Category: FMP Research

This next piece of research is to make sure that I can effectively create banners that somewhat reflect the animals they use while also reflecting the ideology of the nation. With my work I have chosen to create four nation and therefore require 4 colours to suit each.

The East nation is that of a smart like people that put the brain in front of brawn. As such the animal I ended up finding to be the best was the Owl, a wise creature by symbolism and nature. To suit this creature and nation I must find a colour that represents both a level of intelligence and also joy due to their nice peaceful attitude.

The West nation is that of a strength first learning later quota. They hold power above all over attributes and as such have become a rather simple minded people who hold a bully like complex in their minds. The animal that was chosen to represent was the Shark. This is due to the sharks ability to hone in on blood making sure that its targets are already weak and therefore bullying them to death in a less fatal sense. The colour therefore must be that which shows strength and an overall predator feel to them.

The South nation is seen as the big baddies. The main bullies in this world that use the others to get to the north. As such the South is a smart controlling like people that manipulate the kind hearted people of the East and the idiotic West. This smart nature allows them to bully the north and show dominance and therefore to show this I will need a colour that signifies cunning and evil.

Finally, the North. These are the ‘good guys’ as they are where our characters are from. This was a prideful nation who reigned as friendly number ones until the South pulled the rug on which they stood. They now are poor, run down and vengeful. Hated by all for no reason which further pushes this violent emotion outwards. The animal I choose to represent this was a crow, the bad omen bird that signifies coming danger. Therefore I must choose a colour that shows this cold vengeance while also showing the grief in which these people live under.

In a previous blog I went in depth on the psychology of colours, and with this understanding I can effectively choose two colour for each nations banner and then allow the audience to decide in which one they prefer. To start I will explain the choices of the Northern nation.

I feel that the best two colours that could effectively show the aspects I wish to display would be cobalt blue and black. Black is the obvious go to when wanting to show grief, it allows me to play with a traditional evil colour and turn it to a more mournful one. This is the more simple choice out of the two but due to it then making the banner invert colours, making so the animal be in white not black, it allows for the north to make that perfect standing out feel. The second choice, cobalt blue, is more in reference to the actual reality of the North and their emotions. The dark blue which cobalt effectively shows helps build this bridge with the ice element that in turn helps show the hardened people of the North while keeping this dark vengeful view with the use of the crow.

Next we have the Eastern nation, represented by the owl. The choices for this side of the world would be Yellow and Purple. Purple is the intellectual colour that shows a level of pride as well, this plays in very well with the best attribute being the intelligence of their people. Purple also allows us to see a excited more giddy style, this helps to fuel this idea of them having this child like care while also keeping their wits about them. The second choice is Yellow, this colour is bright and acts as a beacon of child friendly joy, its pours out joy and happiness. This colour also helps us think of cartoon like electricity which can helps us build the bridge of a smart race of people due to them having the greatest technological advancements, fuelled by electricity.

Next is the predator like people of the West. Red is the only choice. This one is decided without a vote and I will explain now why I have made this choice. The colour of Red is the universal bad guy colour. It is used in gaming as the age old colour to identify enemies on a mini map and enemy names are usually highlighted in Red. Not only does it show this evil nature to the West, it also fits the Shark perfectly, the idea that the shark chases its prey from the weakness that they show after losing blood allows me to play this idea off in their nations banner. This is a no brain – er choice for me and I believe that people can understand why I use this colour and why nothing else could really match up to it.

Finally, the big baddies, the South nation. Purple and Orange. Orange is the colour that signifies fire, this in turn helps us see this nation as a ravaging force that consumes anything in its way. It also helps build the dominance of the South similar to how a fire will burn anything it can touch indiscriminately and that it will also assimilate anything that can help spread its flames like the Souths bullying mentality. Purple, similar to how I explained it for the East, shows the intelligence of its bearer but also helps in another way that further pushes the souths agenda. Purple is a naturally mysterious, villainous colour that many shows and media outlets use to express evil natures. These two aspects mix and purple starts to show this dark yet smart mystic vibe.

