Unit 9: Adaptation - Driver Expression Sheets

Hello Everyone,

This weekend gone was mostly about cars but I did have a few moments to sit down and crack out my Drivers expressions. The car stuff is on its way to the blog I have just been getting bits nailed down so I have plenty to show. I have been playing with a number of styles but I will probably be going with Alan's suggestion, just to slightly exaggerate the vehicles so it is clear what they are and from what period. People that know me know that I keep a few things close to my chest for a big unveil so stay calm your day in the sun is coming very very soon :)

In the mean time I will talk a little on my Drivers expression sheets which were a bit of a pig to get together but they are here now. I didn't colour them mainly because I like seeing the line which is slightly liken to my comic book background. The main trial of drawing them was keeping the proportions consistent so the character looked the same. This is a battle I usually struggle with especially when I am contemplating specific poses and emotions. Structure just usually gets pushed to the side till the very last minute but I have got them to where I am happy.

Now lets move on to Drivers expressions.

Now I will begin this post showing the further development post "Finding the front" which gave me what I would consider to be Drivers base shape in line art. I wanted to start here so people can see the journey the face has taken and contrast it with his range of emotion. Of course I will take this moment to say that some of the expressions below are not likely to be used, Driver worried I do not envision cropping up too much, Angry is more likely. Still I thought I would do it for my own curiosity I would say concerned is a more accurate portrayal.

 

Driver Expressions 1 was where I began, I started by just altering Drivers blank stare into a bit more of an emotional one with "Annoyed". It seemed quite easy to transition and I wanted a face on expression in the mix to show variance. "Focused" was more for of an expression for when he is driving (evading police etc). "Threat" was inspired by the film "Drive" when he leans over and points at the girl - I couldn't resist I liked the expression. "Sad" was a less desirable but there are moments where Driver loses someone close to him so it was an emote that had to be there.

Driver Expressions 2 was next, I took this chance to battle the obstacle of the "Side" of his head I knew I would need it for the next step of this little adventure. From the side I turned it slightly to get "Cheeky" possibly my favourite. I then actually rotated things a little more and lowered the brows more throwing in some spiked collar to get "Action". "Business" came from my want to reintroduce the Cigarette but I also loved the dead eye expression shown in most of Drives cover art (in case you haven't seen it - hes walking from his car with a hammer in his hand - emotionless).

Driver expressions 3 were mostly the rejects pile with the exception of "Inquisitive" which took a while to get but I think it does have uncertainty which I like. "Worried" began as a kind of threatening stare but something to lost when I inked it sadly. The "Concerned" face was for Drivers potential love interest should she get hurt but other then that it wouldn't be used. The same deal for "Happy" mainly because they are only used in otherwise "Romantic" situations. Not necessarily the plot for my game but the undertones are in the text so it had to be prepared for.

I did this exercise mainly so I could explore the remit of the Base face which I sketched up the other week. While some of the features on a couple of the faces are questionable I think it's actually worked out great from the original head that I started with. All of these faces automatically give him more personality then the one dimensional hero, I know its not briefed but I really wanted to feel more for him so this part was kind of key for me. I will probably have a play later with the 3D version when I have it just to see if I can recreate any of these in 3D - it would be cool.

Anyway that does it for expression sheets, I only have a couple of other bits to post up regarding "Driver" before I get down to 3D so you may have to wish me luck there.

Take it easy!!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx