The Difference A Feature Can Make

 Over the reading week, I have been experimenting with creating a stylised character without use of reference just to see how well I can do. Overall I was fairly happy with how the sculpt turned out, and so decided to take it further by adding a moustache and hair. After doing this however, I noticed that if I hid one or both of them, they the character would give off a completely different look, and made the sculpt feel as though it was a different character all together. Because of this, I sculpted two hair styles and three facial hair styles to mix and match, which produced many different looks for the character, proving the point that a simple change can have a drastic effect on a character or model.

This character is the original, with the long hair and handlebar moustache with the intent of him being some sort of western sheriff or villain.

After removing the hair and moustache (and sculpting some ears), I noticed he now looked like some sort of monk or wise old man rather than the cowboy I had originally planned. This is what prompted me to test out the variations I could come up with without changing the facial features in any way.

The secondary hairstyle I made gives the impression of some sort of punk that you'd see in a game set in a pub, the character doesn't look like a protagonist and instead gives off a generic enemy vibe, that a player would fight in waves.

Next I put the moustache back onto him, and sculpted a soul patch, which I feel has instantly given him a sort of viking jarl sort of appearance, or some kind of enemy leader.

I then wondered what the character would look like with a simple beard, and found that he looks like a harder to defeat enemy or a lead bad guy in a game, or even a survivor from some sort of apocalypse. The beard was a special addition to the character, as it has brought the shape of the silhouette of his face to a more rounded angle, giving him an entirely new appearance without actually changing the shape of his head at all.

Finally, I decided to have a mix of the beard and the moustache, and add the long hair to create this sort of cult leader type look, or even again some sort of survivor of a desert island. 

While I originally did not see myself doing another head sculpt, this idea is something I wish to further pursue as it is extremely interesting to try out small different changes to alter the whole appearance of a character. Going further, I wish to try this on multiple character sculpts and also on regular models to see if the same effect can also be applied. For example, a street light with moss or plants on it would convey some post apocalyptic scenario, while simple graffiti or stickers on it could either convey a punk type theme, or just a regular busy area full of people. I also would like to experiment in the same manner with texturing, as I feel sometimes I could portray a model in a warm inviting tone, or in contrast have it appear cold and decrepid looking simply with a colour scheme.