Picking charatcer designs (18/2/2014)

* During reading week, I decided to show my partner the designs I had come up with in order for us both to make a decision on the cast.

The designs we picked out include...

Ship:

We both went straight for one of the more alien designs as it looked like it could be alive and was distinct enough as it didn't have the cockpit at the front as one would normally expect. However, this does make sense on a defensive level as if the cockpit is destroyed the ship is stuck.

Captain: 

Both of us instantly went for the old fashioned jacket as it was distinct, but my partner felt the spurred boots would make him look to regal. Therefore, we went with regular shoes.

Liking my distinct 'Samurai Jack' / 'Tin Tin' style for the faces, we decided to pick four before photoshoping the images and putting them on the body later to see what we felt looked like a captain. After all, the captain should be the most striking character of the lot.

Pilot: 

As the pilot is basically Ed, I gave him full control of how he should look. Apart from wanting the trench coat, but shortened, he said he would get back to me on what he fancies once he has thought about it more.

Mechanic: 

Admittedly I took an artistic stance straight away with the mechanic as I loved the exoskeleton / dinosaur head which also happened to be the last concept I drew for him. However, we both went for the bandoleer body that could hold tools. We also decided on the spot that we should give him long almost squid like arms so as to add to his size.

Golem:

Not wanting a traditional golem design, we chose the bulky floating design with three fingers as we felt he would be both physically different and move differently to the rest of the group. It also works as, the fact that such a heavy build floats makes for a good juxtaposition instead of slamming his feet on the ground like a usual golem would.
As for the head, we went for one of the rocky designs with a smaller jaw so as to keep with a stone like theme.
Things to add to this idea will include sapphires for eyes and some sort of elemental thing floating underneath him that keeps him bouyant.

It's also top heavy in comparison to the mechanic's bottom heavy concept, thus we have two very distinct non humans on the crew.

Dock Worker:

Almost immediately my partner wanted the design that looked like a cash machine as he felt the dock worker would be both a joke and practical as he asks for payment up front. He also felt that giving him an 8-bit face could give him some personality, especially as the gruff voice wouldn't suit him.


* With the above in mind I then made a collage of all of the characters, adding the short listed heads to the captain's body so as to see which design stood out most.

In the end we decided to go with the eye patched head as he just seemed to resonate a captain's demeanor. However, we decided to make the eye patch more futuristic by making it glow.

Ed also loved the little beastie I drew for the possible dock worker and therefore, we decided to make it the dock worker's pet.

* As a side note, I will try and draw refined versions of the characters using the designs we choose over the rest of reading week. I will also try and eventually do some concept art for the locations (both interiors and exteriors) as I recognise that those need to be done.

I also asked Ed to come up with some names for the crew as despite my confidence in writing characters and narrative, I am hopeless with names.