Concept Art - Character Design

I began with my character description from the 'Dungeons and Dragons' game [1] with additional information that I had decided on previously (such as their backstory and individual appearance). My design needed to include: half-elf appearance, piratical themes, roguish clothing and some weapons (a rapier or daggers)

Inspiration came from recent playing of the video game 'Dishonored' [2] (a game in which you play as an assassin in a fictional city) which the character designer, Cedric Peyravernay, and art director, Victor Antenov, based on steampunk and neo-victorian ideas [3] [4]. In particular, I like the military style of the clothes [5] so I used these in some of my designs.

The initial sketches I made were to establish their facial appearance and some ideas on how the clothing might look. I also researched some images of rapiers [6] to better understand how to draw them.

I am pleased with my attempt especially my use of colour as I tried to give each different design a unique colour scheme, Design 1 has the initial piratical look from the loose shirt and wide belt which give a co-ordinated look. Options 2 and 3 are most inspired by the 'Dishonored' game art, using more Victorian clothing shapes and the darker colours worn by an assassin. Options 4 and 5 look more like the traditional style of the 'Dungeons and Dragons' characters [7], a more middle-aged look that fits in better with the game's themes.

By exploring several different style options, I now have a better idea of how my character should look and the practicality of different clothing ideas. However, I want to pursue both Options 1 and 3 so it will be a difficult decision!

References
[1] Gygax and Arneson 1974
[2] Bethesda 2012
[3] Peyravernay 2016
[4] Antenov 2012
[5] Peyravernay 2014
[6] Pinterest 2016
[7] Hasbro 2016


Bibliography
ArtStation. 2016. ArtStation - Cedric Peyravernay. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artist/cedricpeyravernay. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

ArtStation. 2016. ArtStation - Dishonored-Elite Research, Cedric Peyravernay. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9NzlO. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Classes | Dungeons & Dragons. 2016. Classes | Dungeons & Dragons. [ONLINE] Available at: http://dnd.wizards.com/dungeons-and-dragons/what-is-dd/classes. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Dishonored Characters Art - Pictures - Game Pics - Images. 2016. Dishonored Characters Art - Pictures - Game Pics - Images. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.creativeuncut.com/art_dishonored_a.html. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Pinterest. 2016. 1000+ images about d&d insp on Pinterest | LARP, Costume and Swords. [ONLINE] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/tocsidiser/dd-insp/. [Accessed 03 December 2016].

Wikipedia. 2016. Half-elf (Dungeons & Dragons) - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-elf_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons). [Accessed 03 December 2016].

YouTube. 2016. The Art of Dishonored - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtLfj6lQeJE. [Accessed 03 December 2016].