Support Sketches: Character Orthographic Views Development

A few days ago Ruben emailed me three of the character orthographs, the spaceman, the scientist and the scientists assistant.

The Spaceman


The Scientist


The Scientists Assistant


They looked more or less fine, however I felt that there were just a few small adjustments to make before modeling them. The only reason for me being picky is that I know that the 3D models won't be that different from the orthographs, which means that if there is any mistake, it will still be there in 3D.

The main concern was in the side view of the spaceman. The top half of his body armour was looking too thin. I too was having trouble with the side view when I was doing the first designs several weeks back, but I kind of wanted the proportions of Buzz Lightyear.

Basically the helmet in our spaceman is supposed to be stuck all around the neck of the suit and not squished inwards, to where the neck of the guy in the suit is. Anyway we all agreed that the side view needed to be adjusted, so I had another go at sketching the side view.

I started with just a generic figure.

Then drawing the space suit over the top. It still wasn't looking quite right.

I had a few more attempts...

...and I think I got roughly what I was looking for in the last drawing (far right).
Although the angle of the picture is slightly off, I think this is the best so far. I made a few other adjustments. His legs are straighter and he is leaning forward slightly to counter balance the canisters on his back. I just need to draw it a bit neater now.

While I was in a drawing sort of mood I went ahead and had a go at drawing the scientist. There isn't really anything wrong with the original. The only difference when I drew it was that I drew on the skeleton. The only way that helps is that I know exactly where the legs joint to the body, but I'll probably just stick with the original anyway.


Now the assistant. Again, there wasn't much to adjust, but I thought that the legs were going too straight up. Something about the pose looked kind of awkward. I could be wrong, but maybe second opinion? So I angled them going inwards a bit. Also in the side view, I straightened the back a bit as well.

I'm still not quite sure about the assistant. If anyone else (not just studio members) can give some feedback on the drawings, it would be much appreciated.

A Flock of Pixels.