CHARACTER DESIGN TASK 1

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 CHARACTER DESIGN TASK 1

|| Leong Hui Xuan 0365793
|| 24/09/2025 - 15/10/2025 (Week 01 - Week 04)
|| Bachelor of Design in Creative Media (Entertainment Design)
|| Character Design GCD61704

Table of Content

MODULE INFORMATION BOOKLET



LECTURES

Lectrue 01- Concept World Design

A world can be created based on elemental powers like:
  1. Pyro (Fire)
  2. Anemo (Wind)
  3. Hydro (Water)
  4. Geo (Rock)
  5. Electro (Lightning)
  6. Cryo (Ice)
  7. Dendro (Nature)
Basic of Conceptual World Building:
- A place where your characters live, work and play.

Method of  World Building:
  • The Inside-Out Method
    - When you have a story in mind and should have one or two key functions that your fictional world must to fullfill. 
    - Eg: Avatar: The Last Airbender, about characters that conctrol natural elements which mirror their cultures, goverment and technologies.
  • The Outside-In Method
    - When you have a general idea/ map of your world then create increasingly specific details for your world.
    - This technique mostly use to create their world in-depth frist, then begin to craft characters and stories.
Key Elements for World Building:
  1. WHERE is the story located? (Past/Future/Earth...)
    - Geography 
    • Locations ( Continents / Countries / Planets Solar Systems ...)
    • Water ( Ocean / Rivers / Springs / Lakes / Bogs ...)
    • Landscapes ( Mountains / Valley / Deserts / Forests / Plains / Hills /  Wastelands ...)
    • Climates ( Seasons / How affect plants, humans and animals environment)

  2. WHO are your world's main inhabitans？（Human/Mythical/Mix...）
    - Characters
    • Main character in the world

  3. WHAT is your world's governing system? (Monarchy/ Nothing Earth's ever seen)
    - Governance
    • The politics in the world to rule people.
    • Government, a group that hold systemic power.
    • Religion. Most cultures practice one or two dominant religious and religion and effect on the culture's laws and social norms.

  4. WHAT social difference exists between people? (Are some groups more feared than others?)
    - Social Classes 
    • Divisions. Identifying tge boundaries of each social class within culture. 
    • Like, the classes defined by the wealth or the magic exists in your world.
    • Food and Drinks. Things that necessary to survival and often valuable commdities that can define the social classes within culture.
    • How that affects their health and lifestyle
    • Proffession. People that fullfill each role.
    • Appearances. Defining social power and consider what materials are suitable fro your cultures' classes and the popular style.

  5. HOW have historical event (wars,dynasties) shaped your world?
    - History
    • Craft the historical events that most affect your story's plot and characters.
    • Traumatic Events like war, faminies, and plagues which all have major impact on its culture and people. 
    • Power Shifts.  A religion has recently come under a new leadership, consider how this shift in power affected the culture's laws and norms.

  6. WHAT are people's standards of living?
    - Cultures
    • Power. Most cultures have systemic power stuctures in specific gender, religion, sexuality or race to hold power over other people groups.
    • Art and Entertainment. Like, sports, races, fights, games, musicians, actors and magicians. How those people live?
    • Relations. Peoples frequentlt clash and have conflict. Which laws and norms in one cultures interact in terms of economy.

  7. HOW does your world compare technologically to our own?
    - Technology
    • More complex aspect of world-building than magic.

  8. DOES magic exits? How is it regarded and who practices it?
    - Magic
    • Isn't a requirement for your world.

Lectrue 02 - Shapes, Sketches, Silhoutte, Visual studies

Identify Key Visual Ideas:

- Research and discovery (Identify more prominent, unique and interesting visuals that fit the chosen theme)
- Character's key traits (Gender, age, species, class profession and physical build)
- Thumbnail sketches (very rough sketches outlining the general anatomy and propotions of character)
- Shapes (Associate shapes to the characteristic traits listed)
- Gesture (Quick, often simple drawing that captures the essential feeling, energy, mivement, oction or a pose)

Silhoutte Studies:

Visual study on typical silhoutte and compile it as part of progression.
  • Petit lineup
  • Young Female lineup
  • Young Male lineup
  • Female lineup
  • Male lineup

Lectrue 03 - Principle of Creating Characters for Various genres & Target Audiences

Character are emotional anchors that carry story, tone and message.

