Found Character 2: Taking Cues from Nature

Source of Inspiration

This morning, as I was walking to class, some of the plants outside of the School of Communication caught my eye.

I wondered to myself how these plants would look like as some forest dwelling creatures that players could take control of, or be able to meet in some fantasy world. The leaves on the plant reminded me of some sort of fur or covering for the characters I would be inspired to create. It also gave me some inspiration for the "hair" design for the characters. I enjoyed using this plant as a reference, because it was something I was not used to working with before now.

Sketches/Proof of Concept

As I was drawing the character, I referred back to my image and the shapes of the leaves. Each seemed to have its own space to grow, with there being plenty at the top, all around the plant. I like how it also looked like the leaves of the plant were evenly spread throughout the stem. I did my best to incorporate this element into designing my character.

As you can see in my image, I took inspiration for the "cardiovascular system" from leaves we see every day. As I added the leaf design, I noticed how the veins in leaves grow at different angles but are always connected to the main stem. I used this element to form a "rib cage" based on the vein design, and expanded on it.

Character Background

I decided to call this character a "Spriteling". My idea is that the Spritelings are half a foot tall, are very adept at camouflage, and change colors during the seasons or as they age. The Spritelings are very kind, helpful, and adorable creatures, but are very shy, so they tend to stay hidden. Spritelings breathe the same way that plants take in air. They are a carbon-absorbing species, and expel oxygen. It is rare to spot one out, unless the player is highly focused on their surroundings. It is said that finding a Spriteling gives good luck to adventurers on their journey.

Based on where the Spritelings live, they change based on the environment they are in, as well as the seasons. I also drew a sketch of the Spriteling heart, which I based on an apple seed. The Spritelings get their energy from living in nature.

Female Spritelings mature faster than males, so their veins are much more visible from an early age. However, the leaves they grow from their body are not as abundant as on males, so the males' leaves are shed to make extra camouflage for the females who may not produce as much leaves. All Spritelings are very crafty and ingenuitive, and they produce tools and weapons for hunting in their local neighborhoods. Shown above are tools fashioned from wood splinters and rocks, items easily found where Spritelings reside.

Game Theory

I could picture a game with the Spritelings as an open area exploration or story game. Players play as Spritelings and hunt for food in the surrounding environment. The Spritelings have to camouflage themselves from bigger creatures to keep safe outside of the home. Their hearts can serve as a power source and boost to abilities in states of crisis, like boosting the tools or weapons with extra natural properties, leading to double damage. As I continue to work on these characters, I want to think more about they would be played in a game, as well as what interesting backstories or abilities I can create for the characters.