Week Summary - BA3b Week 2

Low-Poly Model

I decided to use the idea of the mooinjer-vegger (little people), a type of fairy or fae from my home island's local legends, as a starting point. They're described as humanoid, a couple of feet high, wearing red caps and green jackets, and I think it will be a fun myth to work with. In particular the aspects of their being mischievous and being left offerings by people are things I'd love to try to incorporate into the design. Things like small coins or shells like the kind often left for them would make really nice small details, I think, and could also be made modular, using the same textures for each to help keep the size of the model down.

I knew that I wanted to go with a fairly childlike silhouette for this one, and to keep the feet and hands small relative to the figure. As I went on, I found I really liked the bottom-heavy look for the character, and tried to use a lot of upward curves in the design as I feel like they denote lightheartedness and mischief. For the clothing, I took inspiration from a lot of classical and contemporary depictions of fae and leprechauns, which are somewhat adjacent to this legend. In particular, I really wanted to push the proportions into something cartoonish here, and while I think they could probably go a little further, I also didn't want to push them too far.

I used Manx knotwork for the embroidery detail around the cuffs, and will probably use more knots on the buttons. I've left off some of the more detailed parts for now in favour of having the foundation, but will likely edit the design a little as I go along. 


The Manx tartan was something I had wanted to integrate into the design (blue material), but I felt that the colour was too much in addition to the two other bright colours present in the design. A tutor suggested using a small piece - like a handkerchief, etc. - poking out of the pocket to give the character some personality, without compromising the design. The same tutor also suggested trying to push the design a little more with regards to proportion, and while this is something I will be trying I will probably look at this in the 3D stage.

Wax Model

Spent this week adding a few last muscles (iliotibial band and sartorius), finishing rounding out the shape of the leg and sculpting the feet a little more. The legs still need some more work, but they're getting to close to being completely finished now, and I think they're looking good.