Brellom
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[Concept Art Discussion] - Elayne Beaumont's Design
🕑 Added 2019-05-24 11:20:05 +0000 UTCNote: This post has been made public for presentation purposes.
NSFW Warning: There is NO nudity, but there IS skin exposure and drawings of boobs.
If you’ve been exposed to my work for any extended period of time, you’ll likely be aware of the existence of a specific character of mine. One with really big boobs and also a really big whip – Elayne Beaumont.
There is often meaning attributed to a name, and in Elayne’s case, that meaning is “the sun’s ray or shining light.”
All variants of this name are closely linked to the idea of bright light. So, it only felt appropriate for a character whose quest was to destroy vampires. Like the morning sun, she strides forth from the horizon to put an end to the horrible night.
As for Beaumont… Well, it means “beautiful mountains.” Because, y’know… Boobs.
(That’s [ b-you-mont ] by the way.)
A Brief Overview
Here are the earliest sketches of Elayne. A little different from what exists now, but still easily recognizable as the same character. The changes are minor, and deviations from the norm were fairly short-lived.
You can see how, even early on, I knew the general aesthetic I wanted. A sexy lady with a whip and a somewhat barbarian aesthetic. The inspirations in both early Castlevania and Allis the Boobarian (an old character of mine) are clear. The general expression of her design, from the start, was driven by the ideas of strength & sexuality.
Since Elayne’s inception, however, there has not been a great deal of change. Yes, there has been some change, but the basic outfit has been fairly consistent. While it is good that the design has a core design principle, it hasn’t seen a lot of development either. I haven’t even devoted a single instance of the Concept Art & Discussion to her design explicitly.
Well… Until now.
Time for Change?
Sometimes, the only thing stopping a design from being truly interesting is just a tiny bit more work. Elayne, I think, could benefit from just that – a bit more development. We shouldn’t go TOO far though, because she has a pretty unique look as it is.
When compared to the Vampire Queen or Satellite09’s White Coat Hunter, however, she sticks out like a sore thumb. Something about her just doesn’t feel quite up to par…
Notice how these other characters look more interesting? They have a more dynamic arrangement of shapes, with some overlapping and being drastically different sizes. Furthermore, they’re comprised of 3-4 different colours that interact with one another.
Elayne is easily broken down to a mere 2 colours, and my recent dabbling with her design in 3D only shows off how sparse her design is. She lacks the elegance of the previous two characters.
Current Thoughts & Misgivings
In order to solve a problem, we must first be capable of expressing that problem with concrete visual examples. Vagueness is the enemy of problem solving.
The use of Colour
You all know how important colour is to my work, and how much my work greatly benefits from it. So, I think it’s rather strange how differently I treat colour with Elayne’s design in particular.
One of the most noteworthy elements of the design is that it lacks very much in the way of colour. Elayne is occasionally drawn with gold accents, but it’s safe to ignore their existence right now. For all intents & purposes, her outfit is just pure black.
But why is that a problem? Black is cool! Right…?
Well, yes. But we run into some issues if we ever put her on a black background. Her outfit practically disappears and Elayne becomes little more than a series of floating limbs. Like Rayman! Except the shapes of flesh aren’t interesting to look at.
Oh, I mean… Oooooh! Spooky!
This is a cool effect… If this is the intent of the piece. Otherwise, this is a design challenge. Were it not for the yellow highlight, you might not know she was wearing a coat. Everything that is black fuses with the negative space, and that is far from ideal.
Negative Space: Generally, shorthand for the empty space around the subject of focus.
Additionally, with nothing separating her hair & coat, the two objects fuse into one.
Notice how both the hair & coat read as part of the same object? If not, step back & blur your vision. Soon enough, you’ll have trouble telling where the two objects begin & end. It’s not visually coherent, and that is important to me.
But I’m sure you’re getting tired of looking at Elayne’s backside. Let’s move on.
The use of Shape
I don’t pretend to be a master of shape language, but visual communication is important to me. So, I’ve broken down Elayne’s basic design as it currently stands.
The bra and panties create a set of dynamic angles that have always been integral to this design. They’re sharp diagonal shapes, giving the subconscious impression of a threatening character. They also help the viewer’s eye move through the design.
That being said, however… I fear there’s a problem. Beyond these two shapes, there is little much else to encourage the eye to move downward. Worse, in fact… I might be actively discouraging that movement – with horizontal lines.
Horizontal lines are static, and thus lack movement or excitement. They typically elicit feelings of rest, sort of like how you might feel calm at the beach when looking out at the horizon.
These horizontal rectangular shapes are seemingly innocuous, but the impression they leave is powerful, and I never even noticed it until now. That just goes to show you how devious they can be! They’re hidden in plain sight, all along the arms, and may be interrupting the flow of the torso. This is something I want to give a lot of thought to as I move forward with the design.
