Concept Art Pre-Production

Compare costume, wings and machinery in silhouette

For the character I collected references with two different kinds of visual detail. Robes, old letters, castle imagery and owls gave me an idea of a world with its own dress and objects. Armoured figures, illuminated equipment and mechanical parts gave me ways to break the body into harder shapes. I began with silhouettes to see which of those details could already tell me something about the character at a small size.

I tried cloaked figures, winged forms, a hunched bird-like shape and several heavier bodies. I carried two directions into linework. One uses a tall pointed head, large wing shapes and a trailing garment. The other is more compact, with a broad torso and plates hanging beside the limbs. Drawing the two in stages helped me compare how much of each shape came from clothing and how much came from the body underneath.

Make the wing joints readable in a moving pose

I took the winged figure further through upright, crouched and extended poses. In the final drawing the head is low, the legs reach in opposite directions and the wings open at different angles. I exposed the circular joints, separated the wing plates into sections, and drew the hanging cables against the open spaces between them. The long garment keeps a softer line through the lower half of a largely mechanical body.

Draw a body that could travel through the air or water

For the creature I looked at spiders, winged animals, long aquatic forms and fantasy hybrids. Some of the references had legs or wings that made the outline jagged. Others were held together by a continuous curve from head to tail. I tried both approaches in black silhouettes, including compact bodies, long-bodied swimmers and taller shapes with wings or fins.

The first line drawings let me work back into the silhouettes. I varied the shape of the head, the number and angle of the projections, and the way the tail folds behind the body. In later sketches I put the long-bodied option into different views and showed it beside a few small human figures. That helped me think about how the wing and tail might read from above and below, as well as how large the creature might feel in a scene.

Clarify the wing membrane and compare two palettes

I developed a long pointed head, a curved segmented tail and a broad membrane held open by thin supports. I kept the membrane as a large shape and concentrated the smaller ridges and points on the spine and head. The progression from rough line to flat value makes it easier to see the curve of the whole body before looking at the smaller details.

The final board keeps two colour versions. One sets blue crests and a blue wing edge against a muted red membrane and a darker head. The other uses orange crests, a yellow-orange wing edge and a lighter violet-grey body. The structure stays the same so the comparison is about where colour leads the eye, especially around the crest, jaw and wing edge.

Explore the forms a handheld object can take

The reference board puts blades and staffs beside lamps, vessels and devices that appear to hold or channel energy. I used that mix to explore more than weapon outlines. I tried solid silhouettes of pointed cases, bulky containers, long handles and shapes with openings, then drew into the silhouettes to see what each one could become.

One branch of the sketches uses a skull-like face enclosed by curved wings. I drew it closed, with the top lifted, and with clouds coming out around the upper shape. The prop section then returns to weapons, comparing scythe-like heads, staffs, firearms and longer blades. I carried the long blade forward, while the enclosing wings and cloud shapes reappear in the toy studies.

Keep the long cutting shape clear

In the selected design I kept the two pointed ends and a long opening through the upper part. I adjusted the hooked forms and clustered the curls and small shapes around the central area, leaving more space around the long tip. I compared a blue and dark version with a red and pale version. In the final I kept the red along the larger edges and the pale blade visible against the darker fittings.

Bring an organic outline around a mechanical hull

I collected streamlined spacecraft, mechanical vehicles, armour and pointed architectural forms. The first vehicle sketches range from a recognisable cockpit and engine layout to shapes with claws, fins or crescent edges. I developed one of the rounded forms, comparing how much the side shapes should wrap around the centre and what could hang beneath it.

As I refined the shape, I drew the upper shell in overlapping panels and used curved housings to frame the round units at either side. A long central assembly and two smaller hanging forms break up the lower edge. Cleaning up the lines helped me see which details explain how the hull is put together and which ones are mainly there to shape its outline.

Draw what the smaller parts might do

I pulled the smaller mechanisms out of the main drawing. For the cylindrical unit I compared a flame effect with an energy discharge, then sketched a separate laser weapon. I also drew a claw for catching and two states of an eye-like element, including a version with a crosshair. Those notes show the possible actions I was considering for the parts.

For colour, I tried a light shell with warm gold lines and red details, and a darker shell with green highlights. I chose the lighter treatment for the final. The pale outer plates read against the dark fins, while the red circular elements and the warm panel at the top pick out smaller points of attention.

Translate the earlier designs into objects you could handle

My toy board compares action figures and model vehicles with softer figures, wooden toys and stylised collectibles. I went back to the previous designs to see which shapes could become a separate part or give a toy a simple action. I tried separating the character’s wing and limb pieces, simplifying the blade, and giving the creature a hinged jaw, softer features or a wheel.

Explore a winged object that responds to touch

I returned to the earlier prop with wings wrapped around a skull-like face. I drew it closed, open for refilling, and with clouds around the face. One proposal hides an opening in the bone-shaped part for scented oil. I drew a level mark in the reservoir and noted that the front ball could light up when the liquid reached that mark.

I also considered how it could change shape when handled. From the back I sketched a spine-like structure and a control near its base. Pressing it could spread the wings. A separate note considers making the same action release more vapour. I drew the closed and spread poses from the front and rear to work out what would be visible during that change.

Carry the silhouette into the packaging and the final drawing

I explored packaging alongside the toy. The first sketches are box-like and rise into tall corners. I tried a version with a round emblem between two tower-like forms, then redrew the sides and compared a wider case with upright forms at either end. In the wider sketches I placed the toy’s head shape on the main face, so the box could repeat part of the object’s silhouette.

I finished the object in its spread-wing pose. The wings and body are largely dark, with a pale face, gold curved details and a red accent at the front. I rendered the clouds as separate light shapes across the wings and around the face. The final image records the appearance I was aiming for, while the refill, light and movement ideas are shown in the preceding drawings.