This section looks at my character design process, from references through to more finalised designs. I experimented with colour, style, and characterisation to achieve the perfect version of Hilda. The 1950s housewife was interesting to create and served as a good testing ground for the more stylised drawings that would make up the rest of the comic.
These studies heavily influenced many aspects of the character design I would later develop. Took the short coiffed hairstyle featured in several of them, a popular hairstyle at the time; used the dress in the top left as inspiration for one of Hilda’s outfits. The intense expressions (& in particular their eyes) featured in all of them, even the one that is an advertisement for sleep aid, heavily influenced how I would draw her expressions. They are already very exaggerated, pushing them slightly further lends itself well to a slightly maddened look. Also goes well with my existing tendency for heightened expressiveness.
These sketches helped me to establish my basic character design. I worked to simplify shapes to allow me to identify her by relying on her silhouette. I also started to put together how best to convey her personality. Here her hair is styled in a period-typical bob for her first appearances. It is firm and put-together allowing for a more drastic change to reflect her mental state.
Large and expressive eyes with small pupils and plenty of sclera showing are traditionally interpreted as threatening or a sign of derangement. By making use of the above image I built Hilda's eyes, creating an instant sense of unease, drawing the reader in, and offering a hint of what is to come. The focus on the eyes is a motif I explore throughout, making use of the uncanny that eyes can evoke.
Here I experimented a little with colour. While I later settled on the monochrome motif, this image helped me to finalise a picture of what Hilda looks like outside of the oppressive lighting.
My first attempt at a model sheet was mainly used to establish colours. The blue-white dress gives a sense of cleanliness, as the bright red hair draws the viewer's eye, offering an anchor point. This brings her hair into stark focus, allowing me to play on the tidiness v dishevelment later. It will also go well with the blood later on.
Hilda's design for the night scenes. Here she is disheveled, her hair loose, her makeup gone. A stark contrast to her prim and proper opening scenes, here she is almost a completely different character. I am attempting to convey an oppressively hot, humid summer night. So hot that she is incapable of sleep. Instead, we see her sweat-soaked and in bed, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes. The nightgown has decorative holes offering both an in-period design and a sense of a piece of moth-eaten clothing.
I decided to try a simplified style to see if it would fit with the more streamlined comic. In the end, I decided against it.
A design for near the end of the comic. Here you can see her attempting to return to the opening propriety but not quite being able to recapture it. Her presence of mind has slipped, making it impossible to manage the full way. Her makeup is sloppily applied and running with sweat, her hair tied back, messy, and with a noticeable lack of care. Her dress from the beginning returns, now untidy, unbuttoned, and without the apron. The yellow accentuates the heat.
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