CHARACTER CONCEPT

Backstory:

The character is an ex-military commander who fell out of favour with his rulers and was exiled to a small dying prison planet. He is housed in a fancy but minimal futuristic facility integrated in lush beautiful nature along with a small crew of servants/prison guard robots to make the rest of his life go by in peace. He is free to roam the planet on foot but this place is surrounded by mountains and it’s the last to hold any life in it (mostly flora). Everywhere else it's hostile, either volcanic or freezing cold. He is also bound to the planet by futuristic technology that doesn’t allow him to leave.

Unable to escape his beautiful prison he is defeated and plotting for a return to glory. That's where you the player come in to the picture. You may visit him and he will give you quests that keep increasing in difficulty over time and will lead to him escaping and regaining control of a small military. You will have earned a powerful ally.

Beware of the guard robots, they are slow and a bit simple minded but they will shoot!

Character Stats:

Type: Non-player (NPC), Quest giver

Species: Human

Sex: Male

Age: 64

Appearance: old, oddly charismatic, mysterious, hint of greatness, has seen things, rough, defeated in life

Visual Style:

Stylized and Appropriate for a 3D game

PROCESS

First Sketches

I start off exploring the big shapes. I like number 4 as it matches my vision and think it could work as a base for a good readable 3D game character.

Variations

I expand on the idea and quickly go through some ideas and outfit options. I want to hint at his past as a galactic wartime commander and his current state as a VIP prisoner. I give him a prosthetic leg to hint at losses in war. I explore an ankle monitor to show his prisoner status but I pivot to a more futuristic device on the chest that does the same and more like preventing him from leaving the planet.

I want his outfit to reflect his living environment which is tropical and hot. I settle on an outfit that is the best quality and suitable for a hot climate. He wears it very casually with the shirt unbuttoned and sleeves rolled.

Face Study 1

The head and face are important for the feel of this character so I decide to explore it already by doing a black and white render. I use the shapes defined in the sketch.

Face Study 2

I think the result is not quite what I was going for. I want to make him look older and more fragile, steering away from the Hulk Hogan association that I get. Also I want to add sadness to his eyes.

Shape Design

I simplify the face down to clear shapes to check for readablity and to tweak the shape design.

Shape Design Turnarounds

I expand the shape design and build a base for a turnaround image.

Turnarounds

I draw out the turnaround images with minimal rendering to keep the process advancing quickly.

Concept Art

Next I explore the character in a fully rendered concept image. At this stage I want to capture the final look with proportions, shapes, all the details and different materials.

Callouts

I define the details further for 3D artists in callouts. The hat is a fine quality fedora suitable for hot climates.

The sunglasses have black frames and round red lenses.

This restraint device plugs in directly to the subjects blood circulation where it gets it’s power from. In the event of leaving the planets atmosphere the device proceeds to end it's wearers life. It's also a communicator through which our character's capturer and nemesis sometimes late at night makes a holographic phone call to catch up with his "old friend".