WEEK 7 - Further investigation

Character Research

Mountain men research

Miners research 

Relevant cartoons research

Silhouettes

I began my silhouette process by looking into animals in the Denver/Colorado area and tracing there outlines to help me get an understanding for the technology in which I had never used before. 

then began creating silhouettes based on my initial ideas towards what mountain men and miners looked like along with influence from my research. The designs start of fairly basic and get a little more complex. 

In the above concepts i have begun to explore these ideas by using big coats and animal skins to portray that a certain character is from the cold of the mountains. This can also be seen in the fur hats and facial hair of some characters, while others were hats that suggest they are from the outdoors in a different way such as the 10 gallon hat seen in the bottom left.

Through my initial concepts I also trialed different sizes and scales. This is due to mountain men been perceived as big and husky, while minors are often illustrated as dwarfs in many fictional tales and movies. The idea of mining for gold with a pick axe is also fairly archaic, which might suggest a character to be older and more frail. I have also explored the concept of women being gold diggers as seen on the far right,. However this may not be a good look for the brand as it could be taken as sexist or so on. 

In my next lot of silhouettes I have further explored clothing. This can be seen through the tassels hanging off some characters clothing, as I noticed this was a reoccurring motif in my mountain men research.  I have also incorporated many variations of wide brimmed hates as this to was also recurring consistently throughout my research.

A :   This concept depicts a husky tall man leaning on his pick axe wearing cloths associated with                being a mountain man, as seen from the tassels. The pick axe suggest he is hard working, while          his body language suggests he is confidant. Although I don't feel he display enough persona                to draw in fans investment.

B :    This concept shows a small dwarfish man wearing an outfit one would probably expect to see              in snow white. His large nose and ears give him uniqueness and suggest more of a persona.                  However his hat and beard might suggest he comes from the mountains, his cloths do not and              would not suite the nature of the team.

C :   This concept shows a small man jumping for joy after discovering gold and is inspired by the                Nuggets 1976-1981 logo, of a minor jumping for joy after finding an ABA league ball.

D:   This concept displays what is supposed to be a small frail old man, as seen by his stature and frail         slim limbs. I am not a large fan of this concept as his body language could be taken to seem                 frustrated or grumpy and his age and frail limbs don't fairly represent a sport full of energetic               athletes.

E :  Concept E shows a large oafish looking man. Although large in stature he looks out of place and          cowardly, due to his shrugged shoulders and thick puffy clothing.

F:    In concept F style is very different to the other concepts. I this the style creates a great character           with plenty of persona, but i feel it is more of sadness, like many years searching hopelessly for           gold has defeated him. This is reflected through the body language and stringy shape of the                 beard and pick axe.   

G :  This concept is in a similar style to concept F, However, the body langue and shape are vastly               different. With concept G looking much more like a typical mountain man. I also incorporated a         rifle in the concept as it was a recurring element through out the research. the gun as a symbol             connotes much more violence then the pick axe and doesn't tie as strongly to the theme of                   nuggets. 

H :  H is a silhouette of a mole with a pick axe and a mining hat. This concept is almost an exact copy         of one of my research images. I have drawn it to practice drawing the shape and qualities of the           mole opposed to the human concepts I have designed thus far, to aid me in further concepts                 centered around it.

I : This concept incorporates a bearded man with a fur coat and wide brimmed hat to illustrate he is a       mountain man. He has a pick axe in one hand to show he is a miner and a basket ball in the other         to refer back to the teams sport. the character was largely influenced by the Boston Celtics logo           and hence has a close resemblance, further development is required to allow it to be more unique.

J :  this logo is a development of the last and explores different costume options, along with replacing      the basket ball with a fresh nugget of gold.  the use of the mustache allows a greater focus on              clothing as there is no beard in the way of the detail. however it gives the idea more of                        sophistication and tidiness and losses some of the rugged qualities of the mountain man.