FMP Steampunk Character Concept (LEVEL 2 GAMES DESIGN)

Review

I have been influenced by artists such as Mike Corriero as their steampunk styled artwork of creatures and people is interesting and different from most other steampunk artwork; Mike Corriero mixes steampunk with fantasy in some of his creature drawings. I created a game in construct 2 using my very own drawings, such as characters, backgrounds, platforms and items; I created animations for my drawings like my walk cycle for my character. I’ve learnt how to shade when drawing so I can show light sources in drawings by shading areas darker to show darker parts. I have developed my observational skills so that I can draw real life objects. I am hoping to develop my proportion skills so that I can get the sizes of objects, creatures and people’s different body parts right like their head, torso, etc. In my 2D practice, I want to develop my blending skills in drawings.

Project Concept

I intend to make a steampunk robot. The end goal of the steampunk robot is to design it to fit into a steampunk world, e.g. Pipes sticking out of its arms with steam shooting out. The backstory of the steampunk robot is that it served a scientist, but the steampunk robot was abandoned by the scientist and left to try and find the scientist; however, robots in the world that have no owner are illegal and will be hunted by an official organisation that deals with robots or scrappers looking for spare parts. The game genre will be a stealth/action so the colours used will be dominated by dark colours and a little amount of bright colours like black and white for the night’s sky but colours like yellow will be used for light sources and silver or brown for machinery. Skills and techniques that I will be using are silhouetting for characters such as the steampunk robot and human characters; for silhouetting, I will draw a characters outline and fill with black so that the characters silhouette will be seen. I will use sketching for different ideas of my characters; I will sketch different designs of a character so that I can have a better understanding of what my character will look like. I will draw different perspectives of my character so that all sides of the character can be seen like the front, back, sides, etc. Mike Corriero is an artist that uses silhouetting and sketching to create creatures and characters as well as using different perspectives in sketches.

Evaluation

I will review and analyse my on-going work with an action plan by writing about what I’ll focus on completing for each week of the project. I will record my decision process in an action plan to continue my development by writing about what work I will do for each week. I will record how I will problem solve in my action plan by writing about what I will be doing each week for the project and what I will create for the weeks. I will organise my time by giving myself a deadline to complete each piece of my work for the project.

Steampunk Characters

The plague doctor are second-rate doctors (due to lack of medical skills) that helped victims of the plague during times of epidemic. The beak-like nose was stuffed with herbs,spices and straw to protect plague doctors from catching the plague themselves from patients; it would also block out the smell of corpse as many people would still die even with the help of the plague doctors.

Steampunk Creature

The steampunk dog is shown to be metallic with the material being shiny. Steam is coming out the pipes on the side which makes the dog fit into a steampunk world. The green colour and white stars on its front left leg joint shows that its used by a military force.

Steampunk Moodboard

Moodboard showing steampunk themed characters and creatures. This will help me create my steampunk character or creature. Creatures like the robotic tiger and robotic fox will help me come up with ideas. Human-like characters such as the robotic demon and steampunk bird-man (Songbird) will also help me with getting ideas of what my steampunk character or creature will be.

Steampunk Character/Creature Mindmap

These are my ideas for what i could make, there are human characters and creatures that could be in a steampunk universe.

Iteration sketches

Drawing characters using head templates. Simple human characters were drawn as i was still unsure as to what my steampunk character would be, the one on the right wears a top hat to relate to the setting of the time steampunk is seen in.

update on head drawings, more robotic themed heads were drawn as i wanted to create a steampunk robot character. The characters drawn relate to steampunk in some way, e.g. top right character has steam shooting out its head and mouth.

Shape dynamics experiment

I used shape dynamics like the lines and circle when creating a template for my characters head. The chin and sides are squared as i want my character to be a robotic type of character.

Feedback sheet

My feedback sheet suggesting what i need to do next for my work; research and face proportion sketches.

Steampunk face drawing

Starting my drawings on face of steampunk character using Photoshop. I used face proportions for the drawing. I used the face template i made to draw the characters face. Half of the face is metal and has screws holding the metal into the head while the other half is a normal face.

