My journey at Animum School

Introduction

It's been quite a journey to reach this point, but I've finally given my creative side a chance and ventured into concept art and I'm really grateful for it.

Here are some of the projects I worked on while attending the character concept art master's program at Animum Creativity Advanced School: a cartoon character design, a realistic character design, and a style change exercise. Hope you like them!

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Shandy: the big boss

I had to choose between several proposed briefings for this character design, and I absolutely loved Shandy's. She's an empowered woman and a morally questionable character, leaning towards a villain.

Initially, I drew inspiration from the typical cold boss archetype, like from The Devil Wears Prada. However, I ended up giving her a more modern twist, exploring current hairstyles and aesthetics to give her a unique style that also showcased her character.

Creating the expression sheet was the most enjoyable part of the process. Sketching Shandy with different expressions, actions, and gestures is what truly brought the character to life and helped me fully understand the real approach I wanted to give to the character beyond the briefing.

My biggest struggle during the process was choosing a color palette. I had several options that seemed to work, but none felt quite interesting enough. In the end, I opted for a bolder choice, and I was thrilled with the result.

David: the hermit

Once again, we had to choose between several briefings for this character design project, and David's really caught my attention because he strays from the typical protagonist. 

This character is depicted as a quiet, intellectual, serious, and calm monk, whose years of living isolated in a monastery have gradually driven him a bit mad (I loved that detail).

"He lives alone, without electricity, and survives on the meager resources the land provides. He hasn't seen anyone in over 10 years since the last monk living there died. A few cats are his only companions. David wishes to die peacefully in his monastery and has no desire to see or be with anyone."

In the briefing, it’s mentioned that the character lives in solitude with only a few cats for company. So, I explored the idea of adding a cat next to him in several of the initial silhouettes. This turned out to be a great idea to show his personality through his interaction with the animal, while also giving him a certain touch of madness.

During my search for references to develop the monk, I came across the wonderful art of Filipe Pagliuso, who created a series of character designs based on The Name of the Rose. His work truly inspired me.

Changing art styles

Here’s the last project in my entry which was an incredibly fun exercise.

The premise was to first choose two characters from different media: I picked Astarion from Baldur’s Gate, and Spinelli from Recess.

Then, we had to choose completely different styles to adapt these characters into: I used the cartoony style of Danny Phantom and the distinctive look of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse respectively.

Even though I might not have fully captured the essence of the chosen styles, I had a great time, and I think the results turned out pretty cool and interesting.

And that wraps up my entry for this year's The Rookies!
Hope you enjoy it!