George the Owl
I do a lot of character design. This project, through Global Mechanic, was for Hank Azaria and was a caricature of NY1 local celebrity George Whipple as an Owl.
Services
Character Design
Client
Global Mechanic/Hank Azaria
Definitely one of my favorite parts of the production chain! The first stage is usually exploratory, where I'll do a bunch of sketches, cull the ones I think are working best, and then tidy them up a bit for presentation (although you'll see some are still rough). Sometimes I find some color helps me brainstorm. Above you can see the sketches I sent in for this first stage, trying to impart some humor into the design while keeping those iconic eyebrows.
Once a favorite has been picked, the design is refined based on client feedback and the character is put through a variety of poses - this time, to explore expression and acting. In this case, an animation test would follow, so eventually there was also a turnaround (a more technical series of drawings showing the character from specific angles). You can see the second set of designs below, followed by the color choices that were ultimately decided.
