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Character Sheet for Video Game

The goal of this project is to make a 3rd Person video game with a female protagonist. I am developing the character at this stage, before I start modeling, because I have to know their size, looks, anatomy, interaction, background story, etc.
The player character is only one small part of the general gameplay. If you are interested instead on game development and 3D production pipeline, click on these case study links:

Guidelines for Real Time

Establishing guidelines for a real time 3D production pipeline. Research, One Page Design, developing environment, characters and programming interaction.

Developing 3D Pipeline

Writing a 3D production pipeline for render time using pre-production, production, and post-production, including modeling, VFX, and compositing.

After my research is done and read the whole project's documentation, I'm in the position to gather references. Once I have a respectable amount of information, I can start drawing sketches and experimenting with the look of my protagonist, because I know:

• What she is going to look like
• Her background story
• Her role in the general dynamic of the video game, and
• What she is going to be doing, including her acting.

Here you can see some captures of her placeholder model at the block out phase, already interacting with assets inside the game:

These are the steps I'm following to develop the character sheet for this character:

Silhouettes

This step makes a character recognizable:

Poses sheet

A Poses sheet showing the most likely body‑stress situations during interaction:

Expressions sheet

An Expressions Sheet with likely facial deformations:

Clothes and gear sheet

Cloth and Gear Sheet to know what she is going to put on and use most of the time:

Variations

The Variations sheet gives you information about her as an individual in parallel realities:

Turnaround

Drawing a turnaround teaches you how to understand the character's foreshortening, before drawing Orthographic Views or Concepts:

Modeling block out

These sheets give me essential information about my character. Without them, I would not know her and couldn't imagine her in perspective or in a physical world. Only after Pre‑Production is ready, I can be certain that my production artwork is going to work out and be effective.
This is an example of modeling a block out for her body:

The phases for this character's block out are:

• Sculpting and retopologizing in ZBrush, ZSpheres, Dynamesh, ZRemesher
• Importing into Maya for rigging, skinning, and
• Importing into Unreal Engine for retargeting motion capture inside the level.

You can make an effective implementation only when counting on a finished pre‑production.
Thanks to the information collected during the visual development of this character, I know that I am going to have to:

• Skin her clothes
• Make 2 hair versions
• Model what props in what order
• Rig and skin her using what methodology, and
• Select what motion captures match best to her acting.

I can make these decisions now because I know my character.
Click on these cards to know more about character development in particular and assets in general:

Digital Painting for Concept

Using digital painting as a technique for rendering concept artwork, using hand painted layers, blending modes and compositing principles.

Live Portrait & Nude Drawing

Live portrait and nude drawing and sculpting samples from different workshops in Berlin and Barcelona, using different techniques, including wooden pen.

Sketching Exercises

Sketching exercises made with pencils, using photographic references to improve drawing skills. Showing landscape, architecture, still life and process.

Level Layout for Video Game

Drawing a Level layout for a video game as part of the pre production process, using CAD floor plans and elevations and blocking out the level in 3D.