I wonder if there is, perhaps, a better way to go about this… Even if only slightly better?
Now... We have Direction
Okay, I’ve communicated my concerns. Now we’re able create questions based on those concerns, and consequently, come up with answers to them.
- How do I create a more interesting arrangement of shapes on the body?
- Can I offer asymmetry to Elayne’s silhouette?
- How do I better aid movement across the design?
- Can I introduce additional colour into the design while maintaining the same aesthetic?
- What can I borrow from my previous interpretations of this character?
Shape & Form
First thing’s first: How can I change the basic silhouette of her design?
Given the general simplicity of Elayne’s character design, the shapes are the first thing we tend to notice. Dark shapes against light shapes, the angles of those shapes, their orientation in relation to one another, etc.
Asymmetry is often used to make characters look more interesting, and Elayne, remarkably, lacks that trait in most of my work. Although she’s sometimes drawn with a pauldron, it doesn’t impact the symmetry as much as it could… So, my immediate goal is to create asymmetry within the core of the design itself.
Being that the arms were such a problem area, I’ve set out to make each arm distinct in regard to their shape language, even going as far as to completely cover one of her arms.
The third sketch re-introduces the X motif into the design, but this time, as a series of shapes across her lower torso. Though, it doesn’t help with the desire to create asymmetry, and I don’t like how it cuts her waist into so many smaller shapes. I decide to discard this idea, but I continue to keep it in mind for later.
I briefly toy with the idea of a gladiator-style pauldron, though I’m quickly not sure if it’s the right direction to go in. Given it’s much rounder, form-fitting use of shapes, I worry it’ll negatively affect the shoulders, pushing too far with asymmetry. It’s important that her shoulders feel sharp, as the masculine upside-down triangle creates an imposing silhouette.
Yes, but which one do I pick?
Ultimately, I gravitated towards the third sketch. My reasons being:
- Asymmetry; one arm is sleek and the other is bulky.
- Fur along the shoulder offers a new texture to play with.
- Less skin on the arms brings more focus to her torso
Although it may go unnoticed, I thought about texture diversity here too. In previous designs, I’ve never given the impression that Elayne’s clothing had anything more than a single texture. In the sketch below, however, I begin to play with the level of reflectivity in her clothing. Her bra & arm has a reflective surface, but her coat appears much duller in finish.
I don’t know if I will continue to stick with this idea, but I think it helps break up the monotony of the black shapes in her design.
It isn’t long before I begin to have doubts, however…
I’m worried that the fur won’t contrast against the skin, since they’ll probably be a similar colour. So, I briefly experiment with the asymmetry. Putting the full sleeve on the same side as her furry shoulder creates a more immediate sense of contrast.
Though I prefer the sketch on the left regardless, as the exposed bicep is much more interesting than an exposed elbow (which is what we had before). The sketch on the left has a more dynamic sense of rhythm, and even has REVERSE symmetry with the opposing arm.
The bottom of the left arm is exposed, while the right arm is exposed up high.
Let’s take a quick break from that though.
Like, Hair!
What is a hair? A miserable pile of fiber strands, and boy is it really annoying to get my hair to do anything I want it to! Aaah….
Some time ago, in a previous sketch, I gave Elayne some red hair. This created a striking & cool image, and it would no doubt contrast against a dark background. That being said, I’m not sure I want to make red hair a mainstay of Elayne’s design… Red attracts a lot of attention, but it doesn’t contrast the skin quite as much as dark hair does.
Perhaps compromise is the solution? Black with red tips.
Wait, no… I’m not sure now. She looks kind of edgy, like she just came out of a Hot Topic or pulled her head out of a Gaming PC.
There’s an unnatural quality to it, and that is, admittedly, pretty cool. This also introduces another colour into the design, which is arguably sorely needed. Though, it is worth noting that the use of gradients can come off looking very cheap & clinical.
Back to the Good Stuff
So, here’s the design I ultimately arrived at.
This feels pretty close to the original design, so it can be argued I didn’t experiment enough. It is, however, different, while still maintaining the core aesthetic.
I’ve introduced a furry texture, brought in some additional gold shapes, and created disparity between her wrist accessories. These traits all borrow from older designs, whether they’re long established ones, like the very first, in which Elayne had a bulky gold bracer, or one-off designs. The outfit still feels like it has that barbarian-like patchwork, but with a greater level of fashion. It probably looks kinda weird and funky though.
The strap across her lower torso returns, but without the X motif. This strap helps to break up the emptiness of her torso, which is otherwise just one REALLY long white shape. It also helps create rhythm too!
When I speak of rhythm, I speak of pattern and repetition.
Take a moment to place your finger (or your eye) on your screen to trace down her outfit. Every time your finger meets a different colour, say the name of the colour. Starting from the neck, let’s go down to her thighs.
