nice start, i like your linework... but what exactly is she supposed to be? i'm not getting much more than a "generic future space marine" vibe from her so far... i'll be interested to see where you take it though, maybe push some more extreme and interesting shapes in there, think about what she's equipped with and why, generally bring the whole idea together and make it really stand out from the crowd!
Well, for awhile I've been playing with the idea of a female (fist) fighter. I understand what your saying though with whole "generic Future space marine" thing.
welcome to polycount, robbie, hope you stick around. personally i think you should be able to turn out a pretty kick-ass entry with a few iterations in the right direction. while MoP is right, she's looking mightily generic right now, he's also right to notice the quality of your linework. you've already got a very workable design style established for this character, the important thing now is to push it into the proper direction. you'll accomplish this chiefly through developing the silhouette, the color palette, the facial features, and finally, with a well placed detail or accessory or two.
the reason you see so many people doing silhouette studies is because, especially in the world of game art, its one of the most critical factors for identifiability and almost always a hallmark of a strong character. and strong characters are what this competition is all about.
so to help her become a strong character, i think you can still keep your initial idea of her being a fist-fighter, but just push it to more of an extreme. she can't just be any old fistfighter, she has to be the very best. not just one of 12 characters you can select at the start screen of a fighting game, she needs to be the super-secret boss you fight against for 5 seconds and then die, cursing how unfairly over-powerful she is. she needs to be that kind of character, dig?
so to that end, the silhouette needs some points of interest. accentuating her feminine characteristics is a given, and giving her some sort of very identifiable and interesting hairstyle will help as well.
i suggest looking at fashion stuff for inspiration, there--some designers get, really, really out there when they introduce a new lineup, it's very ripe for picking out an unusual outfit, hairstyle, or makeup design. and since you know most gamer-types are never in a million years going to see where you finched it from, you're in great shape!
another easy and straightforward way to help this design would be to make her gauntlets much the same as they are now, but possible twice as large. i'll invoke the comparison to fighting games again, because i think it's instructive in how to create interesting, iconic characters with indelible silhouettes.
so give her a pair of gauntlets to end all gauntlets, some sort of other gimmick to go along with it, some really rad hair/makeup and a face to 'make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window,' to quote Raymond Chandler, and you'll be solid. though it's hard to say without seeing a portfolio from you, i'd like to think you're up to the challenge! keep us posted.
Replies
keep it up
Any suggestions are welcome.
the reason you see so many people doing silhouette studies is because, especially in the world of game art, its one of the most critical factors for identifiability and almost always a hallmark of a strong character. and strong characters are what this competition is all about.
so to help her become a strong character, i think you can still keep your initial idea of her being a fist-fighter, but just push it to more of an extreme. she can't just be any old fistfighter, she has to be the very best. not just one of 12 characters you can select at the start screen of a fighting game, she needs to be the super-secret boss you fight against for 5 seconds and then die, cursing how unfairly over-powerful she is. she needs to be that kind of character, dig?
so to that end, the silhouette needs some points of interest. accentuating her feminine characteristics is a given, and giving her some sort of very identifiable and interesting hairstyle will help as well.
i suggest looking at fashion stuff for inspiration, there--some designers get, really, really out there when they introduce a new lineup, it's very ripe for picking out an unusual outfit, hairstyle, or makeup design. and since you know most gamer-types are never in a million years going to see where you finched it from, you're in great shape!
another easy and straightforward way to help this design would be to make her gauntlets much the same as they are now, but possible twice as large. i'll invoke the comparison to fighting games again, because i think it's instructive in how to create interesting, iconic characters with indelible silhouettes.
so give her a pair of gauntlets to end all gauntlets, some sort of other gimmick to go along with it, some really rad hair/makeup and a face to 'make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window,' to quote Raymond Chandler, and you'll be solid. though it's hard to say without seeing a portfolio from you, i'd like to think you're up to the challenge!