Character Design

Ok guys, here's what I got so far. here's the sketches I already post on the design document:



First is the one I did without knowing when this is taking place... so it looks pretty modern. Then I got told the time, so there's a cute Newsboy look. :U But I tried to make it better fitting farmboy look, so here is what I have now:



So yeah! I am worried that the design is sort of generic with the overalls and the hat but they scream "farmboy" If anyone has any other suggestions, please share. Also say what's on your mind about porportions and style and such? I was heavily referencing Psychonauts since that seems to be the direction everyone else is going in.

Other problems I foresee is that if we're doing a super realistic forest outside of the candy maze, the cartoony character will clash with it, but he should fit in with the candy world. So yeah, opinions?.3.

Sorry I didn't see this until Jacqui asked just now. I'll relay here what I told her in person:

I like the simple Psychonauts-like shapes of the farmboy, but I like the newsie's outfit the most. His street-urchin cap and cut off gloves make him looks like he aspires to be bad. I'm okay with anacronistic candy in the maze if we go with turn-of the century for the time period.

I'm well aware (and a little worried) that the bug unsolved problem for the visual look is meshing the realistic forrest with the bright glossy stylised candy world, with the cute stylisted character as a go-between. I'm thinking that the kid will have the shapes and simplification of form to fit in the candy world, but his colors will be more earth-toned, dark, and neutral to fit with the forest. I think we can also pump up the texture on his clothes (really worn rough fabrics, knits, wool, burlap even, corduroy) to contrast the glossy sugar world and fit with the textured forest. This should also make him stand out nicely when he's running around in the maze.

I just wanted to clarify just in case I confused anyone with what I had envisioned for the forest, I want to lean more towards realistic, but to compromise, what I had in mind was the structure and the look of the texture will be stylized to some degree.

The reason that I personally wanted to push more towards realism is mainly for the reason that we are trying to use what we create as portfolio pieces that can clearly show off our skills. I know that we all want to create a really cool game (as do I), but the bigger picture, in less than 1 1/2 years, we'll be working to sell our skills; at this time, I'm not so convinced that such a simplified style like Psychonauts can really show off enough of a range of skills that would convince hiring managers that we've got the chops. Maybe I'm just thinking too much? I'd like to hear what the rest of you guys think too of course.

But back to the subject of the forest, I did want to go in-between realistic and stylized. I will do some more drawings and start on color sketches to find a look a look that can fit well together.

I think the question is more "what kind of chops are you trying to show off?" For someone trying to show off high detail realism chops, this project probably isn't going to shine in their portfolio. For someone targeting a different demographic, like kids, casual games, or animated films, this is a better fit.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you know what type of games and art you want to target. For one thing, that means you and I will be going after different jobs. I just want to make sure this game hangs together visually and is at least approaching useful in everyone's portfolios.

I feel like the "realism" v. "simplified/stylized" question was something we settled on in the very first meeting, and I hope you're not harboring any resentment or regret over not having spoken louder on your preference for the sake of your portfolio. I still think its possible to find a compromise which meet everyones criteria, and I'm eager to see reference & sketches of the type of thing you want to see in the game so I can work with you to integrate it cleanly.

And thank you for posting your thoughts and clarification! This is what a forum is for.

Oops.. Firstly, I need to apologize. I was under the impression that many of us were trying to go for similar companies but clearly that's not the case, so I do apologize for my short-minded assumptions. Now that I know that and have my head on straight, I am more than willing to do what needs to be done for the good of the game, and I will work hard to make sure that the art styles will work in harmony.

On a side note, personally, I prefer cartoony cutesy styles over realism in general. If you ask people what kind of stuff they always see me drawing, chances are they'll say I like to draw cute stuff, and that's what I want to do for my PRJ350 animation too. The main reason I chose to try and cater more towards realism is because I thought maybe there would be more job opportunities within that region, but maybe again my thoughts are just scrambled .. I mention this though because I definitely don't want to give off the impression that I want to isolate myself in the corner and do my own thing. I can and will definitely help with any aspect of the game whether it be in the world of candy or forests.

I figure I'd throw my two cents in here, since I've kinda been thinking about what Aenok's talking about, which is about style and what we'd like as portfolio pieces out of this project.

You could say my thoughts are a little scrambled too. I like doing realistic themed stuff, and as it stands a lot of my portfolio seems to be going in that direction, but at the same time, I really admire really well done stylized, graphic, looks in games (looking at Psychonauts and Bastion as examples). Pulling off good stylized looks for things in 3D is something I'd love to get better at, but at the same time I also have a want to keep building things that would be more geared for a realistic themed portfolio.

As for my preference, I'd actually probably favor somewhere between the two extremes, so anything that has a good stylized realism is something that works great for me. That's the stuff that interests me more I think, and it's that stuff that would be cool to have in my portfolio. Tangled is an example of this I'd say: it's cartoony and definitely not photo-realistic, but the stuff feels real and grounded in a sense. For the more realistic environment hero props aside the forest, (the gate and the bridge) I was thinking in the back of my mind that maybe a stylized realism would be something to try for these props, as long as it fits with everything else. The thought crossed my mind that we could try the same thing with the house, but I don't want it to stand out too much if everything is really stylized. I want everything to work and be harmonious above everything else.

This all being said, I want to do everything I can for this game. I'm definitely on board for doing any of the work that's needed, be it cartoony or real. Like I said before I'd love to learn how to do stylized stuff better, and I think this game will be a good opportunity for that. For me it makes more sense that the game works aesthetically as a whole rather than to have stuff that sticks out for the exclusive sake of making portfolio work.