Progress Updates
I've been intrigued with the lore of the Kitsune lately, so I decided that my hero would be a fox. More specifically a fox who transformed into a human-like form and subsequently forgot the ability to shapeshift.
The kitsune usually have the ability to summon flames or lightning, so it would make sense for my fox hero to have this as his super power. However, I wanted him to use his power in an interesting way, instead of simply blasting his way to victory. I came up with the idea that he could use his flames to control the heat of the furnace, to forge swords.
Reference Links
- http://yokai.com/kitsune/
- http://yokai.com/kitsunebi/
For his name, I wanted something related to nature and fire. So I chose the name "Ashton" because ash can be intepreted as "Ash trees" or the "remains of a fire". I personally like names that have multiple meanings that mix together to represent an aspect or story of the character.
Currently I've started sketching and ideating on paper. I'll soon move on to doing more iterations on photoshop.
24/11/2018 - Rough Sketches
I had an idea that for Ashton, that I wanted him to forge his weapons in the middle of combat using his fire. However, given the nature of his super power, it would require him to also know telekinesis to be combat viable. Or I could simply change his super power to "manipulate metal" but that goes against the spirit of his design. Then an idea struck me, what if the metal he uses in his weapons was a "Shape Memory Alloy" (SMA)? What this basically means is that his weapons change form as he channels the heat from his flames into their cores. As tools and weapons are extensions of the character, the idea of having a transforming weapon that only Ashton can use was appealing to me.
Ashton's weapon would be a sword with a core made of a SMA that changes form depending on how Ashton distributes the heat from his fire power. Since he made the sword himself, over time as he improves himself, the sword will also improve and take on newer forms.
Ashton is a cunning fox, quick on his feet and always on the move. He should have a bit of muscle mass from hammering away at hot metal on the anvil but not too much as that would make him feel bulky and inflexible.
I tried a few small ideas but nothing too major for his outfit.
For the first outfit on the left, it's a basic gi and hakama, however I think the excess fabric from hakama would simply get in his way of combat. For my next idea, I tried samurai armour, however it seemed too bulky and cumbersome for a quick-witted fox to use. I tried a vest and scarf however, given the nature of his profession, this was not very nitty gritty enough as the clean appearance does not give off the "blacksmith" vibe. The last design was an attempt at modern/futuristic clothes with a historic twist but that didn't turn out the way I hoped it would. If anything, it made him look like some sort of weird fighter.
The design elements that I liked, were the goggles, and large leather gloves. These would be useful for protecting his eyes when he is forging his weapons. For my next few sketches I will be experimenting with minimal/light armour.
25/11/2018 - More Rough Sketches
As I iterated upon the sketches, it occured to me that Ashton doesn't have the feel that he is a blacksmith. So I took some inspiration online, tried giving him bare arms. As blacksmiths are beating hot metal endlessly and subject themselves to intense physical labour, it makes sense that they would have big muscular arms. The ones I've seen in art seem to be so massive that they're the kind of people you do not want to mess with. As I've stated earlier, Ashton shouldn't have too much muscle mass, so I would have to strike a nice balance.
I really like the long boots with the baggy pants tucked into them. It kind of resembles a canine kind of leg with the slim lower leg and the thicker top. If I colour the boots and gloves to be a dark colour, it would be referencing the dark paws of a real fox. To reinforce this, the split-toe style of the "Jika-tabi" boots made his feet look a bit more like paws. It has been said that Jika-tabi allow one to be more agile which was fitting for Ashton.
Thinking about Ashton's fast-paced fighting style, I still think he should have minimal armour. Just enough to protect his vitals, and for him to defend himself with. So what little armour he has would be elbow pads, knee pads, chest plate, and vambraces. Anymore than that and it would simply slow him down.
Blacksmiths work in dirty environments, so Ashton's outfit looks a bit too well kept. There should be some burn marks, and weathering. The unrefined appearance really does make him look more like a blacksmith. The torn off sleeves reinfoces his rough looking appearance, perhaps he was frustrated at how they keep getting in the way?
After adding a thick leather utility belt, and a bandana to soak his sweat, I feel satisfied that this is the low fidelity design I wish to refine moving forward.
26/11/2018 - Weapon Design
The example sketch of a transforming weapon I previously shown, looks too heavy for an agility based fighter. I thought about Ashton using a katana as his weapon of choice however, while I personally like katana, I didn't think it was a good choice. I find it's shape to be unflattering and it's also an aristocratic symbol thus it would be ill-suited as a weapon for Ashton. In history, many swords were designed and forged with different design philosophies and purposes in mind. So drawing inspiration elsewhere, I did some rough experimenting with sabres and Chinese dao's.
