Character Exploration - Arsheesh (The Horse and His Boy)

This section shows my character design explorations for the villain 'Arsheesh' from my personal project based on CS Lewis’s novel ‘The Horse and His Boy’ (progressing from bottom to top)

Stage 5 - I explored various clothing and prop designs to go with the character. These clothing options were drawn from examples of poor, working-class villagers in the Middle East

Stage 5 - I explored various clothing and prop designs to go with the character. These props are all drawn from various fishing tools that were used in ancient Mediterranean cultures

Stage 4 - I added color and texture while developing expressions congruent with Arsheesh's character and personality

Stage 3 - I finally landed on a general look I liked, and blocked in some basic values

Headshot turnaround done while developing Arsheesh's head shape and features

I also did a number of expressions for Arsheesh as I tried to pin down his facial features in particular

Stage 2 - I did a number of gesture drawings to explore Arsheesh's proportions, refined shape language, personality, clothing, and potential props

Stage 1 - I made a simplified lineup to establish initial shape language and relative size for my cast

Some of the key reference photos I used while developing Arsheesh. I drew heavily from Bedouin robes and Arab turbans, and also drew from various traditional Mediterranean fishing techniques and tools.