Inspo & Drafts
Key elements of Patty’s character:
- Player’s mother
- Mediator and supports the player’s decisions
- Last Perriwinkle to see the old, good world
- Sassy and a know-it-all
- Old but not frail
- Will stay on Earth and is pro-adaptation
- Herbalist
After reading Patty’s character profile and looking at her original moodboard, I looked for more inspiration on Pinterest (find the full Pinterest board on the TLB website). Two key features of her appearance were her neatly braided hair and fur-lined clothing. This led me to look into more Viking and Renaissance-style clothing as these eras had draped silhouettes, braided hairstyles, and fur trims while also being utilitarian.
Another source of inspiration for Patty’s look was current/past trends as she is (approximately) a Gen Z. Known as the Afghan or Penny Lane coat (bottom right image), they became a staple in the 70s before falling off and re-emerging in the 2020s. This was due to the resurgence in vintage Y2K styles and the coat’s mixture of both a hippy and high-fashion vibe. Since an important part of Patty’s character was her doctorate in biology and organic chemistry, I wanted to convey this in her design. To achieve this, I changed the colour of the penny lane coat to off-white to make it more reminiscent of a lab coat. Furthermore, her leather satchel holds test tubes filled with various samples of the mutated flora which implies she will test these later at the bio camp.
For her colour palette, I limited it to organic colours as she also has a preference for natural fabrics. I debated whether or not to include some synthetic fabric colours (e.g. blue and black) but decided against this. The natural colour palette makes her look down to earth and drives home the point that she is against leaving and is pro-adaptation. In the original moodboard, it’s stated that she wears a lot of faux fur but it made more sense for her to use pre-existing garments and rework them to make new clothes or use the hide/fur from animals that the camp killed for food. This can be most obviously seen in her leather satchel which has been made from various scraps of leather.
Although you’ll have to look closer, Patty is wearing a waistcoat in the far right sketch. Also a staple in the 2000s, waistcoats have made a comeback since 2020 in the alternative and Y2K spaces and have now taken a more minimalist way of styling. I chose this specific trend for Patty to wear as it was elegant yet trendy during the time she was a young adult. Moreover, waistcoats were popular during spring and for business casual, which meant the fabrics were long-lasting and durable which matches her sustainable approach to clothing and supplies.
Although Patty’s appearance in the GDD had her hair neatly braided, I wanted to try a more messy style. I believe this looked quite nice and made sense for a character in a post-apocalyptic world. However, I decided to stay true to her original vision and keep her hair neat as it wasn’t too far-fetched for her to have neatly styled hair.
For her facial features she has rounded eyebrows, which indicate kindness and a sociable personality. She also has big, round eyes, as this is the centre of her character, and those with large eyes tend to be more empathetic. Her resting face has a natural smile as well as crow’s feet around her eyes to convey her piercing but warm gaze. (See finished concept art in Character Assets)
Feedback
To get feedback on my concept sketches, I created a survey asking basic questions about colour palettes and the clothing’s practicality in the game world (numbers start from left to right). The responses were insightful and validated many of the thoughts I already had. From the responses, I switched the colours of the top and trousers on the last sketch with the second as the majority voted that the darker palette was better. Although this was helpful, I didn’t see myself making another survey for another character as verbal or text message feedback was just as effective.
Reply