These shapes were more appealing to me than the Katana as the varying widths along the blade can depict where the centre of gravity (COG) is located. Swords with the COG to the tip allow for more cutting power at the cost of speed, whereas those with the COG closer to the handle allows for faster and more precise strikes. For Ashton, I wanted a fast moving sword, so I a blade that is wider near the handle would be appropriate.
For iteration A and E, their COG are near the tip of their blades. For B and C, their COG seems right in the middle of the blade. It seems iteration D has the best COG. Though iteration E looks the fastest since it has less width and is more light weight, so I will consider this in the next iterations of the sword. The forward curving handles imply that the sword can be used for thrusting, however I will keep the straight handle design as I feel like Ashton's fighting style is more suited to slashing.
I thought about the usage of SMA's in his sword, however it would be hard to depict in an artwork. Additionally I would have to include exposition to explain how his weapon functions. While it certiainly would fit Ashton's character as a blacksmith, I feel it's too difficult to include. So the SMA idea was scrapped.
I imagine the red fuller on the blade to be a place where Ashton would channel his flames into, to empower the sword.
26/11/2018 - Colour Scheme Experimentation and Face sketch
- The dark leather boots and gloves are reminiscent of the dark paws of a fox.
- Vermllion was used for cloth and decorations as a reference to Inari the kami of foxes, whose shrines are usually marked by vermillion torii.
- I didn't use Vermillion on the pants, as that would be more reminiscent of Miko's, so I decided to use an earthy brown colour instead.
- It's hard to keep your shirt pure white when you're a craftsman so for Ashton's top, it should be an off-white.
- His armour is made of steel.
- I've kept much of the colours to be pale, as Inari's white foxes are considered a good omen.
- I think the yellow eyes give him a sort of bestial nature which is fitting considering that he's a fox.
I also did a quick sketch of his face, just to see how fox-like I wanted to make him. The eye shape in the sketch looks just about right as it wasn't too over the top fox-like. I tried adding red-eyeliner and thick black lashes however it was far too intense. I thought about Ashton as a somewhat pragmatic character, so he wouldn't be one to use make-up. Despite this, I feel the red whisker like markings were appropriate as they were a reference to the Kitsune masks from Japan.
I like how the short eyebrows look on his face, so I decided to keep them. I think his hair should be a bit messier to make him a little bit more like an animal, or an unrefined adventurer.
As for the goggles, I referenced the ones used for aviation, as I really like how it looks as opposed to round ones.
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with how he looks, so I'm not going to spend too much time making big changes. Just minor adjustments and he should turn out great.
27/11/2018 - Deciding on the chest armour
Having a bulky plate armour underneath a shirt doesn't offer the most aesthetically pleasing of design choices, nor does it make sense practically. Plate armour aren't very flexible, so it would hinder Ashton's movement. The solution would be some either scalemail, lamellar or chainmail. I find the Japanese lamellar armour to be the most appealing of the choices, as it would be simple enough for me to draw without losing my mind.
Image from Wikimedia.
27/11/2018 - Fox Movement
I wanted to make sure Ashton feels like a pouncing fox when he is in combat, so I decided to study some fox photos. I did some gesture drawings of them pouncing, jumping and running to get a feel for how Ashton would move. I mainly found the photos through google search, pinterest etc. I have to say, I'm an absolute potato at drawing animals, they all look so stiff.
Much of my references come from this link -
https://meowlogy.com/2017/10/02/25-fox-running-photos-pictures/
From this study, I noticed that foxes often hunch when pouncing, and they thrust themselves with both legs. Taking into consideration that my hero has to be depicted using an obvious super power, I came up with this pose.
Ashton is leaping by using both of his powerful legs, and hunching his back like a fox.
30/11/2018 - Working on more poses
I don't have any experience composing artworks, much less drawing landscapes and backgrounds. So I'm somewhat struggling to come up a pose and a setting. I think I may be getting ahead of myself. I haven't drawn the character sheet yet, so I guess I'll get that done first.
I treated the pants as if they were hakama tucked into boots, however upon trying to draw those pleats, I struggled quite a bit. Not was it difficult to draw, it looked terrible as well. I even referenced an image found with Google Images and tried referencing my own hakama in real life. However, the references didn't look as good as I hoped, so I decided to forgo the pleats altogether and simply have 1 front fold and 1 rear fold on each pant leg. The result was more aesthetically pleasing and didn't cost me my sanity to draw.
