The following updates have been made to my schedule:
These changes have improved my schedule, giving me a clear idea of how to approach the project.
Having completed my final character designs, I decided to ink them and scan them again, because the original pencil scans didn’t contrast well with the templates. Now, the images look cleaner because the ink lineart stands out while the template lineart fades into the background.
When comparing all three designs, I came to the conclusion that they have a similar style, but are distinct enough to stand out. When on a poster together, the cast won’t look like a jarring mashup of random characters from various B-movies. With this in mind, I moved onto the next step: Colour palettes.
Colour palette 1 was my original idea. I already had this palette in mind when designing my characters. The robot would be bubblegum blue, to look like a 50s vehicle or appliance. The scientist would have a soft colour scheme- a white outfit with baby blue accents and green hair, which has a clean, scientific aesthetic. The space marine would have a red palette, to contrast the other characters and communicate bravery.
The other two palettes were created by shifting the hue of the first one. They are both experimental, created as alternatives that could be mixed and matched with eachother. Overall, I prefer palette 1, but the alternative colour schemes for the scientist and robot look good too. I decided to stick with palette 1 for my final iterations of the cast, but I changed the scientist’s hair to purple, to contrast with the other characters.
With the character designs and colour palette complete, the next step is to draw the characters’ faces in detail. To prepare for this, I will first brush up on my drawing skills.
To design the robot, I reused the male figure template I made for the space marine.
Robot 1 reuses the helmet and shoulder pads of Space Marine 3. Once again, it’s a basic design that I decided to use as a starting point, but the aforementioned design elements make it unique.
When designing Robot 2, I decided to completely rethink its aesthetic. Instead of a generic B-movie robot, I would instead create a retrofuturistic robot based on 50s tech, such as vehicles and appliances. This new design would be a plastic bubblegum blue with silver or white accents, instead of a generic dark grey. It would be sleek and fast instead of clunky and slow, but it would retain its 50s charm. I like this design in particular, because it is radically different, but it works well.
Robot 3 is a completely different design. It has a wheel instead of legs and the head is built into the body, to give it a heavily armoured look. While I like this design, it isn’t really what I had in mind for the final iteration.
Robot 4 is another B-movie style robot. It has a lightbulb head, two big antennae and a heavy chest piece similar to the one seen on classic Cybermen from Doctor Who. This is my least favourite design, because it doesn’t look as intimidating as the others.
Robot 5 is the final design. It uses Robot 2 as a base, with a head similar to that of Robot 1. Some small additions have been made, such as handlebars on the body and arms, and a mouthpiece and nixie clock in the head. This iteration of the robot design is my overall favourite, because it combines the best elements from the other designs.
To keep track of my work and set a schedule, I use Trello. Trello is essentially a checklist which allows me to edit and organise all of my tasks with ease. This is extremely helpful for me, because checklists allow me to take a linear approach to my work instead of getting overwhelmed by objectives.
Like the Space Marine, I started designing the Scientist by drawing a template, photocopying it and drawing the details onto it.
Scientist 1 is a basic B-movie damsel in distress, who only wears a skimpy dress, similar to those seen on other B-movie posters. Nothing on her design communicates the idea that she’s a scientist, so I decided to improve this in later designs. I thought this design was too simple, but I used it as a starting point.
Scientist 2 is the polar opposite. She has glasses and a lab coat, but lacks design elements that have a 50s, retrofuturistic or B-movie aesthetic- save for the hairstyle. While I like this design, it doesn’t have enough retro flair for the character I want to create, so I decided to move on.
Scientist 3 and 4 both wear retrofuturistic clothing, and are much closer to the design I had in mind. Ultimately, I prefer 3, but I also like some design elements of 4, such as the shorts and high heels.
Scientist 5 is my final design. She has the hair from 2 and the base costume of 3, but with some key changes. She now wears high heels instead of boots, and the skirt is now transparent plastic with shorts underneath, to further push the retrofuturistic aesthetic. She also has a utility belt with an atom logo and lab equipment including goggles and liquid vials to emphasise that she is a scientist.
I have decided to incorporate elements of 50s tech into my robot design, such as appliances and vehicles. This is a significant departure from my original idea of a generic B-movie robot, and it will make the designs more colourful and interesting. It will be a radical change, replacing the original idea of a clunky, silver, B-movie robot, with a sleek, bubblegum blue, retrofuturistic robot.
I started designing my space marine character by drawing a male figure template. In the first image, there were some minor problems with the anatomy. The arms were slightly longer than the legs and I didn’t draw the ribcage, so I fixed these in the second image. I then photocopied the template and made multiple spacesuit designs.
Suit 1 was my starting point, and includes many of my favourite details, including the shoulder pads, tube arms, gloves, knee pads, belt and ray gun holster.
Suit 2 introduces crucial design elements such as a badge, boots and a bigger helmet to showcase spectacular greaser hair.
Suit 3 is a more experimental design. It is heavily armoured with a sci-fi military aesthetic. While I like the design, it strays away from the B-move spacesuit aesthetic I want to create. However, I will reuse some of the details when designing the robot, because they might work for an intimidating robot villain.
Suit 4 is another alternative design. It has an elongated helmet and a backpack for an oxygen tank. While I like this design, it takes away from the B-movie simplicity of suit 1 and 2, and doesn’t allow for the big greaser hair of suit 2.
Suit 5 is my final design. It includes the best elements of 1 and 2, along with the extra helmet details of suit 4. I will finalise this design when I have designed the other characters and will explore colour palettes for the whole cast and the background.
I have written a basic narrative and character bios for the story the posters would be based on. The reason for this is because a narrative will give me the context to develop the characters and setting depicted in the posters, so they will look stylistically consistent. Without a narrative, the characters may look random and out of place.
None of these are final, and are all subject to change.
The story takes place in a futuristic city on an alien planet. A scientist is being hunted down by an unstoppable killer robot, and the space marine must protect her. However, the scientist is actually a shape-shifting mutant, and the robot is programmed to hunt down dangerous creatures inside the city, which causes it to target her.
This may be too convoluted for just a poster design. If so, I might explore alternative poster designs that show the scientist in monster form, or subtly hint that the scientist is the monster. Otherwise, I will scrap the idea and develop a simpler narrative using my characters.
The space marine:
A courageous war hero who is willing to put his life on the line to save the lives of innocent people, using only his quick thinking, his nerves of steel and his trusty ray gun. He wears a retro space suit.
The scientist:
She’s a scientist. Which field is she an expert in? All of them! She’s a stereotypical movie scientist who knows everything. She also appears to be a damsel in distress- that is, until she transforms into a terrifying monster, destroys the robot, becomes the real villain of the story and goes on a destructive rampage through the city. She wears retrofuturistic clothing.
The robot:
An unstoppable killing machine that cannot be dispatched with conventional weaponry. It only has one mission; destroy all monsters. Design based on clunky, retro, tin can robots such as Robby the Robot. However, unlike these robots, this one is bulkier and covered in armour. It has a vaguely military aesthetic, but it appears alien and its purpose is unknown. It has no facial features, only the circuitry and interior contraptions, which can be seen through a glass window reinforced by metal.
To begin the project, I sketched a set of poster drafts, to get a basic idea of what I intend to design. I started with this poster, but my tutor said I put too much time and effort into it for a sketch. In trying to make a clean looking image, I was unable to quickly produce multiple ideas.
To remedy this, I made 3 quick sketches. While these may not look as clean as the first one, they are able to convey more interesting ideas.
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