I started off with creating three character silhouettes, each from the same world I created prior, but from different factions/areas. On the left, is a cyberpunk-futuristic-soldier from the militia of the authoritarian power known as (SNCTN) that exists in this futuristic dystopian world. In the middle is an abandoned science experiment from the research branch of SNCTN that was dumped and raised in The Scrapyard, which is essentially the outskirts of the main city. This is where all the trash and scrap is discarded, a no man’s land. The right is a butler from the aristocratic society that exists in the upper echelons of the main city. From here, I chose which one I felt was more visually appealing to pursue, which is the reptile-like character in the middle, who is now named Bolts.

I made a couple initial iterations on Bolts’ costume, exploring environmental/storytelling elements that could also serve as clothing and accessories on his character. I experimented with markings and scars. I eventually added scars to Bolt’s mouth, as I had decided his background during this design stage. I thought it would be interesting if — when he was abandoned, his jaw was bound tightly by rope, resulting in the scars. The other scars are results of living in a hostile and dangerous environment. There are also experiments with rope as an accessory, dog tags, and chains. This was another call to the environment and his backstory. The same can be said for his prosthetic leg and metal bottom jaw, which would also be made from the scrap found in the Scrapyard just like his weapon. His other clothing and accessories were chosen with his aggressive personality and fighter role in the antagonist group. The result of this experiment was that I eventually kept a couple elements from each iteration. I especially liked the metal bottom jaw, the scars, and the robot leg. I really liked the hook weapon because it was a creative handmade weapon from his environment, but ultimately it was scrapped (haha) in the later process when references came into play. If I were to return to this project I think I would bring the hook back and develop it some more.

I then chose the iteration I liked the most to further refine and figure out the color scheme for. I thought the silhouette for the costume with the furry jacket was the most interesting, and I also really liked the shackle on on his wrist. I thought that since he was wearing a furry jacket, the environment would then be cold, and it would make sense if his skin was a cooler tone. Based on the skin tone, I chose a metal color that would fit well with the shade of skin. The color of the clothes had more to do with the existing schemes of combat clothing. I thought to give him some more accessories aside from the dog tags, like rings that were actually nuts and bolts. It should be noted that at this stage this drawing is not rendered, and there are no signs of wear and tear of the environment that Bolts lives in, which there would be otherwise. The weapon was untouched, as I was focusing on the costume more than the weapon at this time as well.

The next step in this exercise was to create a couple more cleaner costume iterations with references in mind. For this specific iteration, I chose a weapon from a character in the game Alchemy Stars. Interestingly enough, one of the weapons belongs to a crocodile/alligator-like character in the game. Based on the bandages on the weapon, I gave Bolts bandaged handles for his butcher knives, and a torn shirt. The apron has similar features that can be seen in the front gun in the reference, like the orange clip that holds the magazine, which is recreated and implemented in the clips of the apron, belt with pouch, and his prosthetic leg. The molten element of the weapon inspired the color accent for this costume iteration. The style of the metal in Bolts’ jaw is the same as the sniper rifle seen in the back of the reference. The skin and pants color for Bolts are a similar color shade to the back of the front gun in the reference. These elements combined created a costume design that led me to making a butcher kind of outfit for Bolts, which is why his weapon is then not a gun, but bandaged cleavers.

The final costume exploration was done with reference of another weapon from the game Alchemy stars. I really liked the jagged metals of the swords, which I felt was appropriate for the world in which Bolts lives in. The jaggedness also inspired the torn shirt as clothing, and the fingerless combat gloves. I recreated some weapons, the bottom jaw, and foot with the forms of the metals in the reference in mind. I took the color of the blades and used it for Bolts’ skin color. With the main colors in mind, I chose colors I thought would go well and also fit with existing combat clothing colors for the rest of his costume. I felt that the solid colors were a little too boring, and so made his pants camouflage. The jaggedness of the weapons reminded of of leather straps and belts, and so I added that throughout his design as well. I actually really liked this design a lot, but due to time constraints, I ultimately chose the butcher costume above — as I didn’t have time to fully create different weapons completely different from the one in this reference. I think this outfit would’ve fit the previous hook design well — if the hook design was further designed.