With all these listed out I intend on creating a short questionnaire to get the feedback I need for making these banners. After this I will be able to create a weekly reflection on what I had done and what I intend to do next.

When it comes to character design and Icon design, I need to make sure that each colour choice is correct and is meaningful. The same goes for Icons, making sure they follow the main colours of their owner. Finally, I need to conduct research into fonts to make sure I choose the best font to display the names of my Avatars on the Wix Website.

Colour

Colour psychology allows me to delve into the effects of colour and how we view them as consumers. Colours allow us to identify danger/love, it can allow us to see gender into unknown areas and toys, and it also allows us to create art that ‘speaks’ to the consumer through the colour choice. I must also take into account of what my audience is and how they will percive these colour combinations.

With many articles we can see the effects of colours on genders and even ages, such as how males identify that red on females is more attractive while females have no preference. The same works with age that more bright and interesting colour attract younger ages such as children with lego. Due to my audience being a majority male teens, I need to make sure that I am using intresting colours while not sacrificing the realism of the characters dress/armour.

To make sure I can display my knowledge of colour understanding is at a level to which the audience is happy, I will set sets of colours for each characters and give the final choice to my audience. I will explain my choices also to try to show my reasoning. However, there will still be the set colours such as steel being grey, the aim is to add secondary colours that will allow consumers to invest with the overall feel of the character.

Centurion

For the Centurion character, who is a strong man with inner rage for his posistion and failure to save his father. Due to his knight like look, the armour will have to be grey but his cloak and blade are up for contention.

Set one – Grey/Red/Black = Red for his cloak showing anger for his life while the black will be his blade signifying grief.

Set two – Grey/Blue/Red = This time blue will be the cloak colour as it shows masculinity and Red for the blade colour signifying power over his opponents.

velocity

For the Velocity character, who is seen as a clown team mates until his ruthless agressive speed comes to play. Due to his robotic legs being in place, these colours will have to be a light black colour such as grey, similar to Centurions armour and the same for his dual Chakrams. However, his fur is what is needed to be coloured.

Set one – Grey/Red/Yellow = Red and Yellow combination of fur would siginfy to the old DC character of Flash who is known for his speed powers. But other than this could show Anger and humour.

Set two – Grey/Yellow/Black = The yellow would be the main fur colour to show his bright nature but plagued with black spots to show anger and grief. This would also fit the cheetah look of the character.

Clemency / Ruthless

For the joint characters I will need to do a set each. These colours must be contrasting and meaningful of the wing colour around them. The light wings will be bright white whiel the dark wings will be black. Her staff weapon will only change main colour apperance which allows for more freedom. The colours will mainly be Armour colours as the wings cover the majority.

Set one – White/Blue/Yellow & Black/Red/Purple = The angelic side requires highlighted colours to shine ‘bright’ therefore white is the main colour choice with blue and yellow being backup decal. The other side is the demon look that must stand out but also seem dark adn gloomy. As such I choose black for the main contrast and Red and purple that are direct opposites of the other decals.

Set two – White/Green/Brown & Black/Orange/Red = Similar for the demon side of things, I aimed to create a pallette that gave off a more lava/explosive look. However, the main change for the angel side was the inclusion of more earthly colours showing a nature/spirtual style. A style that is universally loved and is about growth against the lava destruction style.

Regicide

For this ruthless character, I must choose colours that show the anger and sheer pain of the monster. However, his main colour will be his fur, the rest can be his claws and other features. This is as his character is that of a monster like werewolf with razor sharp claws. He also has dark magic oozing fro his wounds and features.

Set one – Black/Red/Green = Black will show the grief of the character and overall ‘darknees’ he rings. It will also help sell this idea of a monster in the dark. The red is for his claws showing his anger and signifying blood. The green acts as the energy oozing from his body that feels like a toxic chemical as if he is a monster like Bane.

