General discussion started here:
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=147914
Work starts here.
To shortcut the other thread, I’m planning to spearhead an effort to get a section on the Blender wiki about human(oid) character creation. There was a lot of ideas of how to go about it and what to include, but it seems that a main stylised/toon-ish character worked the full way through from concept to rendering is the way to go. Added sections at the end would carry the character process through to more realistic humans. Side topics like orcs and humanoid aliens would be included later if there is time and effort to spare, probably through timelapses that make use of the techniques taught already.
Not finalised, but this is the plan so far.
http://www.cdupload.com/files/48753_jekon/HumanChar_Doc_draft2.pdf
Seeing as one needs to make a start somewhere, this is the first look at the main character, keeping in mind that much more documented work will go into the design, including variations in outfit, colour, etc, a front and side sketch and a timelapse of a finished concept painting.
One such example of trying more variations that I did today.
Variations will then be looked at for what fits the character best - what is practical for them, what they would want to wear etc.
Here is the rundown on the character’s background
Worked Example – Adventurer
Role – adventurer, freelance deck hand on airships / crews, never had a ship of her own but aspires to one day.
Character traits – curious, a bit cheeky, ambitious, eager, resourceful, looks for opportunities, people person, has a knack with technology without being a full blown engineer/mechanic, loves new gadgets and toys.
Skills – not a great fighter but she can hold her own if need be, quick on her feet, nimble / athletic from all the outdoor work and general ‘adventurer’ stuff she gets up to – exploring caves, running from bad guys and gals. Able to talk her way out of most situations with charm and quick wit and would rather do so than start a bar fight she can’t win.
Other details – early to mid twenties, female, travels fairly light but carries some gadgets and such around that she may need at any given time
Backstory – not much really needed in this case as this is a standalone character without a larger story to fit in to, but for the purpose of the exercise (and because it’s fun)… Has been seeking adventure from an early age, often ending up in trouble of some sorts, resulting in her being very street smart rather than academic. Still quite intelligent. Got her first job on a freighter. After a few months on the job, the freighter was ambushed by ‘Sky Pirates’. Most people look down on them for the obvious reasons of theft and so forth, but given her love of mischief she saw them in a more positive light, although not heroic or anything. Continued on from crew to crew, making many friends and contacts in many ports and cities. She has a disarmingly friendly and down to earth way about her, but not overly flirty or anything like that. Two years ago on a salvaging expedition, her vessel crash landed in a storm and the crew struggled to survive. Her skills saved them all and she began to make a bit of a name for her self, word spreads pretty quickly amongst the various crews as they all frequent the same ports. One final icing on the cake was that they managed to find some treasure and artefacts from a clan in the mountains thought to have perished in the harsh conditions. This clan in their golden age lead the way in airship technology, but their pursuits often differed with the increasingly market driven economy around them, so they withdrew from society to set up their own small set of outposts in the frozen mountains. The character now longs to find them and gaze upon their outposts with the hope that they are still alive and well, with a few hundred more years of advanced gear to play with… Not enough cash to put her own crew together, she takes whatever jobs get her closer to these regions and is often in trouble with captains for wandering off too far, ‘borrowing’ small aircraft and other equipment for searches, but her growing reputation and skill make her too valuable not to employ.
World setting / genre – Similar to earth – mountains, rivers and all that. This character’s particular section of the world is split between a large expanse of massive (200 metres or so) high forest areas and mountainous regions to the north. As there is little in the way of flat terrain to build cities on and the trees are generally too dominant for smaller settlements to simply remove, cultures have adopted a more vertical way of life, living in huts built in and around the canopies with airships being the most common form of mass transit. Other devices such as hang-gliders, small aircraft (think Crimson Skies the game) and the recent advances in jetpacks are becoming more common, though the masses still generally cling to the cheaper options they can afford. Larger cities have cleared trees for more substantial building settlements, but because even they started out smaller, the vertical aspect remains the same and the world’s first floating city is coming into it’s final stages of development. This sort of environment could hopefully lead to interesting artwork and further idea generation without locking it into sci-fi, steampunk, fantasy and similar genres, but rather allow for a mix of them depending on the personal tastes of the artist(s).