fmp2maxleighton

[fmp2maxleighton]

My process of digital character creation.

This is a quick run through of how I create characters using Illustrator and Photoshop, my softwares of choice for any sort of artwork or designs.

First things first, I open up a document on Illustrator, typically an A3 document formatted in landscape, and I take a brush (typically using the brush size 0.12) and start with the head of the character. The basic shaping of the head can take a while to get right and usually takes me a few tries, but I get there in the end. After the basic detail of the head is complete, I move down to the body, starting with the shaping of the shoulders and the start of the arms before doing the rest, before I do the arms and legs. An important thing to note is that the brush size for shapes is a lot thinner, so I have to use a brush size of 0.6 for shapes (mainly the circle and line tools) so they can fit with the size of the other strokes. The main reason why I use Illustrator for the linework is because I can move separate lines around and change their size and colour without having to rub them out, as well as the fact the linework on Illustrator is in vector, allowing for much smoother lines. Starting with this project, I’ve started every character process by drawing them in a black colour, for a reason I will explain later.

After creating the normal linework, I export the artwork as a JPEG with a PPI of 600 to 700, before moving that JPEG into Photoshop. Here, I use the paint bucket tool to add the colour scheme, which I mainly come up with on the spot in the document, sometimes having to make minor additions to detail, before I use the magic eraser tool to get rid of any unwanted white space, turning the image into a PNG. I then export the file as a PNG, and the character is finished. I then send it to myself via email so I can have it on my phone gallery, adding it to a large folder.

Starting with this project, I have extended the process. I now come up with a colour scheme in Photoshop, doing the same things to turn it into a PNG. I then take this black-lined version, what I call a ‘colour test variant,’ and put it back into Illustrator. Here, I use the colour dropper tool to make little colour codes, making the linework of these shapes a darker version of the same colour to compliment it. I then change the black linework into the darker versions of the colours where needed, and for the sake of characters with hair, I go through a long process of adding hair strand detail, using a colour in between the line colour and the actual colour itself. Once this is finished, I export the file again, once again as a JPEG with a 700 PPI, before putting it back into Photoshop and adding the colours again, turning it back into a PNG, and then the character is finished, ready to be sent.

[fmp2maxleighton]

This is a fact file created for Ula-La. I only created this, and her entire character as a whole, as a bonus, since I had finished with all of the other outcomes I needed to do and had some time left before moving onto the slides and evaluation. I chose Rina Sawayama, a British-Japanese singer, as her hypothetical voice actress, as they are both singers who are very popular in their own regard, and she has experience acting in movies, staring with John Wick Chapter 4.

[fmp2maxleighton]

This is the finalised render of Ula-La, the idol character, drawn using Illustrator and coloured using Photoshop. The process of creation was relatively simple, not much different to how I have created characters before hand, starting with tracing the original illustration with black lines, before moving into Photoshop and giving it a colour scheme I'm happy with, in which I go back into Illustrator to change the line colours to match the colours on the design. The colour scheme was somewhat easy to come up with, the major problem came from what colours went where, but thankfully I worked it out in the end. I drew the glasses separately form the main body so I can make them a separate layer, make the lenses transparent and then move it onto the main body. The colour scheme really works, it fits her character well and is different enough from the rest of the characters so she stands out amongst them. 

[fmp2maxleighton]

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song contest created by the EBU, where every participating country (this year, 37) sends in an original song in hope to win, with the award being hosting the contest the next year. It was first held in 1956 and has been held every single year since then with the exception of 2020. This year for the 67th edition of the contest, it is being held in Liverpool, United Kingdom, on the behalf of Ukraine, who won the previous edition in Turin, as the UK placed second. The stage design was unveiled on the 2nd of February and took nearly 3 months to construct, being officially opened on the 26th of April, with the design being inspired by a wide open hug, as if it was opening its arms to Ukraine in solidarity. The design is an inspiration for the vibe of the FMP, specifically the concept art (bottom) due to it coming out during the production stage of the project, with the final version (top) only being revealed yesterday as of writing this. It has a very retro futuristic vibe to it with the glowing blues, as well as the large circular structure on the ceiling looking like something out of a sci-fi movie. The Eurovision Song Contest starts on the 9th of May with the first semi-final, then the second semi-final on the 11th of May, and then the Grand Final on the 13th.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

This is a comparison between the two versions of the Aphrodite logo on my final poster. The newer version of the right is larger and has brighter colours compared to the older version on the left. I was told that people wouldn’t be able to see the logo with the darker colours, especially as people would be looking at the rest of the poster, so I changed it so the logo is just as visible, and you would be able to see it if your eyes wasn’t focused on it.

