Character Project Brad Horabin - Evidence for Unit 72
Character Archetypes The Hero The Shadow The Fool The Anima/Animus The Mentor The Trickster
The Hero The Hero is the character who the audience roots for, they are the character trying to save the day. Their intentions are usually selfless, and to save others. At first they may not seem brave and selfless, but over the course of the book/film/game/etc they will become more and more hero-like, either throughout the whole story, or because of a specific event. There are many obvious examples of this like; superheros from the Marvel and DC universes, characters like Ezio and Altair from Assassin s Creed, or Sonic, Mario, Lara Croft, etc.
The Shadow The Shadow is your general villain, evil, cruel, dangerous. Shadow characters used to be generally pure evil, but in modern forms of literature, most villains are trying to do somewhat good things, but go about things the wrong way for example; trying to cure cancer, but murdering thousands of people to do it. Again, there are many obvious examples of this archetype, such as; villains in the Marvel and DC universes, Wesker from Resident Evil, Bowser, Dr Eggman/Robotnik, etc
The Fool The Fool archetype is generally a sidekick, or henchman, to either the Hero or the Shadow. They re the ones that mess things up accidentally, forcing the Hero or Shadow to fix their mistakes, the Hero usually fixes things calmly, and the Shadow tends to be more angry with the Fool, and punishing them for their mistake, sometimes even with death. The Fool character allows us to see how the Hero or Shadow really is towards people, and towards the end of the story clears up their intentions for the audience. And they represent optimism for the Hero or Shadow s goal. A great example of this archetype could be Dory in Finding Nemo, others could be; Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars, Donkey from Shrek, Buddy from Elf, etc.
The Anima/Animus The Anima/Animus archetype represents male and female urges. The Anima is the female version of the archetype, and the Animus is the male version. The characters often represent sexual desire, and are usually the love interest of the Hero or Shadow character(s). However, they are not always, and could be a love interest of another character, or even be for the audience. They are intended to bring you into the story, and evoke emotions if something happens to them. They also often lead to the main protagonist making immoral decisions. An excellent example of this would be Mary Jane Watson, from Spider-man. Others could be; Fiona from Shrek, Princess Leia from Star Wars, Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter, Amy Rose from Sonic, etc.
The Mentor The mentor is the wise, faithful character who gives the main protagonist valuable information, and guides them throughout the story. They are generally represented as an elderly person, as they are seen as the most cultured age in society. A lot of the time, some of the advice given by the Mentor is vague and unclear, but the meaning becomes apparent later on in the story. Mentors often show many characteristics of a parent. A great example of this archetype would be Yoda from Star Wars, further examples could be; Gandalf from The Lord Of The Rings, Dumbledore from Harry Potter, Doc Hudson from Cars, Mufasa from The Lion King, etc.
The Trickster The Trickster archetype is more mysterious, they can side with either the hero or the villain, and in some cases both/neither. They push for change and do things for them, not for other people. They usually test the other characters mentally, by putting them in difficult or confusing situations. An excellent example of this would be The Riddler from Batman. Other good examples could be; Loki from Thor, Bart from The Simpsons, Professor E. Gadd from Mario, etc.
Colour Analysis The colour wheel shows the basic colours, the 3 primary and their complementary colours. Each colour represents different emotions and give different vibes. Designers use this to help them convey certain feelings to, or from, the audience, by designing characters, or scenes using certain colours in specific combinations. The main focus is on the primary colours, and their complementaries. Red + Green Blue + Orange Yellow + Purple
As mentioned, each colour represents certain feelings or statuses. Red generally induces anger, danger, war, strength, power, courage, bravery, love, passion, etc. Green often represents illness, greed, envy, luxury, money, growth, nature, freshness, fertility, honesty, etc. Blue often shows intelligence, knowledge, trust, loyalty, confidence, wisdom, truth, health, healing, power, integrity, softness, coldness, sadness, etc. Orange often evokes feelings of happiness, cheerfulness, enthusiasm, determination, creativity, attraction, success, encouragement, etc. Yellow can represent joy, comfort, liveliness, optimism, intellect, caution, decay, sickness, jealousy, cowardliness, etc. Purple generally shows, elegance, power, royalty, dignity, independence, wealth, sophistication, ambition, extravagance, magic, etc. Black usually shows elegance, formality, sophistication, strength, evil, fear, death, depression, mystery, etc. White often represents peace, innocence, purity, light, goodness, simplicity, newness, perfection, etc.