Core Principles of Character Creation
  • Clarity (easy goal or core desire to drive their actions)
  • Contrast (make character vissually, behaviorally or ideologically distinct)
  • Consistency (Actions, dialogue and weary professionalism should reflect their traits and worldview)
  • Change (Dynamic characters emotion, moral or physically change can make them memorable)
 Visual Design and Symbolism
  • Shape language: Circle - friendly / Squares - stable / Triangles - dangerous.
  • Color Theory: Red - Passion/action / Blue - Calm/intelligence ...
  • Silhoutte Test: Sould be recognizable instanly in the first impression.
Designing for Genre Tone
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Sci-fi
  • God of War
Target Audience
  • Kids - "Pokemon"
  • Teenagers - "Attack on Titan"
  • Audults - "The Last of Us"
Adaptability Across Mediums
  • Strong chaarcter can move between game, anime, film and novel. (Geralt of Rivia)
The Emotional Hock
  • Admiration (Wonder Women)
  • Empathy (Shinji Ikari)
  • Nostalgia (Ash Ketchum)
  • Fear (Voldemort)
  • Intrigue (L from Death Note)
Common Pitfalls
  • Overcomplicating backstories.
  • Ignoring target audience needs.
  • Copying archetypes without subversion.
  • Lack of internal logic.

PROCESS WORK 

In Task 1 we need to create a character based on a franchise world civilizations, it can be a game, movie or animation that we interested of. The character that we design need to process depths and meaning, convincing narratives and background stories. Then we can produce a series of sheets that shows progression for character design studies on elements and details.


Overall Style Moodboard:

Weapon Moodboard / References:


Character Inspiration

The character draws inspiration from Taoist talismans (符), which use written or spoken symbols to channel spiritual power. These talismans act as a bridge between the human and divine, capable of warding off evil, granting protection, or invoking blessings. In Liyue, this mystical art subtly echoes through characters like Shenhe and Chongyun, whose abilities embody ancient and esoteric traditions.

The Worlds 


Fontaine and Liyue are the world chosen, though distant across Teyvat, stand as twin pillars of civilization, one flowing with water, the other carved from stone. Fontaine, a nation of rivers and justice, glimmers with artistry and eloquence, where laws are performed like grand operas and every word carries weight.

Liyue, rooted in mountains and ancient contracts, embodies endurance and tradition, its people guided by promises as steadfast as the cliffs that guard their land. Together, they reflect the harmony between fluidity and solidity, the art of words and the strength of vows.

Character Details

Name: Shuyin Qin
Nation: Liyue (Studies in Fontaine)
Weapon: Catalyst in Token form
Vision: Hydro
Role in Team: Hybrid Support

Personality
  • Studious & Disciplined 
  • Curious & Rational
  • Quiet but Resolute
Appearance & Characteristic
  • Body Type : Young girl
  • Silhoutte : Layered outfit combining Liyue and Fontaine Style
  • Colours ： Main blue and white, yellow as secondary colour

Character Story:

Shuyin was born into a hidden noble family of Liyue, descendants of those who once served under King Liuli. While the Seven Stars governed commerce and law in the open, her family guarded the ancient contracts and “original laws” of the nation in secrecy. From a young age, she was taught that words hold a power to bind, command, and protect. Through calligraphy and sealcraft, she learned to turn written scripts into living magic. Driven not by wealth or status but by a desire for deeper understanding, Shuyin sought to see how justice was interpreted beyond Liyue. Hearing tales of Fontaine’s grand trials and its god of justice, she journeyed westward to witness how another land transformed law into art.


Character Studies



I study Furina because she was from Fontaine and I think her cloths design is suitable for my character design and the dual form element skills. For Xingqiu is because he inspired Shuyin’s personality and style. His gentle confidence, layered with grace and discipline, guided how I built her clothing and demeanor with elegant and  composed.


Weapon Studies

My initial idea for her weapon was used to be a stamp form that can change its appearance and form connect with her dual element skills. But I found out that the Catalyst in Genshin Impact is mosly in a quite round form and they character won't physically used their weapon form to battle, is mostly with the power inside the Catalyst weapon.

So, I came out with my second idea for the weapon, which is a Token / Jade Pendant.


The weapon is inspired by traditional identity tokens that marked a person's identity in ancient times. It transforms this symbol of status into a summoning medium, allowing the character to summon talismans to fight when using the token.

Costume Studies

Basically, I study all the Fontaine characters costume, then I focus more on Eccafee， Furina and Xingqiu outfit design, like the pattern, the shape and the fabric used.







SKETCHES


These are my first sketches for my character ideation and she was using a sword as her weapon with talisman.

Afterthat, I came out with more costume exploration and upgration based on previous sketches.

After consultation with Mr Fitri, we decided choose this design as the main outfit design.


I refined some part of the outfit and exploring the color of the outfit, The final outfit is still going with blue and yellow which fit the theme of Fontaine and Liyue.


FINAL TURNAROUND

Shuyin Qin Five-Star Hydro Character - A researcher in Fontaine

Lastly, I added some green colour on the lower part of the costume to made it have a gradient effect and look less boring.



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REFLECTION
Throughout this module, I have learned how to develop a character from concept to final design by exploring storytelling, cultural influence, and visual identity. Designing my own Genshin Impact-inspired character, Shuyin, allowed me to experiment with costume symbolism, colour harmony, and personality expression. Although I faced some challenges in balancing aesthetics and function, the process helped me improve my observation, detailing, and design skills. Overall, this project deepened my understanding of how a character’s appearance can visually communicate their story and emotions.









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