd is it nessecary?
- what purpose did they do it, or was it lack of research for the religious offence?
as right at the start of this module it became apparrent that digital imagery is much preferred to traditional means in character design, i feel a huge need to develop some sort of digital knowhow.
last year i did one brief that i chose to do digital imagery with and i feel that allthough i learnt some key features of photoshop, i didnt really get much better using the tool.
therefor this module may be a means to find out what im capable of at this given point.
as character is a wide range of things, i want to touch on what makes a sucesfull character, as well as what character means to the audience
_
i have looked at how culture effects character design. for obvious reasons when making characters the culture its created in will have the biggest influence over appearence and personality. however what else would it control?
looking at events that have happened over 2016 i have found one example of a game that has caused multiple problems with multiple cultures.
overwatch is a new game that revently was released, but the makers have been one of the biggest companies that produce games. Blizzard has been making games such as world of warcraft. so naturally this company needs to keep appearences and customer satisfaction high as it is a well known company worlwide.
so knowing this its unexpected that it would have managed to cause some issues with some countries.
in 2016 blizzard has managed to make russia ban one of the character lore comics as it includes homosexuality. nothing rude, just the main character of the game overwatch kissing someone assumed as her girlfriend
then there was also another issue that a skin for a character offended a religion and was requested to be takes out of the game as it missrepresented Devi
-shows that games are influencing cultures
-why risk bad publicity?
-who will it effect amd is it nessecary?
- what purpose did they do it, or was it lack of research for the religious offence?
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