Character Concept
This is a personal character concept created as a portfolio piece.
The idea is to follow it up with a high-poly 3D concept, a game-ready 3D model and finally an implementation in Unreal Engine or Unity.
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 fitted with a wearable device that will kill him if he leaves the planet.
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 theym will shoot!
Character Facts:
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
I start off exploring the big shapes. On the fourth try, I arrive at proportions that I feel could work for this character based on the rough vision in my mind and also what I think could work as a base for a good readable 3D game character.
I expand on the idea and quickly go through some ideas and outfit options. I want to show his past as a great leader of galactic militaries and his current state as a VIP prisoner. I want his outfit to reflect his living environment which is tropical and hot. 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 thing and more. It prevents him from leaving the planet. 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. Also his pant leg is rolled due to his short stature.
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. I discover that the result is not exactly what I was going for. When I see it rendered it is looking too young and strong, bearing a resemblance to Hulk Hogan. I want to make him look older and more fragile, steering away from the Hulk Hogan association.
I explore the shape design of the character and build a base for a turnaround image.
I draw out the turnaround images with a more minimal rendering to keep the process advancing quickly.
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.
I define the details in callouts. I design the restraint device and prosthetic leg in more detail and I update the illustrations accordingly.
Last I gather everything in a high-res callout sheet. This has everything a 3D artist needs to know about the subject.