Set two – White/Red/Black = White for his fur showing a pure and noble style outside of his body while he leaks black enegry. This acts like the inner darkness is coming out while his noble shell holds together. The red for his claws is the best choice with its double meaning of blood and anger. It also can be splashed on his fur to show his destructive tendecies.

vyrus

For this machine like character I must ensure that I collect a pallette of colours that show the mystery of his power, the all knowing nature he gives off and the authority he demands. Due to his machine like body he has electrical orange sparks which is something I need to create the colour set around. The colours will be for his mask, poncho and clothes.

Set one – Black/White/Black = This combo has the Mask and clothes at black showing his shady nature with a white poncho that contrasts with the other two. This white usage is to show the characters secret desire to stand out.

Set two – Yellow/Black/Yellow = The black and yellow combination is a styel that will work as if the character was wearing a hazmat type suit. This plays into his machine like persona. The black of the suit shows mystery and grief while the yellow shows domainance and authority, something that his role commands.

With all these sets collect I will create a large questionnaire and gain my feedback in which I will complete a blog for, going through the answers and results. With this answered I will then be able to move on to actual production.

reference

Psychological Properties Of Colours – Colour Affects. (2008). Retrieved 5 March 2020, from http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours

When it comes to designing my characters and icons, I need to make sure that every clothing choice, pose and every facial detail helps craft a story. While I am now able to see the design in which my audience wish to see, that being Overwatch character style and Rainbow Six Siege icons, I must ensure that this is not sacrificed in a way that does not allow me to express the personality and attitude of the character, something that I mainly need to display in the Avatar creation. This is where my Iconography blog can assist me.

First, I must define what Iconography actually is, in terms of art and creation. Iconography is the use of traditional symbols to symbolise a concept or meaning. For example, in Overwatch, the character Reaper is seen as a mass murderer who is deadly at a mere touch. This fright and evil is shown through his dark colour combination and his grim reaper style clothing choice. For my actual Icons that will be incredibly important, I must ensure to create something that relates to the character with a simple image. An example of this relation is Sledge’s Icon in Rainbow Six Siege, in which his icon is that of a smashed wall next to a sledgehammer, his signature weapon.

In terms of movies or films, Iconography becomes redundant when the actual character is shown on screen or on all marketing. This means that they will never have to reference the character or what his background is due to the high viewership and general openness of the character. In games however, Iconography is one of the best ways to secure your games public reception while also helping the marketing. While I mention marketing, I don’t mean that I intend to sell my product, what I am doing is thinking from the standpoint of the viewers watching the Exodus games (This is the name of what the games are actually called inside the story of my game) who will not be able to keep up with what everyone is doing inside the arena. Therefore I need to make sure that I take a more branding style approach to these Icons, such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s CR7 unique brand but in a more visual sense than name tag.

A perfect example of Iconography in media is within the My Hero Academia manga which is a story of Heros with a more educational setting. The character Katsuki Bakugo is a hot headed Hero in training who has major anger issues that sometimes brings into play his reasons to why he wants to help people. His superpower is the ability to create explosions from his palms which help his aggressive fighting style while also fitting his personality. The place in which Iconography enters is his suit design and personal look.

While he may look like a normal average student with no real meaning behind any choice, you are able to see the style in which his hair is designed. The explosive like look is the first piece of foreshadowing of his explosive nature. Next we move on to his suit. Straight away you notice the colour choices of black, green and orange each having a link to military explosive like weaponry. His best piece of armour is the Grenade bracers he wears on his arms. Not only is the utility explained for these but the art reflects so much of the character. The grenade fits perfectly for his explosive quirk while also displaying the perfect explanation for his character design.

This is something I need to take into account when creating my own characters. While having the blast full hair is a cool look. I need to make sure that it makes sense for my character to have it. With this understanding I feel confident in my ability to produce a product that has sufficient iconography and will allow me to express personality through my characters to avoid the scary blank slate that I intend to miss.

reference

Horikoshi, K., 2014. My Hero Academia. [online] En.wikipedia.org. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Hero_Academia&gt; [Accessed 1 March 2020].

Ubisoft.com. 2015. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege | Ubisoft (UK). [online] Available at: <https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/rainbow-six/siege/&gt; [Accessed 2 March 2020].