Character Designs - Ashley - Part Two

Ashley in Colour
Ashley's Expression Sheet
Ashley's Head Turn

Ashley's Turn Sheet

Here's the last of the character designs for Ashley. This is all finalized work from the rough - The turn sheet, the head turn, the expression sheet, and the colour. I did these on slightly bigger sketchbook paper - 9X12, save for the colour which I did in my regular sketchbook because the paper was better for colours. They're in non-photo blue with mechanical pencil for the lines, and the colour was done with gel pens, prismacolour markers, and prismacolour pencil crayons.

We'll start with the turn sheet. I do a different turn sheet for every outfit, depending on the variation. This one needed a full turn because it was completely different from the basic outfit I usually draw her in, but if the outfit changed by, say, she took off her hoodie and the only thing I needed to change was her shirt, same pants, I wouldn't do a full turn, just a half one of her waist up. Actually, this outfit does change a bit in the comic, with addition of a life-jacket, which I did just a rough sketchbook turn for. But I'll show that with the other extras. Most animation turns require a three quarter front and back as well, or in place of the full front and back. I prefer to do the fulls because I think they cover more, without any unecessary extras. Plus, drawing the full back is hard, and practice makes perfect. I start with a basic front sketch, then add in my horizontal lines when I'm sure it's the size and placement I want. I do the rest based on those lines, and make changes along the way until it's perfect. This is probably not a good system, as it involves a lot of eyeballing, but it works for me.

Next I do the head turn, which is pretty much the same. I start with my basic sketch, then do the horizontal lines, then follow them for the rest and make changes. With the head turn I do a three quarter shot instead of a full back or a three quarter back. I do this because I think three quarters for the face is especially important, since it's what you see so much, and because for a character like Ashley, the back of the head is very simple and doesn't really need a close-up. I got it pretty much down with the full body turn. If a character has something important or complicated on the back of their head, then I'd show it. I always have rougher sketches of stuff like that if I need them. I also have roughs of her right profile as well, because there's some difference with her bangs and earrings on that side - she has only two pieces to her bangs and two earrings - if the character was the same on both sides I wouldn't bother.

I must confess - this expression sheet is actually old. I did this about a year ago, for a portfolio, and used it because my style hasn't changed much and I was happy enough with what I'd done. Everything else is new. My only gripe is that the drawings are small. Anyways, for most expression sheets in animation they require at minimum five basic expressions - neutral, happy, angry, sad, and surprised. I've of course done millions of expressions for Ashley, but these basic ones for a finalized sheet are good for me. I like to do expressions as warm ups or when I can't think of anything else to draw, starting with these five and variating from there. I'll probably end up doing another sheet for Ashley in the future, I'm never happy with these for long.

And finally the colour. I'm not sure how necessary this was, but I like to have coloured models around just in case. She'll most likely appear in colour in the cover so it'll be usefull then. I just do a basic neutral standing pose and expression. This also helps to give me a solid idea of the texture and details of her outfit, things that might get missed in turn sheets, since they're mostly about shapes. This wonderfully highlights my constant struggle to find the perfect colours for jeans. I wanted these jeans to look old and faded, I think I did a solid job. I'm happy with them.

So that's it for Ashley. Next, the same things except for Daimon, the other main character. Thanks!

Production Art 1 - Character Design Roughs - Ashley

(Ashley Roughs)
(More Ashley Roughs)
(Ashley Costume Roughs)

Hi! The first thing I do after roughing out my comic is production art - character designs, location designs, object designs, and anything else that needs designing, as well as shade testing. I think most people do this before starting any comic stuff at all, but I prefer to wait until I have my pages roughed and script finished because that gives me a better idea of exactly what I'll need to be designing. Of course, you should always have a good idea (a finished, sketched idea) of what your main characters, locations, etc should look like before you start the comic.

I started with characters because I like character designing, and because I already had a lot of stuff already for these characters, all I really needed to do was costume design. I'll show you the base designs for this character next week, this week I'll just show my rough plans. I did these in my sketchbook, with minimal reference. Just enough for the clothes. I've been drawing this character for such a long time that I don't use much reference for her when I'm just doing basic stuff. For clothes and outfits, I like to use Polyvore.com It's good for really simple outfits like this one, but not very useful for more creative stuff, and any kind of mens clothing.

My characters have "default outfits" that I use for art and pin-ups, and when I run out of ideas. But I try not to have them wear the same clothes all the time. I think first of the environmental requirements when designing an outfit. For this one, we're going to be in a lake on a cloudy day. So it would probably be cold and damp. But not too cold, since it's not winter or fall, so no coats. So that leads me to a basic hoodie and pants. Ashley is a very basic character when it comes to outfits. She has personal touches, (like the belt) but is overall pretty usual, which makes finding reference for her easy, since all I have to do is go to the mall. She's the type who always wears jeans, so jeans were a must for the pants.

Finally I had to pick shoes. That's where you see the most variation on the sketches. Ashley usually wears converse shoes, (or at least they look like converse. I'm not a logo person.) but I thought they might be a little too thin for walking around damp forest. Also, they looked a little strange with the way her jeans flared out - the way they scoop back in makes her jean bottoms drag on the ground, which would get them wet and muddy, and I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. UGH. So I also considered putting her in boots - I came up with a really basic boot design when I was doodling a winter outfit for Ashley. After some reference, I found the design I had looked a lot like UGGs... UGH. But, it fits well enough. I imagine these of course being a much better version, with good soles and warm fuzzy insides and you get the picture. And I stuck the tops of her jeans in her boots, like she would in winter. I ended up liking this a lot better, so it was the one I went with.

I also did a quick extra sketch of what Ashley would be wearing under her hoodie - not necessary but I like to know, just in case. The rest of the little details, like the stripes on her hood and the roundness of her belt buckle were just last minute things I added in to differentiate this outfit from her other ones.

Once I knew which outfit I wanted, I did a couple pages of rough Action Sketches to test her out. I did this to get a feel of how she moves in this outfit, and what she looks like in it, to see if it really suited her. It's like when you see something you love in a store that seems totally you, and then you put it on and its all wrong. Characters have that too! I stuck with fairly basic action poses, and tried to add some in from the thumbnail panels. I tried to get a variety as well - Action doesnt always literally mean... well, action. It basically means dynamic, interesting, with personality. Not Neutral Standing Poses. So I got some of her moving, but also sitting, and standing with attitude.

The outfit came out fitting like a charm. I could imagine exactly how she would move in it in my head, and the only thing I had doubts about - the boots, came out great. They reminded me of the boots all the characters had in How to Train Your Dragon, how huge and fuzzy they were and they just stomped in them. I really loved that.

Next, I moved on to finalizing my clean designs - my turn sheet, expression sheet, and head turn. But, I'll save that for next time! Thanks!