Nagle - MP1 Checkpoint

Planning Sketches and References

My idea to create the Astrological signs as humanoids involved preliminary research. I looked up the attributes linked to Aries and Cancer and used those to make my sketches and choose my color palettes. For example, Aries is usually passionate, sexy, stubborn, and aggressive. Therefore, I drew Aries in suggestive clothing and chose red as the eye-catching color. As for Cancer, they are caring, protective, clingy, and loyal. This suggests softer cold colors, so my color palette will consist of blues and purples.

I did use some references for my drawings and the pictures are above, but otherwise you will find separate blog posts with more details here: Aries reference and Cancer Reference.

After the sketch, I scanned and printed out smaller versions and swatched them. This way I could eliminate color palettes that I initially thought would look good, but look disgusting, and let me find palettes that I wouldn't expect to look nice.

Studio Habits and Product

After all of my preliminary work, I started on the final pieces. First I copied my sketches onto water color paper using a projector and then started with water colors. Once done with the water colors, I went back in with Copic markers, colored pencils, and a chalk marker to fix the colors and add details. The backgrounds are just water color, chalk marker, and a black lining pen.

Curatorial
Ever since I was young, I loved games. Games let people come together, whether it be digital, physical, or imaginative, and, now that I am older, I want to contribute to this social, loving environment. For college, I am going to major in Game Design and wish to be employed at a game company that mainly creates fantasy games; therefore, I am interested in fantasy and wish to study some aspects of it through concept design (the job I am currently considering). I am aware of the zodiac signs and the geek culture of fantasy games and role playing games, and this is where my creations are inspired from. I thought the best way to infuse everything together was to use the Astrological signs and make character designs out of them; this lets me practice in a unique way rather than creating the typical armored, fighting type of character. I am focusing on the fantasy of mythological creatures using humans infused with animals while also practicing concept art.

In my pieces, I used water color, colored pencils, Copic markers, and a chalk marker to create smooth, gradual surfaces with more delicate detailing and colors. The colors transition and are used to flatter and I added multiple layers of color to create shading. I put a lot of lines in the hair and fur and have details in the clothes. Character design is usually rough and light, so water color is usually appropriate for this (also, the lightness can be mystical and emphasize the mystical creatures); then, many artists go back in and line or refine the piece. I am trying very hard to make Aries and Cancer look nice while using media I do not understand (I blame this for being behind... plus I'm a terrible perfectionist). These pieces are appropriate to my idea because a huge part of Game Design is the design of the characters. Making the Astrological signs is practice and an example of character design.

My pieces represent how I imagine Aries and Cancer to look like as a humanoid goat/crab. Each zodiac has its own personality and behavior, so based on those, this is how I perceive them to be. Since my art is intentionally concept art of characters, I made sure the figures were showcased. For instance, Aries seems to be sitting, but the absence of the object makes the viewer focus wholly on the character design, and maybe later she will be placed in an environment. The dominant elements found in the pieces include a very smooth/soft texture, value, and direction. The dominant principles are gradation, contrast, and dominance.

Something I learned is that I thought water color was going to be perfect for my piece, but I ended up covering it with colored pencils anyway. Instead of it being the main media like I thought it would be, it ended up being the construction colors for different media. Which I find interesting. I enjoy the series I set myself up to do for the year, I just hope I get better using the media I want to use.