Original Forest Dweller
Graeme's original design document included an image of what the protagonist should look like, so I used this as a reference for the concept art of the character.
Arrow Catcher is a PC game focusing on the adventures of "The Forest Dweller" as he traverses hostile lands.
The team was comprised of four friends working on the project after classes. The original game document was created by Graeme Horton for DIG3043 Evolution of Video Games at the University of Central Florida. The main game mechanic focuses on swapping between top-down and side-view perspectives, so that players need to be able to work with both angles. As the artist for the project, it was my job to balance the assests for both viewpoints so that they can look like they are from the same game as well as balance my time creating double assets.
Preliminary Drawings
Using the scale and design of the character, I developed some rough sketches. These drawings were liked by the team, but we decided we wanted the character to feel more distinct.
More "Bird-Like"
I referenced images of birds and bird skulls to make the Forest Dweller have a more bird-like shape, specifically in the legs and in the arms. I wanted the whole character to resemble a bird, to move away from the idea of poaching and wearing a bird skull as a trophy.
Forest Dweller Color
Once I moved the design into a space the team liked more, I began refining and working with color. The green and neutral colors came from wanting the character to camoflauge in with the forest, while the bird skull allows him to be unique and stand out during gameplay. Another detail I was trying to figure out was if I wanted the character to have sleeves or not on the poncho. While the sleeves gave him a more bird-like shape, the movement of the poncho is more interesting without them.
Forest Dweller Final
The team decided on no sleeves and I created the final concept art for the character design.
Test Sprites
I now had the task of turning the character from full drawings to small pixel sprites. The team decided we liked the look of pixel imagery and wanted to make the game in that style. I played with various sizes and simplifications of the character until I reached something we all liked.
Rough Animation Melee Attack
With the sprite size finalized, I began to create animations. I created rough animations that would be shared with the team for feedback.. This is a rough animation for the side melee attack.
Melee Attack (Side-View)
After the feedback and adjustments, I created the final animated sprites. This is the side-view melee attack final sprite.
Melee Attack (Top-Down)
Since the game has two perspectives, I also created animations for the same actions from a top-down view. The challenge with this was keeping the proportions of the Forest Dweller the same. Once the rough animations were checked by the group, they were finalized.