Dichotomous Character project Master Post

The Dichotomous character project, like the Sentry Turret before it, is something I deem a personal failure. While this is a project in which I learned an extraordinary amount in terms of not only character design but software as whole, I still did not meet the final requirements of the project by handing in a high-to-low-poly baked character.

The inspiration was based around the idea of a smaller, feral child being the guardian or protector of a larger, naive beast, being led through the more treacherous parts of the world. The original designs were based around this dynamic, one that has interested me for a long time.

The Child, or 'Protector', started in his first few sketches as this wild shaman-like character, with a horned beak mask that I loved the idea of.

As I began experimenting with the design, I started to explore how he could look as part of the narrative. I shot out designs based around different vocations the boy could have- I played around with the idea of him being a miner or a worker, even more knight-like armour to describe his job as a squire. I kept coming back to the Shaman idea though, focusing on the design of his staff, which evolved to have a lantern on the end, to suggest he is 'guiding' the beast, pulling a thematic throughline into his design.

When I started developing what would be his final look, however, I started subtracting elements. As it was my first time in Zbrush I didn't want to overwhelm myself and go overboard with elements of the design that would be too tri costly, time consuming or above my skill level. As a result I removed the mask and the more feral look for a cleaner one, as these were things I could edit later and add in if need be.

This was the look I settled on. Unfortunately I pulled too much away from the design and ended up losing alot of what made the original one compelling in any way- without the mask, the complex patterns and the sprawling hemp cloth, the Protector came across as just a generic civilian with a lantern. The grit of the original design was completely lost.

As my first ever ZBrush model, I'm actually quite proud of the high poly, despite the bland design. The face and baggy trousers were, I feel, quite strong for first attempts. I learned a lot from modelling this as well, especially in terms of the software itself. If anything positive is to be taken from this project, it is that it sparked my interest in ZBrush.

The low poly went significantly less well. Unfortunately due to personal issues during this particular project I ended up taking far, far too long on the high poly model and didn't even bake the high poly down. I also only managed to make a very basic texture, which was more of a placeholder than anything. I did get to rig the character though, so I was happy to see that he worked and moved properly without any drastic glitches or issues.

After I presented my work in a formative presentation, I got a lot of strong feedback, particularly on the core design of the character,and how neutered and boring it had become over the course of the project. I couldn't fix the 3D model or textures in time for the critical presentation, but I took the feedback on board, and addressed the complaints of the formative assessment by redesigning the character with no restraints and just having fun with the design, evoking what I originally wanted from the character.

This was the best thing to come out of the project, as well as the most valuable learning experience. Limiting myself out of fear of a new software, format or type of art is not only detrimental to the quality of the work I produce, but also limits my ability to actually learn. Learning to have more confidence in my work, and dive head-first into an unfamiliar work process and understanding that it's okay if I don't get it right the first time round, just take the criticism it get and use that to build again, but better. It seems obvious and a little silly, but I was so scared of getting things wrong that I'd end up producing uninteresting work anyway, and not learning as much as I could in the process.