Collaborate with the Midnight Burger team to develop the visual representation of Caspar, the accidental adventurer and heart of the diner.
I discover what things look like on the page and not in my head so I’ve been playing around. I don’t know if I’ve found Caspar yet.
1st try
I think that because Caspar doesn’t like change, whatever he stumbled into the diner with is pretty much just what he wears. Even if he were to get new clothes they would be the closest to his old clothes.(the replacements could have some fun subtle differences now that I think about it) That being said he hated his job at the DMV. I thought that he might not care as much for the dressy parts staying perfect, so I made the collar a bit crooked and gave him rolled up sleeves so it was easier to just get on with it. I think that idea could work, I don’t think I drew it working as it makes him seem haphazard. Which doesn’t vibe with his control freak nature.
One thing I did like about the slightly abused dress shirt was I had this idea of what if one of the changes over time to his wardrobe is if Ava in order to irritate Caspar writes little notes on his back when she thinks she can get away with it. I think it’s a fun detail you could get away with because no one in the diner would want to talk about it.
- Ava wouldn’t talk it would ruin the fun.
- Besides the Mucklewains probably having a betting ring over who’ll mention it first. Which would give everyone more motivation to not talk about it. There wouldn’t be a whole lot to talk about cause it’s Ava and Caspar being Ava and Caspar.
- Caspar knows but he’s Caspar, acknowledging Ava putting her super special notes on him not something he’d do. Additionally if she’s been doing it long enough then it’s probably not a thing anyone thinks about anymore they just do it.
- To everyone else Capar gets pranked with ink stains and it’s just what his shirt looks like, who cares
Note: I have a vague memory of Caspar refusing to wear uncomfortable clothing to the DMV but I haven’t found it again so…
2nd try:
Ok so this one, I gave him Freddy Flintstone Hair. Because Freddy Flintstone does fit the description of a depressed everything man who still approaches the world with wonder or at least bowling. I find it funny. What I like about this one is that he does look like someone, who after Ava throws the rock at his forehead, you be like that makes sense and go back to trying to figure out how Ava did that.I like that there is childish-ness to this one. I also think it’s out of balance. I like the big shoulders thing on the overstuffing a Twinkie test.
Clothes: I gave him an over washed shirt and dress pants he’d cut the bottoms off of for ease of motion and revenge.
3rd Try
I like that the angry pose looks like a StarTrek captain, He looks like someone Ava would like to throw a rock at and, that it looks like he knows what he’s doing or will fake that he does til infinity. It also feels a little bit more charismatic which seems like something Caspar has. I just gave him a fresh shirt and jeans.
Mood boards:
The first thing that came to mind after reading the design description was Iron Giant. I actually used poses from that movie to explore my attempts at character design :
The Photo of Alan Tudyk from FireFly is the expression I assume Caspar has when he pushes Ava off the side of the parking lot. I tried thinking of every depressed do everything man that has a story and things that they want to teach but due to personal failings couldn’t or don’t believe they deserve to. Bonus points if they have a capacity for rage.
Relevant Portfolio Work:
Once there is a Character Design. I’m good at being able to translate that design into other unique versions of the same character. I’m pretty sure once we’ve or you discover what Caspar looks like I can then break it down into easily translatable parts.
I repeat. I want to know what Caspar looks like so I can make a pigeon version of him. I think that should exist.