Black, white, black, white, black, white.
Now, imagine each colour had its own musical note. So rather than saying the colour, you were creating music. That’s kinda how visual rhythm works, except it’s done with shape & colour.
Anyway, back to the art…
Before now, Elayne’s panties always felt like they were simply glued on. With this additional strap, however, her entire outfit feels much more connected. Better yet, check this out:
It is SO much easier for our eye to move down her design now! The red lines represent the most important directions – as they are most likely your eye’s naturally chosen path. The blue horizontal lines, which are now positioned asymmetrically along the arms, transition into the red lines of the torso instead of cutting through the body.
I’ve also better integrated the strap that stores her whip.
But, this is looking kinda Try-Hard...
I don’t think we’ve quite solved this interpretation though. I think there’s some visual clashing occurring around the neck, with her yellow collar & black neck guard fighting it out. I’m sure that we can’t have both, so we’ll have to pick one over the other.
I’m stuck between Sketch 01 and Sketch 03 here. I’m almost sure Sketch 02 is worth discarding.
Sketch 01:
- I love how removing the collar emphasizes the strong shape of her shoulders.
- Closed off & sleek, though perhaps it looks a bit too menacing.
Sketch 03:
- The yellow collar helps bring in additional collar while calling back to the Vampire Queen’s design.
- Open & Flamboyant, it feels heroic.
- More of the breast show thanks to the bra’s ring being much higher.
I’m definitely torn, but I think I’m probably leaning towards Sketch 03, as it’s much more familiar, as it resembles the classic design much more so, and is thus easier to accept. Also, we’re obviously going to make Elayne’s breasts much larger, so that extra space helps!
Let's Cut it Short
I’ve been going for a while now, so this thread is probably pretty long. I’ll try to keep it quick and to the point from here on out, especially since the next several images are much simpler in nature.
Boy, designing is a lot of hard work, isn’t it?
Cloak & Uh... Whip
Everyone knows that only the coolest characters wear capes and robes, and Elayne is objectively the coolest character, right? So, it only stands to reason that she also gets a cape of some sort too!
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this direction, but I thought this was pretty cool. There’s an interesting bit of symbolism present in the cape, where one side is dark, like the night, while the inside is bright, like the sun. I thought that was pretty clever, and it also helped introduce some colour to the character, as we still haven’t brought in any substantial colour to the core design.
Though the open-ness of this cloak might be a bit too revealing. At this point, why even bother covering her with a cloak if it’s just going to be as revealing as her regular outfit? I should consider some different shapes for the design, but something more closed-off, so there’s a greater reveal when removed.
I think I’m most inclined towards Sketch 01 and Sketch 03. How about you?
Okay, wow... Seriously, let's cut it short.
So, when I finished writing up to this point in the thread, I figured, "hey, let me spend a bit of time creating 2-3 more sketches to share some final thoughts about what was achieved, and what might not have been."
But then hours passed as I worked on the first sketch. It is... No longer a sketch.
So that's probably a good indicator that this has gotten long enough, and I shouldn't keep it going much longer than it already has! This is turning out to be the heaviest Concept Art & Discussion thread to date... I gotta be careful before this becomes the new normal. I spend a great amount of time on every one of these!
So, what did I want to address?
The design is still predominantly black, so she'd still look like floating limbs on a black background. That being said, the shapes of the flesh do look much more interesting than they did before. I did consider changing her "primary" colour into something different, like a rich blue or red... But then I think I'd have been jumping too far from the original aesthetic.
But we can also communicate darkness WITHOUT pure black, too.
Anyway, it's probably good to close out now. This was a lot of work, both in terms of writing & drawing! I like the new direction that's here, as it does look like a much more unique silhouette for Elayne. But I also still really like the simplicity of the original too... I'm undecided! I'm unsure if I'm too close to the original design, or too far from it. Sometimes design is just a lot of running in circles!
How do you feel? Do you like the new direction? Or do you prefer the original Elayne?
Anyhow, that's enough for now! Thank you so very much for your support!
Don't forget to eat & sleep!
Comments
brellom
Cape #2 is actually longer in the back, so it covers the butt. The front is open, so it just feels a bit weird to me. Like it should either be longer overall, or shorter overall.
ZBL
I actually dig Cape #2. since it's more likely to reveal her butt from afar. Meanwhile, as I was reading, I kept thinking "Oh I like this part of this design, but this part of this design" only to see you amalgamate the parts I enjoyed as I kept reading. I love the floofy boots personally. I like the red/black hair choice, as it also evokes the influence of her archenemy. Elayne's got a bite mark, so I assume she's got some past connection to the current Vampiric Threat. If anything comes from these design experiments, though, I hope you keep the new top clasp-loop being slightly lower on the body.