Reilly Method

The Reilly method is used to draw human characters, by drawing the head with a line going down to where the shoulder would be, then drawing a line across to represent the shoulder, continue the line down and join up the end of the shoulder lines down to the end of the line going through the centre. After, i draw two lines that curve once they meet the shoulder line then outside of the triangle to represent the arm line. Then i draw a circle inside the triangle to represent the chest area and draw an upwards arrow that goes through the circle, then back down to represent the leg line.

Use of steampunk

The creation of steampunk was from inspiration of 19^th century industrial steam-power machinery. However, the use of steampunk is mainly set in alternative world where steam-power is the main source of energy in a world full of steampunk .

Steampunk in books

H.G. Wells wrote the book, ‘war of the worlds’ in 1897 and he uses steampunk with the Martians that invade earth. Steampunk is also used with vehicles and transport like ships.

Steampunk in paintings

Albert Robida created a painting called ‘La Sortie de l’opera en l’an 2000’ in 1902 and he uses steampunk with the flying vehicles and Victorian themed characters.

Steampunk in objects

Tim Wetherell created a sculpture of a clock that has a steampunk theme as the clock uses a bronze like metal as the base material and a cog wheel. The clock is almost like a pocket watch which is common in Victorian settings. It has details like the meter which relates to characters you would find in a steampunk world such as inventors.

Steampunk in movies

Shane Acker directed a movie called ‘9’ in 2009. The movie ‘9’ has a strong steampunk/apocalyptic theme as it involves rag dolls with steampunk features like the eyes and there are robots with a steampunk style; the world was destroyed by the robots in world war 1 which allows for a lot of 19^th references.

Steampunk in games

Garry Schyman created the first of game series known as bioshock in 2007. Bioshock has a strong steampunk theme with the setting of the levels and design of characters.

Steampunk in concept art

The artist of the painting is unknown but it has airships and many tall buildings surrounding the London eye, suggesting an alternative future where steampunk is used. The painting was inspired by the game ‘The Order: 1866’ which uses steampunk.

Steampunk in clothing

The plague doctor clothing is steampunk themed with leather masks and leather hats with goggles for the eyes.

Cogs used in steampunk

The cogs are mechanical and are used in many steampunk drawings for characters and creatures. Cogs represent robotic characters and machines in steampunk themes.

Human anatomy and proportions

Drawing the human body will require different steps into it, started from the head and all the way to the feet. More detailed drawings would require many steps into them such as setting the chin a certain height, the shoulders to be a certain width, hips to be a certain size, etc.

Project Plan

The project plan will be used to keep up to date on my progress for my FMP steampunk project with each week beginning being dated with a different activity being done for the week as well as the resources that i will need to help complete the activities.

Timed Reilley method drawings

All the drawings were timed to be completed for 30 seconds,then a minute, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, which is why the drawings at the bottom are more complete then those on top. I used the Reilley method to draw the models and added details over it.

Real models drawing using Rielly method

I used the Rielly method to draw real people as models from different angles, i added more detail such as shoes and hair that the models had since the more models i drew, the more details i could add. Each model was different as some were sitting down while others were standing up with their arms in different places like on their knee or both arms out to the side. The more models i drew, the more of the Rielly method i could use, such as adding the circle to represent the torso.

Human proportion

I have drawn a character, making it look like a steampunk-cyborg character with human features but metal parts replacing one leg, one arm and one side of the face with bolts that holds them in. The top part of the human side, has the brain of the character inside a glass container. I try to show perspective with the characters left leg being smaller because its near the back while their right leg is bigger to show its much more closer; the right arm is slightly smaller than the right to show its further away while the right is slight bigger to show its closer. The characters fists are clenched to show that they are an angry character; their facial expression also shows their anger with their eyebrow (on the human side) pointing downward. The characters body is quite burly which is similar to Frankenstein's monster; the characters half-human and half-robot body almost makes it monster-like and very relateable to Frankenstein's monster. I want to further develop this idea of a Frankenstein themed character. Colours i want to use for my character would be brown clothing for the human parts, silver(slightly rustic).