Example Character Bio (Mario)
Basic Statistics Name: Mario Mario Alias: Mario Age: 24 Height: 5ft, 1 inch Weight: 95kg Hair Colour: Brown/Auburn Glasses or Contacts: Neither Nationality: Italian Skin Colour: White Shape of Face: Round, circular Sex: Male Race: Caucasian Eye Colour: Blue
Distinguishing Features Clothing: Blue overalls with a red, long-sleeve, top and red hat. He also wears white gloves and brown shoes Mannerisms: Happy, jolly and friendly Habits: None Health: Healthy Hobbies: Racing, Yoshi riding Favourite Sayings: It s a-me Mario!, Wa-hoo!, A-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa! Let s a-go!, Here we go! Voices: High-pitched, Italian Walking Style: Brave and eager Disabilities: None Greatest Flaw: Emotional connection to Princess Peach Best Quality: His ability to gain powers from certain plants/fungi
Social Characteristics Hometown: Unknown, but suspected to be Brooklyn, New York Current Residence: As Mario is often adventuring, it is difficult to determine his current residence. Occupation: He has previously been employed as a carpenter, plumber, and even a doctor, he is no longer employed as any of these, however, his current employment status is unknown. Income: As his occupation is unknown, his income is also unknown, however, during his adventures he collects a large amount of coins and is in a relationship with a princess, so it s safe to assume he is fairly wealthy. Talents/Skills: Tennis, driving, jumping, baseball, etc. Family Status: Mario has a younger brother; Luigi. Their parents are believed to be alive, but are rarely seen or heard of. Character as a Child: There is very little information about his life as a child. He spent it with his parents, Mama Mia Mario and Papa Pio Mario Character as an Adult: As an adult Mario has had many jobs, from a Carpenter, to a Plumber, to a Doctor. However, he has spent most of his time, rescuing(or trying to rescue) Princess Peach, along with racing and competing in many different sporting events.
Attributes and Attitude Educational Background: Unknown Intelligence Level: As he has been employed as a doctor, we can assume that he is a very intelligent person. Character s Goal: Love Confidence: He faces many dangers in attempts to rescue people, and therefore must be fairly confident Emotional State: He is driven by his emotions for Princess Peach
Emotional Characteristics Introvert or Extrovert?: Extrovert Motivation: Princess Peach Fear: Bowser hurting Peach Happiness: The main thing that makes Mario happy is Princess Peach, but also his friends like Toad and Yoshi, along with his family like Luigi Relationships: Princess Peach is his significant other
Character Bio (Marshy)
Basic Statistics Name: Marshall Flump Alias: Marshy Age: 19 Height: 5ft 4 Inches Weight: 11 Stone Sex: Male Race: Caucasian before experiment, afterwards he was designated as an Organic Marshmallow Eye Colour: Black Hair Colour: Bald Glasses or Contacts: Neither Nationality: American Skin Colour: White Shape of Face: His face is submerged in his square(ish) body
Distinguishing Features Clothing: He wears clothes specially made to fit him(due to his large and abnormal body shape). His outfit consists of a simple t-shirt, pants, canvas shoes, suspenders and a snazzy bow-tie Mannerisms: Childish and friendly, but strong and proud Habits: Moves his hands a lot when speaking and interacting with people Health: Surprisingly healthy for someone with so much sugar in their body Hobbies: Helping and saving people, playing with his pet hamster Favourite Sayings: Hey everybody it s me, Marshy Voices: High-pitched, childish voice Walking Style: Due to his body and short legs, he finds it more comfortable to waddle, similar to a penguin Disabilities: None Greatest Flaw: Weakness to fire, edible Best Quality: Is cute, fluffy, and cuddly. Can also resist great impacts due to his soft marshmallow body, this also allows him to bounce and reach great heights.
