So the other day, I was working on Chintor's concepts (one of the characters in the game) at a 24 hour coffee shop with a friend which happens to be the same friend that gave my character that name. He looked over my shoulder as I took a break and sipped on some coffee to get me through the night as I worked frantically this weekend to piece these concept sheets for a class presentation. To my surprise, he laughed and called the protruding chin a 'chinsicle'. That comment really stuck with me and I thought more about the functionality of Chintor's chin. The more I stared at it, the more I thought about how useless it was and it appeared to be more ornate and bothersome than helpful.
I then thought about what it would be like if I were in Chintor's shoes and how I would move and talk and express myself having a chin like he did. I then realized that if he were to yell, or speak or move his head a certain direction/way the chin would in fact stab his chest. I thought about the animations for this character and I saw how it could be difficult/ limiting due to his anatomy, so I decided to revisit the concept and make changes on that part of his face. I think this looks better overall and the chin is not so distracting like it was before. I think it makes more sense anatomically as well (although I'm not an expert in alien anatomy).
I then thought about what it would be like if I were in Chintor's shoes and how I would move and talk and express myself having a chin like he did. I then realized that if he were to yell, or speak or move his head a certain direction/way the chin would in fact stab his chest. I thought about the animations for this character and I saw how it could be difficult/ limiting due to his anatomy, so I decided to revisit the concept and make changes on that part of his face. I think this looks better overall and the chin is not so distracting like it was before. I think it makes more sense anatomically as well (although I'm not an expert in alien anatomy).
This realization in terms of design made me extremely happy. I was able to re-think an idea and go back to visit old sketches and re-work them because:
Form=Function.
Before
After
