Assignment 3: About the Character
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Here’s my blog post about the character that I’m making a model of for Assignment 3. It’s a sand goblin named JigTick, which is a character created by Max, and this post is a short summary of the information about the character that he had written. (Concept art made by Max, his blog can be found here: http://maxmaekvidya.wordpress.com)
Name: JigTick Nickname: Clanless Backstory: JigTick is a sand goblin that was cast out of his tribe and goblin society after have sold a secret concoction that the tribe alchemists had made to a human trader in order to secure food for the tribe. He was one of the tribe’s traders, and since that was the only thing he knew how to do, he continued that occupation as an outcast. He now wanders the desert along with his camel Schalla and his other beasts of burden, while looking for maps and clues to the fallen civilization of his people. Physical appearance: JigTick has though green skin and his length reaches to the shoulders of an average human. He has good endurance which makes him able to walk very far, and his movements are avian-like because of his legs with the wrists bent downwards. His arms are very weak, and because of that and his small size, he always has to have someone help him out packing his animals. JigTick’s face is covered because of the culture of the nomadic desert goblins, which prevents him to show his face to anyone outside of his family (his tribe and trade caravans counts as family). Because of his occupation, he has a certain pressure to look respectable, so he tries to not smell or look bad. Inner rhythm: JigTick is pleased with living the life of a nomad, wandering the deserts and trading. There’s a very calm air around him, and even though he often faces prejudice and racism, he doesn’t raise his voice. He’s almost too tolerant when it comes to things like that. General information: JigTick is shrewd, and has learnt many important lessons about trading the hard way, by being scammed and robbed by people around him. He learnt the different languages and numbers of the desert people and desert craft from his tribe and family, which is very important for a trader. The tribe leader chose JigTick to be the tribe trader at a young age, and he really liked the freedom that came with the occupation. For a sand goblin, you only get to communicate with the outside world if you are chosen to be a tribe trader or emissary, since the goblin tribes are very territorial and savage and only communicate with others through those ways. When it comes to the money that he makes from trading, he can manage to earn great sums of money by peddling goods on the edge of the desert, but he has many outcomes. Food and water for himself and his beasts of burden during his travels costs a lot, and because of his physique he also needs to hire guards to protect himself (he even sometimes have to hire guards to protect himself from his own guards). And since there are many that despise goblins, he often get bad deals as well. JigTick’s hobbies are games and gambling, which he plays for the challenge more than for the money. Therefore, he mostly plays low stakes which doesn’t affect his economy that much whether he wins or loses. Religion and culture: The desert is very important for JigTick and the other sand goblins, because their religion and history revolves around it. It’s been said that the goblins once were hunted by humans and elves, who plundered them and threw them out of the great cities and stole their secrets of alchemy and glassblowing. The goblins were close to extinction, and it’s said that in every ¼ grain of sand in the desert, you can find bone meal of a desert goblin. “Always pour 1/8 of your alcohol to the spirits in the sand” and “Do not leave the ancestors’ protection of the great desert.” are two of the principles that the sand goblins live by. Relations: Being an outcast, JigTick sees the people that he travels with as his family. His closest friend is [player character] which is one of the few persons that he trusts, and that he makes sure to travel with as often as he can. He also knows other traders, but many of the innkeepers in the desert cities as well since it’s very advantageous for him in his occupation.
It’s a fantasy themed game in a simplified realism style. Skyrim and Dragon age were the competitors that Max mentioned, but I also think that a game such as Zelda: Twilight Princess could be a competitor as well. About the game world: It’s a fantasy world where adventure waits around the corner. It’s populated by fantasy races such as elves, halflings and dwarves, and sand goblins like JigTick of course. – – – Personal notes and observations: I really like the character and think that it has a good design that supports his story. I think he has a nice colour scheme, which fits a desert living character like JigTick, and I think he fits in very well in his environment in general. Concerns about the modelling: I’m a bit concerned about the legs being more avian-esque, and think that they will be a bit difficult for me to model. I’m going to look up references for similar legs and try to understand how they work. Hopefully I won’t be struggling too much with the modelling… The tail hidden beneath the cloth covering the hips and the cloth itself are also things that I’m a bit concerned about, but I think that it’s mostly because of the poly count. It’s the same with the cloth part in the face, and I wonder how to model them with as few polys as possible (and still make it look like cloth). Regarding the tail, I think the main problem is how to connect it to the rest of the model and body, but probably I’ll have to connect it to the character’s pants.  |