Social Characteristics Hometown: New York City Current Residence: New York City Occupation: Superhero Income: Funded by the government, for is protection of the world Talents/Skills: Caring for others Family Status: Has no remaining family members. Was an only child and his parents both passed away from cancer 2 years before the experiment Character as a Child: He was born in 1988 and grew up somewhat happily, raised by both parents. He was bullied as a child, during his time at school He has lived in New York city all his life, however, briefly lived with his grandparents in Los Angeles for a few months in december 1996, then moved back to his parents early 1997. Where he remained until they passed away in 2005. He continued to live in the same house but on his own, as he had no family members left. Character as an Adult: After finishing high school, he became a medical test subject, where he took part in many experiments, but his last was for a new kind of marshmallow. This experiment is the cause of his current state as an Organic Marshmallow. He then went on to be a hero to the city of New York
Attributes and Attitude Educational Background: Studied at a high school in New York. He decided not to go to college and instead volunteered as a medical test subject. Intelligence Level: Slightly below-average Character s Goal: He didn t have a life goal as such, he felt that because he had no direction, he would become a volunteer to help others. This was also influenced by taking care of his parents from a young age This goal remains, after the experiment, that is why he became a hero Confidence: He is a very confident marshmallow, however still shy and awkward Emotional State: Happy and stable
Emotional Characteristics Introvert or Extrovert?: Introvert Motivation: lack of self-purpose and care for others Fear: Fire, especially campfires, and being eaten Happiness: He is a very happy marshmallow Relationships: Marshy is single, and has no remaining family members. As a result of his introvert, shyness, he doesn t have many friends, except for his pet hamster; Mallow
Timeline As a child, Marshall was bullied at school by other kids. He was bullied throughout his whole school life, but never felt able to stand-up for himself. At the age of 8, he went to live with his grandparents, and had chance to get away from all the bullying for a few months, however, he missed his parents greatly. He had to return to his parents, because his grandparents became heavily ill, and later passed away. Five years after his grandparents passed, both of his parents were diagnosed with severe, untreatable cancer. Marshall then cared for his parents full-time, ruining what little social life he had and causing him to fall behind at school. He did this for 3 years, until they both passed away in 2005, leaving him alone with no remaining family members After caring for his parents for so long, when they passed he felt no purpose. He d spent so long caring for others, he felt that was the only purpose he had. As he had failed school he didn't have the qualifications to become something like a doctor. So, he decided to become a test subject, hoping that he could help others that way instead. Marshall was involved in an experiment for a new form of marshmallow. The marshmallow reacted with, and altered, his DNA, transforming him into his current, Marshmallow state. He decided that he could use this new form to help others, starting with stopping muggings in the streets, then later going on to save the city, and world, from much greater threats.
Present Day In the year 2007, Marshall Flump is a superhero who goes by the name of Marshy situated in New York City. He is employed by the U.S Government as a Protector Of Earth, he fights crime, aliens, helps prevent (or contain) natural disasters, and even saves cats from trees. He is loved amongst the people of New York City, and is infamous globally. There has been several books and comics written about him, all over the world. Despite the majority of the world loving him, there is a small group of activists who call themselves The Anti-Marshmallows, they have a strong hatred for Marshy and believe he should be executed. In attempts to express their loathing, they have become a high-ranking criminal organisation, and committed an unfathomable number of crimes and attempted murders of Marshy. They are mutual nemeses, and are constantly opposed.
Silhouettes I began with drawing basic silhouettes, exploring body shapes for my character. I focused on the arms and legs, starting with them being chunky, then thin, with a sort of Disney style. I also worked on the shape of the body, thinking about different marshmallow shapes.
