real worlds - thumbnailing, development (mazon labs)

 Thumbnailing, Development and Design Process (Mazon Labs)

Initial Ideas

For my Mazon Labs character, I had an initial idea of creating a cyborg type character. The Mazon Labs has a diverse group of characters, spanning from many different species and specialities. I wanted to lean more into a cyborg style character as i think it would be fun to combine two differing aspects of the faction. I also like the idea of some type of mad scientist, as I think that fits in well for the faction.

Moodboards

I started by creating a Pinterest board full of different ideas of the general direction I wanted to go in. I wanted some sort of mechanical robot-like suit or limbs, and looked into a few different fashion styles like tech-ware. I still wanted my character to look like they worked in a lab though, so I also looked into a few different safety suits and uniforms too. I also had the idea for some type of robot assistant, maybe similar to an animal or just a helping assistant for my character.

Thumbnailing

I initially started by creating some quick and simple silhouette thumbnails, experimenting with different shapes and lots of wires and machinery. Since I was using silhouettes, I wanted to imagine different shapes wires and robotics could take on and look like without being drawn to play with shape. One thing I really wanted to experiment with was wires and mechanical arms/limbs and machinery, like claws.

I felt that my silhouettes where a bit hard to understand, so I decided to move onto making some block outs to try and get across my idea better. I experimented with both male and female designs, and tested lots of different styled designs. I took inspiration from silhouettes 2,3,7, and 9 as they were the ones I liked best, and tried to create a more detailed version to understand what each part of the silhouette was referring too. 

My favourites from this selection were 13, 14 and 17 and I decided I would begin to further develop those.

I also began to experiment with some faces, hairstyles and features. I experimented with some male faces and hair styles, testing what different ones would look like on different faces. I wanted my character to have very curly long hair but decided that would only work in a lab environment if it was tied up and out of the way. I also tested some different facial features, such as robotics and scars as I wanted his face to remain interesting. Ultimately, I decided I didn't really like these thumbnails and decided to do a female character instead and reverted back to my previous concept sketches.

Thumbnailing and Design Development

I created 8 more detailed and refined concepts inspired by my original concepts of 13 and 17. I experimented with a few different things, such as bionic legs and arms, pipes and masks and chemical canisters on the characters back. I felt that with the cyborg/bionic limbs, a skinny bodysuit type of outfit would've worked best so i experiment with a few outfits similar to that as well. I wanted my character to still look like she worked in a lab while also retaining a cool and cyberpunk aesthetic. I also tried a variant with a male character like i originally intended, but I felt that the skin-tight bodysuit just worked better on a female body.

I asked for some feedback on these initial ideas, and this is what i received from my peers. From what i received, the bionic legs seemed popular and also to continue to lean into the cyberpunk style. Personally, i felt that in my sketches the bionic leg(s) I drew seemed too chunky, and felt like they didn't work with the rest of the design. I really liked the baggy trousers/dungarees work suit, but i felt like it clashed with the full bionic leg. So, back to the drawing board for ideas!

I kept the feedback i received in mind and also decided to experiment with a bionic arm instead. I personally much preferred the arm to the bionic leg (thought, I think that was mainly because i really liked the baggy pants and wanted to make them work). I also made a more refined version with the bionic leg, making it less clunky and using a full skin-tight bodysuit instead which i felt worked a lot better than the pants.

Once again, I asked for some opinions and hosted a poll on my Instagram story too to see which designs people preferred. It seemed that the bionic arm was more popular, but people also liked the leg too. 

I was suggested by one person to try and version with both bionic arm and leg. I was really set on design 1 with the arm and baggy pants, so i opted for giving her a bionic foot instead which could still be visible wit her pants on. I was also suggested to experiment with the canister on her back. It never occurred to me that it would be in the way of her arms until it was pointed out to me. So, i looked into designs of things such as oxygen carriers and diving equipment for inspiration. I came up with 3 new ideas, in which 2 and 4 were the most popular by the feedback i received, which I agreed with.

Colourways and Experimenting

Finally, I could begin colour testing. The design gave me a lot of trouble, but the colouring also gave me a bunch too. I just couldn't settle on a design I was happy with. These versions here are 4 examples i came up with first. Ultimately, I didn't like any of them very much and also wasn't happy with her design. These were made before I refined my final design.

I changed her design slightly as I went onwards, altering things like her chemical cannister and also arm accessories. I experimented with different palettes, trying to keep them aligned with already existing Mazon Lab characters. I liked the light green design best, and especially like the vitiligo. I felt that it helped to extenuate the asymmetry of the characters design.

Finally, I created 3 final colour tests. These versions contained the changed designs that I was finally happy with. I felt that design 2 looked the most like a character from Mazon Labs, however i didn't really like the cool feeling it gave off. I felt that 1 was too warm, and that 3 was a good balance of the two. (though i did change a few things in my final character sheet.)