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MIAD Senior Thesis 2021
PROCESS
For my senior thesis, I've chosen to challenge myself, to learn a skill that will be beneficial to me post MIAD. By gathering research about character design and development, I have created an original character using a creative brief as a constraint. The brief is tailored for a graphic novel and includes character descriptions, a plot summary, project direction and target audience. Using the limited information given I have created a character accompanied by a character model sheet, concept and ideation sketches as well as four full color concept illustrations that reflect the narrative of the novel.
Ideation
This project went through a few ideations before arriving at what you see here. The first version was futuristic but I didn't connect to it like I wanted to. My love for small towns and short coming of age novels growing up inspired the story of Amethyst. My main character, Ami, is a young woman living in a small town. She's well known for her unmatchable garden and delicious vegetables. After receiving a beautiful geode found by the nearby creek, her world changed. Ami wakes dumbfounded to a jungle where her garden used to be. Confused and concerned, She can only assume the unusual gem is to blame for this madness. Ami and her friend Cenn must find a way to stop the ever-growing garden and save the town from the overgrowth.
Project Description
Concept Design
My next step was the actual designing of Amethyst. To the right are preliminary sketches of her. I experimented with different expressions, it's at this point I was trying to develop Ami's personality.
Clothing Design
Moving on to clothing design. Here I used the information that was provided in my creative brief to enhance Amethyst's personality even more. She wears overalls and a large hat. I experimented, trying different clothing choices that she might wear. To the left and below are my exploration sketches. From here I collected all my sketches to create a model sheet.
Character Model Sheet
At this stage I've developed Amethyst's personality and chosen her clothing. The purpose of a model sheet is to help standardize the appearance, poses, and gestures of a character. Using this model, I'm able to continue onto my final illustrations.
The final steps were using the research and the ideation I've collected so far to create the following interesting concept illustrations. I've illustrated four, each showing a different moment in the narrative. I challenged myself, using dramatic lighting and complex compositions.
I made the decision to paint my illustrations grey scale to color, this way I had the opportunity to really solidify the values of the painting.
Below is my process before adding color.
FINAL CONCEPT ILLUSTRATIONS
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