Artist research

Mike Corriero

Mike Corriero designed 4 different alien/robotic characters that stand in neutral positions. The main colours used for all of them is silver to represent their metallic body; they each have their own secondary colours such as orange, red and green. They all have some sort of cape being worn and orbs floating near them.

Bjorn Hurri

Bjorn Hurri designed a steampunk styled Darth Vader. The same mask is used while the rest of the body is changed with a bigger torso and metallic material; looks hunchbacked. A different kind of cape is being worn with a star medal. The colours used are mainly black with the inside of the cape being red. Steampunk Darth Vader holds some kind of weapon that shoots out steam instead of his lightsabre weapon.

 Dan Hillier

 Dan Hillier designed a steampunk character with a birds head and 19th century human characters body. The character holds a hat with an arm coming out holding another hat which shows the weird and unique work of Dan Hillier.

Die Wunderkammer

 Die Wunderkammer designed a deep sea explorer character that holds a trident. The colours of the character are silver, green and brown. The character wears a helmet for use under sea.

Chris Miscik

Chris Miscik designed a steampunk shrimp that has a metal body with robotic legs and a camera for the eye; also antennas stick out from the camera. The colours used are a mix of brown and gold; the metal is brass.


Artist interpretations

I have drawn an interpretation of Bjorn Hurri's drawing of a steampunk Darth Vader. I still need to add colour and smooth out the rough outlines. I have drawn the body which is very robotic. The legs have a lot of detail with robotic parts attached which makes the legs look complicated with so many parts. The cape is drawn over the shoulders and go around the back where it can be mostly seen. In the characters left hand, they are holding a steam gun which is shooting out steam (i used blur to make it look gassy). Pipes are sticking out from the back which shoots out steam.

I added colour to my artist interpretation with darker parts representing shade like inside the cape and parts of the body where the light doesen't hit it. I couloured the steam parts and used blur to make them look like smoke/misty such as the steam shown in the artisit painting.

Textures

Hair texture

Creating hair texture by firstly painting a blob of brown colour. I had to create my own brush by creating different sized spots, so when i draw, it will drag the spots to create lines so that i can create a hair-like effect. Then i kept the colour brown to use with a soft brush, mid-tone and the opacity at 40. Next, i went into windows, brush, 1% on brush tip shape, shape dynamics and then i changed angle jitter to direction to make the blob look more like hair. I also changed to darker and lighter colours to mix into the hair so it looks like slightly aged hair.

Metal texture

I created the metal texture by creating a grey blob, then going into window, brush, 1% on brush tip shape, shape dynamics and changed angle jitter to direction. I used more darker greys mixed with lighter greys to create a scratched metal effect. I created my own brush of x shaped lines so that when i draw, it will show up slightly spaced apart and turned around when i drag the brush.(When i go into shape dynamics, i can change the size of the spacing).

Leather texture

I created the leather texture by creating my own brush which was an long x shape, i then created a light brown blob. With the brush selected, i go into window, brush, 5% on brush tip shape, shape dynamics and changed angle jitter to direction. I used a darker brown colour for the brush.

Clothing texture 

I created the cloth texture by creating a brush that has multiple dashes near each other. I created a grey blob and with the brush selected, went into window, brush, 5% on brush tip shape. I used a slightly darker grey for the brush.

Head proportions

The head proportions show the characters head from different angles (Front view, side view and top/side view). The character is a half human and half robot aimed to be steampunk with bolts attached to the robot side of their face. On the side view, the characters robot side has a switch that is used like a volume switch (where you slide it up and down) which would power the character on or off; a scribble is under the switch that would be writing (Story related) that may say "Do not turn off!".

The red arrows show the circle shape used as the proportion to create the top part of the head; kept the same size to keep the characters head the same size from different angles. The blue arrow shows the proportion of the side of the head from a top/side angle.

