The process of creating a character for a story or series is more complicated than one might think. A lot goes into the process of creating a hero, villain, side character, or whatever may have you and what their role in the story will be, but in my case, the process is quite intricate. So this shall walk you through the process of creating a character for a story series, from conceptualization to screen.
Conceptualization: Typically for villains and rarely for allies, I name them after songs, albums and/or musical groups, like in Hirohiko Araki’s long-running Manga, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. So once I pick a song/ album/ musical group to make a character out of and name them after, it’s time to get to work. For the purpose of this project, I picked out the song “The Sentinel” from Judas Priest’s 1984 album Defenders of the Faith.Gathering Reference Material I: This can be the trickiest part. Now that I’ve selected what I’ll name the character after, I need to create a design that really embodies that name. While I can use the album art of a release from the musical group, or that of the song or album I’m referencing for reference (and I end up doing that for this character), most of the time, the design is mostly influenced by other sources, such as- in this instance- the Pokemon Kadabra and the EVA Unit 01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion.Gathering Reference Material II: The lyrics of the song can also play a part in influencing the character’s design, such as the line in The Sentinel that goes “Across his chest in scabbards rest/ The rows of throwing knives” as well as “The figure stands expressionless”. As we’ll see later, it can also influence their role in the story.The Sketch: At last, with the reference material gathered, the initial sketch of the character is made with all of the references in mind. This sketch isn’t the final design, as it could change, either slightly or drastically once I send it to my computer to finalize the design on Paint Tool SAI, but this will be close to what the final design will be like.Writing their Role in the Story: So the character has been designed, or conceptualized. What will their role in the story or series be like? It takes some planning, but if I can intertwine it with the plot of the story so far, I can make it work.Transfer to Digital: Now, the sketch on paper is transferred to my laptop after taking a picture of it, and this is where the design is finalized. Some elements can change- for instance, the length of The Sentinel’s sword.Color Scheme Selection: But wait! Before we can declare the character complete, we need to give them a color scheme. If I don’t just select one of my own, then I’ll pull a bit from the reference material I used for the design. Color theory is also important, so I don’t want to use too many colors for the body- accents are fine, though.Finish!: And once the colors have been applied, it’s all over. The Sentinel’s creation is complete! He has a design, color scheme, role in the story, the whole works. That ends this process!
Influences/ References
Hirohiko Araki and his manga series “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”
“The Sentinel” from Judas Priest’s “Defenders of the Faith” (1984)
Kadabra from the Pokemon Franchise
EVA 01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion, made by Hideaki Anno
