Try at Character sheet from back

Same way as from the front just used photoshop to make a silhouet and added detail with a brush, i made the back a bit more intricrate than the front as tje front has alot going on already. 

Start on a Character Sheet

So after my lecture today on sculpting i found out we were going to be practacing 3D modelling tomorrow. It was mentioned that a character sheet might be needed, for this reason this evening i did not manage to improve my model sheet, yet i have started on my character sheet, i used Photoshop to create this image, starting with a silhouette base, i outlined my character, then added detail using a low opacity eraser. i hope this will be ok to start making a low poly frame for tomorrow. 

I Plan to add colour to this as soon as i get round to working on the character sheet.

Model sheet with colour

So I added colour to the current model sheets I had drawn. I've only done the model sheets with the hats on, I'm still not too good at adding colour though I am noticeably better than my first attempts of drawing with colour. I am going to ask what Nigel and Lo Tar think would improve these images. 

Model Sheet with hats

This is my model sheet try without colour. I have a problem with one of the models, shown beneath   I am going to ask my tutors next time i am in to see what advice they could give me; and for the work they haven't seen. for the rest of the evening I am going to add colour to my two potential model sheets (unsure weithter they are up to standard as of yet) I will post the coloured images when I finish them, hopefully by the end of today. I am going to do some quick scour of the internet for inspiration. I will upload any images i think have influenced my drawings.

Model Sheet practice

I worked on these face shots today, they are quite simple yet i am going to add some colour to the image tomorrow to see if i can build a nice effect. Before I add colour I want to add the hat accessory to these shots, meaning i will have two model sheets one without a hat and the other with it.

Second Iteration

After working on my first iteration, i decided to try another, to see if my original colour scheme was still my favourite The next colour layout i wanted to work on was this one.

I am still using photoshop as a pose to Corel, however the results seem fine. I did this by using the smudge tool to clean up the image, then started working over with an acrylic brush, finally i added in some exstra detail. (faint scar on face, Old masters symbol on armour and Japanese calligraphy onto the sword)

Regrettably this is the best I can do with my current skill level, I am going to make this my primary iteration and start work on the model and character sheet using this silhouette. I may make changes as time goes on however this is a piece that i am happy with. I am next going to start to illustrate the accessories on the character, scarf, armour, swords, hat, pack, shoes. I will start by doing some research on how these items would look. 

Touching up on Iteration

So after i completed the 8 iterations i chose 1 and decided to neaten the image out. I asked Nigel on any advice on improving my Iterations, he suggested using a smudge tool from corel, however at the moment i haven't got the program. In its place i used Photoshop to clean up the image using the smudge tool.

After using smudge tool (maybe overuse of tool)

Before using smudge tool

1-8 Iterations

I have completed my iterations, I'm not sure weather these are up to standard of the iterations required, I am going to show this to my tutor, and see if he can offer any advice or criticism on these in case I need to improve or change them. Personally I am happy with what i have learnt and achieved while working on these, im normally unskilled in using Photoshop and i think these are some of my best to date.

Choice of silhouettes to iteration

After practising the iterations last night i started looking for my primary silhouettes to work on, i looked through my 100 silhouettes and settled on this one.

I decided I would highlight the the silhouette  before adding colour and detail.

I am going to work through the day adding coulur to a number of these silhouettes this will help me.

• Increase my drawing skill and experiment with brush styles
• Find an appropriate colour scheme for the character
• make any adjustments to the silhouette that i feel would be interesting or beneficial

Practice

I am now looking at iteration of characters and environment practice, so far i have tried a few images, however they never quite look real enough, the characters look blocky and unrealistic, where the environment doesn't feel right with the perspective, i have emailed one of my tutors asking for advice and where i am going wrong with the artwork, i hope i will get a reply soon, so i can practice more before making the iteration sheet.

All the silhouettes

I have now completed my 100 silhouettes, i drew inspiration from the various samurai sword styles,such as Iaedo and kendo, I also drew inspiration from the armour and everyday clothing they would wear. Once i had looked at swords, and outfits i started looking at the other weapons the samurai and ronin would use, spears, wakasashi's, nagata, and bows. These were the primary styles of warfare and combat that the samurai had and used throughout the Edo Period. Finally i started looking at accessories, such as head wear  straw hats  backpacks, and flags all of which made their way into the various silhouettes. 

Now i must decide on which one i should work on improving for my character iteration. My goal is by the end of the day have an outline of what silhouettes to improve and work on.

This was a small character iteration i tried in a lesson, so far this is just a rough idea and primarily practice for the main character concepts. This outline, helped me learn to add colour into my images a concept that i am enjoying and will have to improve over time.

Second hand Research

After doing the first 25 silhouettes, i started doing some second hand research on the internet, primary i have been looking at stances, in primarily kendo, from their i started looking into other sword styles like iaido and other weapon styles, such as nagata, bow stances, and some hand to hand postures.

Once i had a nice range of posses for this character concepts, i started looking at other parts of the project i should look at in this case the armour that samurai and ronin would of used in the Edo period. As i have already quite a few armour photographs in my first hand research I didn't look to deeply into the second hand research when looking for images for armours.

This image will be very useful, when i start looking at how armour fits on the characters.

The final Second hand research, I wanted to look into was my environment images, looking into buildings, scenery and other environment inspiration for when i start working on my environments artwork.

This concludes my second hand research at this point in the project, if i feel i need to do more then i will upload it when time comes.