Mechanical forms

I created an outline of a cog by drawing a circle while create squares that stick out. I then started on adding the darkest colour of the cog first, so that i could add lighter tones of the colour of the cog. The darkest part of the cogs represents the shade while the lighter parts represent where the light is hitting the cogs like in the picture. I then added more cogs, one going over middle cog that is entirely darker since its in the shade, the other cog is under the middle cog that is more lighter since its not in the shade.  

Colour meaning experiments and research

I will use colours like light grey to dark grey and beige for my characters body; dark grey will be used for their clothes while light grey to a slightly darker grey would be used for my characters metal parts like right side of the face, leg, arms, etc. Also beige is used for my characters skin for their left side of their face and other body parts. Bronze colours will be used for the cogs in the characters body. Dark brown will be used for my characters shoes to show they're leather while light brown is used for my characters hair. Blue, red, green and yellow will be used for wires hanging out of the characters arm. White will be used for socks. Light yellow will be used for my characters right eye to represent their robotic side. The colours that will mostly be used for my character are dark colours as the clothing of my character will be a dark grey, the dark and grey colours will give my character a boring and zombie-like personality where no emotion is shown as the robotic side of my character has taken over.

Art style research

Semi realism is something or someone drawn to look realistic and have the same features as the real thing but can be seen as a drawing easily. Semi realism used for characters could show the realism such as the facial features like hair, eyes, etc; however, semi realism can show the character to be almost like a cartoon with the how the face is positioned and outlines

Realism is something or someone drawn to actually look realistic and not like a drawing. The facial features like bags under eyes, wrinkles and realistic hair/beards can bring a drawing to life and easily fool people into thinking that the drawing is a photograph.

Shape dynamics is where shapes are used to define the characters. Shapes like circles can make a character seem soft and friendly, squares would make a character seem strong and reliable and triangle would make a character seem dangerous and evil. I intend to use shape dynamics for my character

Final Character design

I started designing my character design of a steampunk half robot and half human. I created the base of my outlines like the body and added some detail like hair, metal parts, ripped parts of clothing,etc. I still need to add more detail and colours. I used different layers for my character such as the whole body as the first layer, then a clothing layer that will show the clothes being worn by my character; the rips in the clothing will show off the characters skin and metal body parts (as well as the bolts). My characters left arm has the hand hanging loose from wires and a pipe sticking out, which can shoot out steam. The characters human side (their left side) shows the character with their eye closed to show that they're sleeping/powered off while the robot side shows their eye open.The overall look of the character so far shows that they have been roughed up.

Adding colour to character and adding hair texture.

Adding scratch texture on metal and adding steam shooting out from pipe sticking out left arm.

Finishing character with better right hand and colour change to shoes with added leather texture. Also i added cogs shown inside the characters left leg.

Started creating the outlines for the side view of my character.

Finishing side view character with colours and textures.

The back view of my character is finished with colour and textures. Cogs in the back that couldn't be seen from front or side view.

Character A3 Turnaround

 My character is half robot and half man which is shown with the metal parts in grey and skin in a beige colour to show that the character is white. The clothing that the character wears is simple clothing in a dark grey colour and rips are seen in them as it relates to my characters backstory. The shoes are leather which are coloured brown; also a rip in the shoe to show every part of the character is damaged. The head shows half of the characters face while the other half is covered by metal; a eye hole is also in the metal. Bolts are seen on the characters metal part of their face as well as on the metal part of their body. Bronze coloured cogs can be seen in the characters left leg (front view) and in their back (Back view) to show that they function like 19th century machinery. The characters left hand is seen hanging out from wires as a pipe sticking out the left arm is shooting out steam which shows that the character is powered by steam power. I created my own brushes to add small details to my character such as for the hair, metal parts and shoes. The small details make the shoe look like real leather and the metal to have scratches. I used shape dynamics for my character such as making the shoulders squared to represent my character as strong and durable. The rips in the clothes are triangle to show the danger that the character was in. My character is semi-realistic as they have facial features like eyes, mouth and nose to show they're part human but can tell its a drawing by not having a lot of detail in the face like wrinkles.

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