Independent Practice Week3:Chris Character Design Part2

Finishing the insect mutated character designs i started to focus on the zombie character designs, first researching into zombies in general. I found having an image of the human skeleton was handy in designing the zombie characters if they have limbs that are so deeply damaged that the bones are shown. I looked at zombies with scars, limbs missing and then remembered the unique zombie characters that i had seen in the television production of The Walking Dead and researched into their designs finding that the zombies can look like zombies but still retain their human physical attributes.

Along with The Walking Dead research i went into researching zombies in games such as Dead Rising, the recently released Dead Island and seeing how the zombie character comes across within the game. Taking away from the research were that the zombies in general are classed majorly on their physical response with the way they walk and talk. But the visuals are showing the zombie aspect through injuries, rotting body parts, bones being visible, blood and hair loss.

I began to design the first zombie character to have distinct visuals which showcase him being classed as a zombie, with such things as a major injury, hair loss, limbs hanging off, shredded or torn clothing, bones being visible and scars. These little pieces of the design, all besides the right chunk of the stomach missing build together the visuals of a zombie as well showing the character was human from the clothing, body and face.

The second design i went with a more experienced zombie in the visuals of him looking like a zombie who had lasted a long time. This i feel is shown through the rough way the body is designed along with the very limited amount of clothing, with the clothing being torn and old in the design. The physical aspect of the design i felt i should make this design showing the fat and body being affected as it wears away along with the wounds of other zombies.

The third design i created the character being in the process of his body wearing away as you see the muscle. I kept the amount clothing visible on the zombie as well to further the realisation of the characters body wearing away. The clothing along with the body is showing visual afflictions as far as showing the characters leg featuring an injury so deep that the bones are visible.

I sent over the three designs for Chris of the zombie character designs and his response had been that i mistook the zombie design description as being literally zombies but instead he had wanted the character to act like zombie more or less being controlled by an insect.

His response had been, "for a 'zombie's I was thinking of a more normal looking human with maybe an insect attached too the top of the spine, sort of controlling the host. Maybe some scars or tears in the flesh from past attacks."

Chris had written that the character he wanted was one who was being controlled by an insect which has latched itself upon the back of the neck of the character and that the character should look like an everyday person but affected by this insect in the form of controlling the character. So i developed a simple design of a character wearing a shirt and trousers and the insects legs wrapped around the characters neck and because of the insect latching itself upon the character, small or large forms of mutation have grown on areas of the characters body.