Over the summer I worked on a fun project. I was approached by a company called Brain in a Jar (http://www.braininajar.co.uk/) and asked if I could design some characters for a game they were working on. I looked into the company and was a bit skeptical, but furthered my talks with the art department head anyway. After getting more information about it, I jumped in. The results are below.
These fun characters began as mere words on a page and I was given the freedom to create them, give them bright color schemes and fun personalities. The process was delightful and I really think that I learned a lot. The little pictures I post here can’t do them justice. This game is due to be released in the UK on Nintendo Wii (exclusively) October 15th and in the US soon after.
These are the early concept drawings. You can see they're all very rough, very movement oriented, not focusing on the design, but more the feel of the character's attitude.
These were the characters early color concepts. They were merely colored straight under the prelim sketches, simply to get a feel for the brightness and vibrancy of the colors I felt needed to be used.
Here are the final designs, as well as headshots for all of the characters. Some of the colors changed from the prelim color process to here. I really enjoyed the creation of these characters and feel like I know each and every one of them.
I know you look at this and see another 'mario kart' rip off, but as my first jaunt into the freelance world, I feel like this is the only kart game. I hope you'll all look for this in your local stores. Support independent game companies as well as independent artists!
