For my final major project, I decided that I was going to produce 2D work of a character within an environment, but in several different styles. I had recently been to a careers event at the time, and had been told that creating art that spans multiple styles can be beneficial in demonstrating both your ability and range, which obviously makes you more appealing to potential employers. The styles I chose were that of the games Halo, Overwatch and Disney Infinity - subtitled "realistic", "stylised level 1" and "stylised level 2" for better clarity. Each piece would feature the same main character, along with some recurring supporting characters. Below you can see an what I believe is a good example of the sort of composition I will be using for each of the production paintings:
Here are 3 of potential scenes/situations/characters which my pieces could feature:
[HISTORIC] Medieval Witch-Doctor: An unhinged and somewhat paranoid conjurer of dark magic, surprisingly young in appearance for someone of such “wisdom”. While most the village folk prefer to deny this peculiar resident even exists, some, in times of desperation, have sought him/her out and bared witness to their disturbing powers first-hand. It is said that they use precious minerals to heal and even resurrect human and animal alike, which is reinforced by their choice of wear, bearing many otherworldly treasures and artefacts. The setting: The edge of a forest, where our character dwells. Slabs of crystal lie scattered about the front of the hovel, as if to ward off spirits. Unnatural colours hang in the sky through the treetops, and the beginnings of a bonfire can be seen igniting at the witch-doctor’s feet as they begin chanting a spell.
[MODERN] Urban Outlaw: A technical genius and hacker akin to a modern-day Robin Hood, this character fights to protect the innocent and preserve what is right in his/her country, now ruled by a tyrannical government. As the city’s most wanted, it has become vital for this character to hide their face whilst undertaking operations, and through this, the mask that they wear has become a symbol of hope throughout the pockets of resistance which have formed in the city’s poverty-stricken underworld. The setting: A seemingly empty alleyway on a rainy night. Large screens can be seen in the cityscape far off, displaying the ominous faces of powerful figures, seemingly watching over the skies. Our hero is seated on a dumpster wearing headphones, listening in on enemy chatter from the rooftops.
[FAR FUTURE] Martian Diplomat: A powerful figure in the world of interplanetary affairs, this futuristic politician is on an assignment to Mars, now inhabited by humans who have veered down a different genetic path. Earth’s relations with the people of Mars has been deteriorating over the course of the last few years, and there is a hostile chill in the air as the meetings are called into session. The character is dressed in a space-age long coat, with a badge displaying his/her diplomatic status, and secretly carries a firearm in case things get ugly. The setting: the interior corridor of the building hosting the Martian negotiations, large windows displaying a sunset view of the alien city. Our character walks down the empty hall with a look of concern and suspicion in anticipation of what is to come.
I then began to start collecting examples of objects and assets in contrasting art styles in order to identify the key differences they possess. Some comparisons shown above depict a realistic asset and a stylised asset, whereas others show an asset at various levels of stylisation. Notice how many of the designs appear drastically different while still using the exact same colours. It was actually rather difficult to find examples like these, so I mainly stuck to instances that I am aware of and can therefor locate easily, such as the infamous Link and Toon Link from the Legend of Zelda series.
However, finding examples of each separate style proved to be a lot easier than finding a ready-made comparison. Above you can see that I gathered a small amount of images to represent each style, ranging from true-to-life to larger-than-life. Most of the realistic entries are from the past few years, as games that strive to be realistic do not tend to age well over time. Technically, games like the original Silent hill could fall into this category, but the technology at the time restrained them from achieving a look that would be regarded as "realistic" these days. That, however, is a flaw of the game itself and not necessarily the art. The art used in pre-production for games and films is obviously not restrained by such benchmarks, and can therefor act as a marker for the definitive vision for the media.
I have decided to pursue the "Martian Diplomat" storyline, constructing a new mood board with reference for the two main things that will appear in the paintings: the main character and his/her surroundings. For this I tried to stick as closely as possible to my original description of the character and setting, but at the same time staying open to new ideas. That said, the colour palette for the background is more or less set in stone. I want there to be a persistent red tinge to the world to reinforce the Martian city as part of an alien world, and I believe setting the piece at sunset will compliment this decision. For the character, I wanted to keep the design interesting while retaining a simplicity and uniformity to convey their role.
Here are some thumbnail designs that I have produced for my Martian Diplomat, in both male and female form. I have highlighted which designs I think work best, but am weary that some are quite heavy on the ceremonial armour and might appear too "warlord-ish" and mislead the audience as to what kind of a person this character should be. That said, I think the cape and waist garment fit perfectly, as they keep the design grounded and traditional while still maintaining a sense of regal authority without being too outlandish. Maybe my urge to convey the sci-fi origins of this character has led me to creating a thumbnail that is simply too spangly and showy - I might benefit from aiming for a "futuristic" look rather than a "sci-fi" one.