[fmp2maxleighton]

Iono is a character from Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, a Japanese role playing video game in the ninth generation of the Pokemon franchise, developed by Game Freak and Creature’s Inc and published by Nintendo, released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch in 2022. Iono is one of the eight Gym Leaders, trainer boss fights in the game that specify in one type, in which you fight to receive a Gym Badge to proceed through the game. She specifies in the Electric Type, and whilst not doing work as the Gym Leader of Levincia, she is an online streamer, where she gets an audience of thousands alongside some dedicated fans. Her partner Pokemon is Bellibolt. Iono serves as an inspiration towards the FMP as another basis to the design of Ula-La, the bonus idol character I created last minute.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

Hatsune Miku (初音ミク, or Miku Hatsune / CV01) is a music / singing software under the Vocaloid branding, developed by Japanese media and technology company Crypton Future Media, first releasing in August of 2007 with her most recent stable release in November 2020. Despite being a computer program, Miku is personified as a 16 year old girl with two massive pigtails with a cybernetic theme, and has been marketed as an actual virtual idol, similar to the likes of the Gorillaz characters, having had many a concert in Japan in the form of a hologram projection on stage. She has proven to be incredibly popular in Japan, becoming one of the most iconic singers in the entire country, even if she isn’t real. Her popularity has lead to the creation of more Vocaloids, like Kagamine Rin / Len and Megurine Luka. Hatsune Miku serves as an inspiration towards the FMP as a basis to the design of Ula-La, the bonus idol character I created last minute.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

This is a sketch of a redesign for a character I tried to design a while ago, Ula-La, a diva popstar sort of character, featured on my thirteenth and final design sheet. I had attempted to create this character a while ago, but the first attempt for this design did not work out, and I didn't like it, and I never ended up finishing the design in detail. This time around, I had an idea for a completely different approach, ditching the whole seductive, diva-ish idea of her character and instead replacing it with a energetic, J-pop idol sort of idea, inspired by the likes of Hatsune Miku, with a metallic body suit and large two head attachments that hold up two ginormous ponytails. Some design choices do stay, however, such as the glasses, heels, and her fan. This design I think is a lot better, the overall outfit looks really nice (my favourite part being the fishnet like stars on her arms and legs), and I think the take on her being a J-pop idol instead of a sultry diva works a lot better in my favour, considering she's a character who would appear in a movie safe for kids to watch. I might do her digitally despite her being a small bonus character that I drew for the heck of it, only because I didn't have access to any computers on the day I drew it.

[fmp2maxleighton]

OPIA was a concept for a rogue-like platformer video game that I created for a previous project, titled ‘As Above, So Below.’ The game centred around Jenny, an average girl from New York in the year 2000, stumbling upon an alternate digital universe facing danger from Y2K, which infected this universe with a physical form. A number of things that I created and did for OPIA were done again for Aphrodite, but improved upon. The main case of this is with the idea of backgrounds and locations, which I drew a couple of for OPIA, but never made digitally, which I have done for Aphrodite, upon realising that it wouldn't be all that difficult to do. Other things include character profiles, large posters, a pitch sheet, and an overall similar science-fiction style, although it is a lot more apparent with Aphrodite. 

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

This is an alternate poster I created for Aphrodite, inspired by some stylised retro inspired posters that I have found online, using nothing but Illustrator. It features a blacked out logo at the top and one of my space backgrounds featured as the main picture, with the white silhouettes of the Eyes of Aphrodite in the centre, a small cast list present on the bottom. I only made this as a small experiment to see if something like this could work, and in the end, I don’t think I like it, it just doesn’t interest me in the slightest.

