The Beloved Heroine, Li Mingxia |
This piece was entirely done in Adobe Photoshop CS1. I had based some of her design on orange lilies. This character was an idea for a main protagonist in a fighting game concept that I had developed the characters and plot for. However, her concept was really the only one I had a chance to finish. This piece is kind of old now (by my standards that is!) and I am certain I can improve upon it now ten-fold.
I've noticed that there aren't really any female protagonists or main characters in fighting games. The only one that I know of is the Dead or Alive series where Kasumi, a redheaded ninja, is the main character. Most female characters in fighting games are just support characters or eye candy for male players (Kasumi is not immune to this and I believe she is one of the biggest sex symbols in Japan). The ones that are supporting characters usually only play minor roles or drive the plot, sometimes in rather cliched ways like being a damsel in distress (wait, why is she in a fighting game again if she can't defend herself?) or a super nice person who turns out to be a destroyer of worlds/not really a villain and so on. There are plenty of female villains in fighting games, but main female protagonists are practically non-existent.
I have always preferred female protagonists over male ones, even when I was a kid. While there are plenty of male protagonists out there that I like (Son Goku of Dragon Ball and Yuri Lowell of Tales of Vesperia come to mind), I prefer female protagonists. Well, at least ones that aren't cliched that is. I don't mind the tough as nails ones as seen in many movies, but I think they are too cliched. My favorite character is probably the tomboyish Shidou Hikaru from Magic Knight Rayearth. She is the cheerful but emotional leader of the Magic Knights. One of my works in progress that I will show in coming posts is inspired by her.
Now moving on from heroines, I wanted to show a more recent piece that I had finished for a class project a few weeks ago. This one is entirely 3D and probably the first image I have made that I feel is on a truly professional level. Here is what it looks like:
My first professional-feeling piece. |
The design for the kachina doll was much harder than I expected it to be. It was difficult to find reference materials on authentic kachina dolls and the clothes and symbols that adorn them. In the end, I based the design off of one I saw online and created original patterns and symbols that I felt fit with the subject matter. So I don't think my piece is really that authentic, but I don't think that was the point. I wanted it to look good and in the end it did. I modeled it in Autodesk Maya and painted the textures in Autodesk Mudbox and Adobe Photoshop. The two materials of the wood and cloth came out very well I think (especially in the hi-res print version).
So there is two of my pieces that I am quite happy with. Next time, I will show one of my works in progress. That one I will probably chronicle over the next several posts so stay tuned!
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