Elfi
I started working on the character design. My way was paved by countless more or less successful sketches of sheep. It is unbelievable how many sheep-themed franchises there are, e.g. Sheepworld, Shaun the Sheep etc.
Since we were planning our game to be 2D, a comic-like interpretation of actors and landscape seemed appropriate. I had little issues with imagining a start screen since my favourite place for Conner MacSheep was and still is a real castle ruin in the Scottish Highlands. So in no time flat I made:
Great! But these were all just pencil sketches. These can’t just be put into a video game like that. That was the beginning of my adventures in digital painting with a graphics tablet. Drawing on a black board and seeing the matching picture take shape on my monitor took some getting used to.
My hand-eye coordination improved after some scrawly and undimensioned attempts enough that I could start to appreciate the advantages of digital drawing. A ‘back’ button is truly a remarkable invention! I also enjoyed working with multiple layers: if, for example, I wasn’t sure if a detail would fit the image, I could simply put it on a new layer and move, transform and dye it as I pleased… Simply amazing!
Another big learning experience were animations. My part in making our animated sheep was still relatively simple. I just had to draw the animal in various poses whereby the principal parts had to stay in the same place or the animal would jitter or jump unintentionally.
Result:
To be continued…