Silhouette Developments Moving on, I chose three of my initial silhouettes, and developed them, using white to emphasise certain details, such as the shoes and gloves. This gave me a better idea about the design of the character, in terms of apparel.
Initial Designs These are the initial sketches for my character design. As my character is fairly basic, I played around with adding different accessories like a jetpack and hats.
Developments Here I developed my initial designs, focusing on the face, gloves and then adding clothes.
Facial Expressions Shown here are a variety of facial expressions of my character. I chose fairly common expressions for my character.
Primary Source Poses These are poses of my character, which I produced using secondary source poses as reference. I found the poses on the internet, and used them with permission.
Primary Source Poses These are poses of my character, which I produced using primary source poses as reference. I used somebody I knew and asked the to pose in certain ways.
Colour Variations Here I have experimented with different colour schemes focusing on the shirt, accessories and pants. I used colours that complement each other, but also contrast with each other. I did this in order to create a colour scheme that appropriately fits my character. Showing his best qualities and excellent fashion sense.
Final Colour Analysis This is the colour variation that I will use for my final model. The blue shows that he is trusting and loyal as well showing that he has power and integrity. It also emphasises his softness. The Yellow accessories show his joy, optimism, and comfort. The Pale Purple of his pants show his dignity and that he is independant and, again, represent his power.
ZBrush Documentation
Starting with a simple sphere, I used brushes such as; Move, ClayBuildUp and Smooth, to create the basic torso body shape of my character, morphing it into a sort of cuboid shape. Then, using a tool called ZSpheres, I created a basic hand shape. After I was happy with the shape and layout of the hand, I used another tool called Adaptive Skin which creates a mesh using the ZSpheres as a guide. Altered the settings for the Adaptive Skin until I was happy with the results. Once I was happy with the shell created using Adaptive Skin, I used the brushes; Move, ClayBuildup, Standard and Smooth, to create a hand shape that I was happy with.
I began to work on adding the face of my character to the model. I used the same brushes I used to shape the hand as well as using Inflate, for the nose. To ensure that the face was even, I enabled symmetry. Then, I Inserted a separate subtool to add eyes to the face, doing the same for the teeth. I also did this for the shoulders. However, I used a Mirror function, to make each arm the same and symmetrical.
I used the same technique for all the separate components of my model, using Mirror to get the symmetrical. After the body was finished, I used a tool called Extract, to create the clothing of the model. For the Tool, you use Mask and draw the area you want to extract, then simply press extract, located in the subtool menu on the right. You can alter the thickness of the extraction to get different results. I did this for all the clothing on my model,top, Pants and Suspenders. Finally, I disabled the Zadd, and enabled the RGB, which allowed me to paint my model. I used the colours from my final colour scheme to do so.
Concept Pages
Evaluation For this project, we were tasked with designing and modelling a biped character. First we had to research character archetypes, and their roles in a story, our character had to be either a Hero or a Shadow. I chose a Hero and decided to go for a genetically altered human; a human turned marshmallow. We were tasked with creating silhouettes then developing them into initials, developments, and then finals, later modelling our characters from the designs. For my design I was inspired a lot by Disney, and Kingdom Hearts(a game that disney was involved with). I used a variation of techniques to produce my work; Digital for silhouettes, developments and finals. Traditional for initials. And digital modelling for my final model. I believe that I have improved most on my ZBrush modelling. Before I began this project I was only able to do basic modelling. However know, I can produce high quality models with textures. I have also learnt how to render on the software, and how to render things like depth maps. I think my biggest downfall this project was the lack of actual development from my initials to my final. I feel I could have improved on this and added a variety of things to my character, such as; new clothes, hats, accessories, equipment. If I was to do this project again, I would stick with the same character idea but develop it a lot more. I am satisfied with having achieved my basic character idea. For some of the project I was behind on work, but caught up and got back on track. The most important thing I have learnt this project is, how to create high quality models on ZBrush. I have enjoyed this project and am happy with the outcome.