This was a University project focusing on creating character concepts. I decided to go for a post apocalyptic theme but I wanted to strive from the main type of concepts and focused on a tribal version. Initially started with research on Pinterest to see the normal post apocalyptic concepts along with the varying styles of tribes. I was amazed by the broad difference in style between tribes but also mesmerized by their body paint and tattoos. They really added a lot of drama to their look probably to make them seem more fearful for any opposing tribe. Creating mood boards helped brings all my initial ideas to one screen but I couldn't quite visualize my fighters final form. So I opted to photo bash to see what type of colours and materials sit the best.
The next stage was to figure out this fighters silhouette as this will what you see from a far. It also helped me decide what type of fighting style/weapon he would use. Using grey scale isn't the traditional method for silhouetting but I wanted to show how the materials would divide up body.
I then moved on to his mask design. In the end i didn't give him a mask as i believed for an archer, which was his main fighting style, it would reduce his field of vision and although menacing to be confronted with it really wasn't practical when fighting.
I wanted to give this archer an unique bow he created himself from foraged parts. At the beginning of the semester we took a trip to the local museum with it having some great examples of African spears which I wanted to incorporate in this bow design. Before I focused on the details I concentrated on the main design of the bow but was always thinking of the practicality of his bow. Making sure to not make it too large and unwieldy or too small and not have enough power. I ended up on a design that combined both characteristics. This bow would be similar to a recurve bow to provide big power but could be reduced in sized with large joints on the handle. I wanted to include some blades to make the bow a multi purpose weapon but since it would need to fold and be on his back , possibly rolling around, I opted to just give him a knife that he can switch to if needed.
The final concept met my initial key points of creating a post apocalyptic African fighter. I believe his poisoned arrows are his strongest feature because it really increases your fear for his killing abilities. His lower body is wearing military trousers with the crotch and knee pads which I think is more believable for a active fighting style to have more practical trousers. Showing his body ink was important but again I was thinking about the real world practicality of just wearing body paint in an apocalyptic environment and it just wasn't justifiable with a intelligent fighter like this one. For this reason hes wearing a poncho which provides warmth whilst showing his body ink and gives him the flexibility to move quickly. On top of this sits a rugged backpack wear his arrows and bow attach.
Have a look at the entire project breakdown.