Of Mice and Pen: Pirate Art - The Game Maker's Companion: Game Development - page 234

thing he might encounter during his adventures. His spiky hair and slight, boyish frame will also
help to make him a distinctive counterpoint to the various villains and monsters he will meet, but
perhaps a face might imbue him with a little more character that will bolster his unique
personality. Using the Eraser Tool in Photoshop, features such as eyes, nose, ears, and hair-line
are suggested by simply deleting appropriate portions of the head, using the original inked
drawing as reference. Details are added to the torso and the other body parts in the same way.
(This process is also applied to the various monsters and enemy pirates). Obviously, this method
of detailing will need to be tested against the level environments, but as this cannot be further
investigated until the Integration part of the process, the art components of Flynn and the other
Shadows on Deck characters are signed off, for now.
Figure 10-14. The final version of Flynn with added details
Ssssh: Character Design Secret!
A handy and time-saving technique I use to produce multiple variations on a theme involves
making a basic line drawing of a character pose, side or face-on. This drawing needn't be too
detailed, as long as the arms and legs and body and head are all proportioned correctly and the
features of the face are very loosely suggested with sketched marks. You can make this drawing in
pencil and scan it into the computer or you can draw it using Photoshop or another such
program. You can then print the drawing out as many times as you need, and on each you can
make a character concept drawing featuring as many different variations as you like, without
having to work out the body shape every single time. It might seem like a bit of a cheat, but when
a deadline is looming, you need every trick you can use to get as much work done as possible in
as little time as possible!