[fmp2maxleighton]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a computer animated superhero movie created by Sony Pictures Animation, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman and produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, based upon the Spider-Man comics by Marvel, which released theatrically in 2018 and distributed by Sony Pictures in association with Marvel. The film follows Miles Morales becoming the new Spider-Man and joining forces with the Spider-People from other universes to save his from the Kingpin. It serves as an inspiration to the FMP due to being another computer animated movie, like what I envision Aphrodite to be if it were real, and additionally due to it being an animated movie that isn’t mainly for children and because of it having a very unique animation style with a choppier framerate that proves to look very effective.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

Lighyear is a computer animated science-fiction adventure film created by Pixar, written and directed by Angus MacLane and acting as an in-universe spin-off to the Toy Story franchise, which released theatrically in 2022 and distributed by Disney. The story of the film centres around the titular Buzz Lightyear, who in this film is a human and not a toy, as he tries to find his way back home after being isolated on an unknown planet, whilst encountering a dangerous threat to humanity. The film was considered a massive let-down for Pixar and was a box-office bomb. It serves as one of the major inspirations to the FMP due to it being a computer animated science fiction movie, particularly one made by Pixar, and although it would be heavily unlikely that Pixar would be the one attatched to this movie due to the failure of Lightyear, I wanted to see if I could come up with an idea for a sci-fi animated movie that people would find more interesting than Lightyear, which many people considered boring.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

Apollo 11 (July 16-24, 1969) was an American space flight which resulted in the first people to step foot on the Moon. The first two humans to step foot on the moon, commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin (pictured) landed on the surface of the Moon with their lunar lander on July 20, with Armstrong coming out of it six hours later, making him the first person to step foot on the moon, in which he uttered the now iconic words ‘  one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.’ After eight days of being in space, the crew safely returned to Earth by splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. Whilst up on the moon, a United States flag was planted onto the surface, which as of 2012, is still standing. The Apollo 11 mission has remained one of the most monumental and important historical events of all time, and serves as an inspiration to the FMP for the idea of space travel and exploration, especially that of previously uncharted locations such as the Moon in 1969 and potentially Mars and other celestial bodies in the future.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) is a model of humanoid robots first invented in 2000 by Japanese car and electronics company Honda, which were in production from 2000 until 2018 when the final update was made about it. Even if it’s name is an abbreviation that makes sense, it was truly named after Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992), a revolutionary science fiction author. Even if the robot itself is decommissioned, making it’s last public appearance in 2022, it has become a staple iconic robot, having appeared at many things such as Disney parks, movie premieres, and even once conducted an orchestra. It serves as an inspiration to the FMP due to it’s overall design, being completely white in colour with panel lining and patches of grey around the body, design choices which are replicated on Turbine.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

A large part of the movie WALL-E, the 2008 Pixar sci-fi animated movie which I have talked about many a time as an inspiration for the FMP, takes place aboard the Axiom, a giant flagship spacecraft that holds much of humanity, built by the mega corporation Buy n Large, staying in space for hundreds of years as many WALL-E robots tried to clean Earth. Designed as a space cruise ship, every human on board is pampered, entertained and fed to the point everyone is morbidly obese and cannot move without floating chairs. The ship is almost entirely run by robots created by BnL, with the sole exception of a human captain. The Axiom serves as a minor inspiration to the FMP due to the idea of large, man-made living areas being constructed in space, although this case is a giant ship and not man-made biomes on asteroids.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

Voltron: Legendary Defender is an animated science fiction mecha television series produced by American animation company DreamWorks that debuted on Netflix in March 2016 and ending in December 2018, acting as a reboot to the classic Japanese anime of the same name. The series follows the adventures of a group of heroes who learn to work together and form the titular giant robot to fight against villainous forces. Featured in the series is the Castle of Lions, a gigantic castle that transforms into a futuristic space ship, and the main home of the main bunch of characters and the five robotic lions that form Voltron. The ship and the entire series as a whole serves as a minor inspiration for the FMP, mainly because of the appearance of the Castle of Lions having a style that looks eerily similar to the technology found in Aphrodite and the CROWN Module asteroid location, as well as the series having large robots, like the Agamemnon mech concept.

#research

[fmp2maxleighton]

Terraforming is the hypothetical process of modifying a planet or moon’s atmosphere, temperature and ecology to transform it into an Earth like home for humanity to live on. The concept first originated from both science fiction and actual science, with one of the first accounts of the concept coming in 1961 from Carl Sagan, who proposed a sort of terraforming of Venus, with the actual term originating in 1942 short story by Jack Williamson called Collision Orbit. Whilst a real case of terraforming has never happened, the idea has been approached many a time, with NASA holding a few debates about the ethicalness of the process. This idea is an inspiration to the FMP mainly due to the setting, a bunch of previously uninhabited asteroids being converted into small planet like habitats for humanity to live on and visit.

#research