Kristen Maslanka's Fantastic Realities

I am ever a fan of Historical Drama's and I find a particular fancy for those with excellent costuming. I've been enjoying watching Versailles. Most of all for the fantastic acting and witty script. However, one character (Philippe 1, Duc d'Orleans ) is a favorite in history for me so I was delighted to see him brought to life on the screen thus! I couldn't help but combine my appreciation for the show with my love for portraiture. I've been studying many baroque portraits as of late and I'd lend my prominent inspiration for this piece to Van Dyck and his work.

In the post-apocalyptic world I'm designing for "Skip to my Loo" those that live within boundaries live in an anarchist society. Everything from antique stores and military surplus stores to expensive brand stores have been abandoned and thus are free for pillaging. During gameplay, this is an element that will distinguish what type of allegiances and priorities npc's, enemies, and more will have.  Those with the protection of larger groups are more likely to prefer image and fashion overdressing for survival etc. The player character gets to wear anything they find. Will you go for protection, or will you go for showmanship?

We've all had those moments: You have an idea, a great idea but it's not yet visceral. Maybe it's an emotion or a vague image, but the more you try to find it the more you come up with new ideas and none of them end up on the page because you're not sure which to start with! While that a great start, it's not very helpful for solidifying a concept. When I run into issues like that I just sketch. Messy or no, I get it onto the page and see what I can. I explore the character through the drawing and compare it to that hint of an idea I started with. Ironically I learned this through storyboarding- you won't know if a camera angle will or won't work until you sketch it out and see it. The same applies for me for character design. In this case, I have a character who is insane. I know that I want her to have a poor relationship with technology, but I'm not certain if I want her to have embraced her enslavement by it, or completely left it behind and ...