Character Development
When I think of character development I think of the story that the character is going to be placed in. On the surface that sounds fairly obvious but on a deeper level a character no matter how bizarre or ordinary needs to have its own story as well as the story that will happen around it. There is however exceptions to this rule, occasionally I will come up with a character based on a pose or mood. For example, I was thinking of an amalgam of an elephant and an octopus. I then began to sketch out the details and then draw in the details and eventually came up with the Elepus that is in the left hand corner of this page. So when I begin to develop characters I use my sketchbook as well as my notepad.
Characters in Motion
This motion graphic was made for the Tiny Haven website as a promotional piece. It started with a general sketched idea. Then the story boards were created. Following the story boards, the animation is designed and produced. This motion graphic was created using Adobe Flash CC and converted with the Adobe Media Encoder CC. This motion graphic can also be viewed at tinyhaven.com
Process
Once I have the initial sketch worked out, I scan it and then open it up in Photoshop or Illustrator depending on the style I'm going to use.
Characters
Greetings my name is Malchota, I'm a shock spearman in the Elite Portal Guard. If you click on me I will allow you access to the Nelbauk historical page.
The Nelbauk banner symbolizes power, peace and light. All Nelbaukians recognize this symbol within the Nelbauk nation. There are however eight tribes within the Nelbauk nation. Each tribe has its own symbol and appointed leader. All of the tribes have members in the elite guard as well as their own tribal battle groups. Each tribal leader has a seat in the house of the High Judge. The current High Judge is Naham Malashim.
I am Vorkaughl. I am a Beshandi Warling. If you dare click on me I will take you to the Beshandi Empire page. There you will witness the true power that is wielded by the often maniacal and always hostile Emperor Peshanti Olcola.
This scene depicts the bleakness of the Beshandi landscape. This is a pencil sketch that was scanned into Photoshop.
This strange little creature is from a piece I did entitled Fair Trade. I began with the amalgam idea of a bird with human like qualities. I also will use him as the introduction character on another site I'm developing.
This is Lionard Sheentanus. He is the defender of the Plaxton Cliffs in the southern region of Tiny Haven. He, like Shamgarn, has been warding off the nefarious villains that Bachertach has unleashed on the once peaceful Kingdom of Tiny Haven. This entire piece was done in Photoshop CC.
These Knights came from some sketches I made. The upper right one ended up being used in my Comicon poster. This entire piece was done in Photoshop CC.
This is Zipporah. She is a concept woman for one of the inn’s at Tiny Haven. She would be either the innkeeper or one of the patrons. I originally drew her from a pencil sketch in Illustrator and then I enhanced her in Photoshop. She is currently the intro woman for my graphic design page.
On this particular day, The Flying Norseman finds himself soaring through the strange world of Rakhefet. He is aware that there is another ship soaring behind him, he wonders if the ship is friend or foe. His focus, however is on the bird like creature that has flown up beside him. This creature seems to be quite friendly, The Flying Norseman recalls that this is the Eaglotome that he was told of. As The Flying Norseman peers into the colorful creatures eyes he begins to understand that the Eaglotome truly does have friendly intentions. I did this piece entirely in Adobe Illustrator.
Sarah was out walking her pet Elanoc, when suddenly she felt the need to stop and strike a dramatic pose. Sarah is a character that you might find in the Choose Your Own Adventure story at tinyhaven.com. I started with a pencil sketch of Sarah and some bird concepts. Then I scanned in the sketches and produced the entire painting in Photoshop CC.
Rivkah stops along her journey to wonder if she will ever find Shamgarn. She has been looking for him throughout the plains in Tiny Haven. I started this illustration with a simple pencil sketch. I then scanned it into Photoshop and painted the warrior woman. I designed the background in Illustrator and then I placed the warrior woman into the Illustrator drawing.
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