An Approach to Design Visuals for Archetypes Based on Character Archetype Taxonomies

Abstract

In this thesis, I present a method to construct visual designs for character archetypes. Using this method, I have developed a set of encyclopedic references for a wide variety of archetypes to demonstrate the power of my approach. While there are many professional examples of successful character designs, there seems to be little academic research done in standardizing a method to achieve the results. In this thesis, I present a formal method to construct character designs. My method is based on visual semiotics that is used for creating clear meaning behind design choices while still retaining a sense of aesthetic through principles of artistic design. The method can be summarized as follows: 1) describing a model via a compelling real world reference, and capturing generic likeness of the model in order to evaluate visual cues from a variety of proportional changes 2) introducing personality drawing from indexical signs, and emphasizing visual appeal through the addition and/or omission of props, and 3) encyclopedia showcasing the visual results from using this methodology, as well as a breakdown of why the design choices were made.