Character Concept

My concept for the character I want to create a 2D Splash art illustration of comes from something I created in my first year of uni.

Base Inspiration – First Year

In my first year I did a development log for a game I was going to make, and ended up making that game. I called it Archemy, after the main character who was an alchemist!

The character himself threw potions as an ability, to grow plants and solve puzzles. But I wanted to take this idea for my final project and run with it as I really loved it and couldn’t do it justice in my first year here.

The original concept was a fox character, and I was very proud of him. I had to simplify him for pixel formm and he ended up quite far from the original. I actually really disliked the pixel art I created of him for my game. I thought it was too dark, the lines too blurred, and he didn’t look like the gentle alchemist I imagined at all, a lot more like a sly fox.

First Year Pixel Art Version

I hated this piece so much that I took some time when I started this project to get a new feel for his character and rethink him a lot.
I first started by redeeming my pixel art piece. I honestly felt so disappointed in myself that I had to improve it before even thinking about anything else.

New Pixel Version

The difference is night and day. I created this in Aseprite.

I spent some time with him to try and get a feel for the character again to see if I really wanted to use him. I softened him up and added a lot more colour and less dark borders. I changed his scarf to add more of a soft feel, added details to his little coat and added tiny boots. I am incredibly proud of the difference it made, and the progress in my skill. It helped give me the motivation that maybe I have improved enough to complete this project.

Though I love this fox very much, I realised as I was going that it would be better for my portfolio if the the piece I create is of a human character, as they’re much more common. I was fine with this and so Alroy the alchemist was born.

Alroy – Final Piece Character Concept

He’s based on the fox version, but has much more depth to him, a bit of backstory is in another post!

Alroy will be a human alchemist, that uses alchemy as an ability in a game. I don’t want to strictly create a character that would just fit in League of Legends, so imagine any fighting game!
He throws potions to slow burn enemies, and other ones to heal allies. His ultimate ability is a giant potion bottle that he throws in an area that shatters and deals damage, while releasing a cloud of slowing substance! The cork would also fly out of the bottle further than the cloud, if anyone is hit by this, it stuns.

As a physical description he is young, with red hair and a giant potion bottle on his back. These are elements I really wanted to keep! He has lots of belts to hold all his potions, and modest but fasionable clothing. He’s a very gentle person and I want to express that in the final art work even if the concepts didn’t quite capture it. I’m considering if I have time to polish the concepts during development to include alongside my final piece, but I want the full illustration to be the focus of my project, as it’s going to take a huge amount of work.

Concept Artwork – Alroy

This is my concept art piece to represent my idea visually. Not much changed from my original ideas, I added some extra potion vials on his leg. To make it obvious they’re used for different things I made them all different colours!

I added lots of shiny buckles, and made sure the potion bottle made sense. I created a leather shoulderpiece to hold the potion in place since it’s so massive, I thought it needed more than belts and some body support. I chose blue for the potion in the bottle in the back so it blended into the background and allowed the character to show more.
I thought his face needed something, and I tried adding glasses but it looked so awful I don’t even want to share the attempt. Instead I gave him heterochromia, different colour eyes! One green to match his pants, and one blue to match the potion. I’d like to think his parents had green and blue eyes and he inherited one of each!
He has a herb pouch on his right side. I put the potions on the left as I decided he’s left handed! (I totally did not make him left handed after the fact because I didn’t think before putting them on the left and though they looked nice there)

The cork in the bottle pops out by pulling the rope connected to it!

After looking at it I thought in game it would take a while to remove enough to throw the potion, leaving him vulnerable for a few seconds.

I kept the red hair to show his fox origins in creation, but he’s changed a lot. I think the changes make him feel more real and fleshed out, and like a more human character.

When I make my final piece I want to add a lot more detail to him that you can only really do while painting. But this is a great base to work off.

Character Backstory

I thought my character needed some story behind him to give him a reason to be making potions! In League of Legends the backstory for characters rarely mentions how they fight, some aren’t even fighters! So I imagined how he’d live outside of a Game context.

Alroy is an Alchemist, well, a student. He lost his Mother when he was very young, so he was raised by his Father, Grayson.

Grayson started teaching Alroy alchemy as soon as he was old enough to hold a herb pouch. They’d go on long walks together through the woodland near their home and Grayson would teach Alroy about the plants and herbs along the trails, while telling stories about his Mother. Grayson struggled without her. Most parental things did not come naturally to him, but he never failed to make sure Alroy was well loved and had everything he needed to succeed in life.

Alroy took to Alchemy very quickly. When he was given his first cauldron he set the house alight (and has done 17 times since). Grayson forgave him, correcting his mistakes with a stoic and admirable patience. Grayson enjoyed Alroy’s eagerness to learn the same trade as him.

As he got older, Alroy began to help out in the family store, selling potions and remedies for everything from the common cold to regrowing toenails. The family buisness got a lot busier and Alroy, though young, gained a great reputation for selling reliable alchemical goods. He spends most of his time brewing potions now, but longs to walk the woodlands with his Father again, picking herbs and spending time together. Though they are far from distant in the store, very close even, he misses the private walks, how peaceful they were, and no Vera from down the street asking for help with her bunions.

After communicating this with Grayson, they now take every weekend as a break and walk through the woodlands together as they did when he was a child.

References

Riot Games (2009) League of Legends [Video Game] Available Online: https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-gb/