Character Brainstorming

I've been getting started on doing a little research on regards to character design and how my character might be looking age wise and aesthetically.

Luckily for me, I don't have to look very far as there's one prime source of what Koreans may have looked like and that source is kdrama. They have an extensive network of hundreds of drama series that involve being placed in old or ancient Korea whether it be fictional or based on true events, Koreans love to show themselves off it seems. So I will likely be scrolling through some of these dramas this year to get a better likeness of the fashion/ design sense.

There is a movie a chanced upon called 'A girl at my door' directed by July Jung. About a cop who is stationed in a rural country side town and she regularly interacts with an abused young lady. and it struck me. THIS IS THE CHARACTER. As soon as I saw the thumbnail of the young girl, I just about popped from my chair at the simple accuracy of what I had been thinking in my head. The actress, Kim Sae-ron is aged 17 now but she was cast as the character from that movie whilst she was 14 which checks in perfectly for the age level of my character I had been imagining perfectly.

She had the perfect amount of innocence in her appearance but at the same time, it wasn't the sweat and pure innocence typical for a girl her age. There was something a little darker and she looks quite intense. Perfect mixture in my opinion.

As for the costume sense, I will need to design her in a more traditional neat and tidy Korean garb as well as a makeshift more rugged look for when she is outside and after she has escaped her kidnappers.

Kdramas I will be focusing on for the aesthetics will be ones like Chuno that strongly show the older more traditional side of korea as well as ones like 'The pirates' where the woman warrior in that show embodies the kind of look I wanted my character to have.

As far as movies of the period I have in mind are ones such as 'The last princess' which perfectly encloses what everything looked like in that time period during imperial Japanese rule.

I want my character to be more innocent, and victimized in her origin but more harder and colder in later after she witnesses and experiences so much cruelty outside the walls of her small village.

Kim Sae-ron in 'A girl at my door'

This is the actress I saw and thought would be good to use a visual ref to base off for my character.

Lee Da-hae in 'Chuno'

This is how I would imagine she would start out. Innocent and unaware living in a village with her dad and younger sibling.

Son Ye-Jin in 'The pirates'

This is how I picture her to be when you are playing as her except she would be carrying more accessories befitting in 1935 time period for example, belts with pouches of ammunition from an Imperial soldier and a rifle.

First ever draft for my character done by my lead storyboard artist; Alexandra Mae Dela Cruz

A quick digital drawing my lead concept artist came up with along the reference lines I gave her.