Web Comic Concept Art - First Character Design Revealed

Finally ready to reveal the first finished character design for our currently developing web comic.

For the full image of this character, and to see the process of creating him, read on.

One of the huge draw for me in co-creating this web comic is the script:  S.G. O'Hagan has created a fantastic story that plays with the archetypes of common super hero comics, manipulating identifiable character types and creating something completely different and far more compelling.

The basis for this character was (obviously) a scientist, but S.G. already had some unique ideas for his look.  Chief among them was his beard: styled to look like the horns on a bull that, to paraphrase our writer, "look like they could gore a motherfucker."

Below are some test sketches, exploring how to convey emotions on a character who's face is mostly concealed by sunglasses and an imposing beard.

Satisfied with the head/face, the next step was designing the body/clothing for the character.  There were a lot of discussions on physique, S.G. though he should be tall and thin, but I wanted to move away from the "scientist" look and further push that idea of the bull: so he's carrying much more bulk, although not exactly an adonis...

While messing around with different designs for a lab coat (y'know, cos he's a scientist...), S.G. suggested we style it like the coats worn by Storm Troopers.  I thought this was a perfect idea, again pushing the character design in a different direction from the norm.

With the most of the character's body covered by a large white coat and thick black gloves, there wasn't much room for expressing his personality through his clothing.  Admittedly, there's not much more to be said for a guy who wears his lab coat like an elite Nazi soldier, however I didn't want what was becoming a striking look to be let down by boring footwear.  Seeing one more opportunity to push this alternative take on the scientist archetype, I tried to design some bad-ass boots to finish off the look.

Put them all together and what do you get?

Hope you like what you see.  Feel free to leave any comments here on the blog or over on Facebook.  Expect more character designs soon.

You can follow S.G. O'Hagan on Twitter, and buy some of his books on Amazon.
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