Venus
Venus
Character Development
Embedded Files
Venus was an academic character development project, where the goal was to quickly create a character for an hypotetical fighting game. The final product was a themed presentation that heavily conveys the character's identity and aesthetics, which you can check out by clicking the button bellow.
The process of recreating Venus was a research-heavy one, as the details vary from culture to culture. I preferred pathing my own way through her story and personality, taking from both greek and roman mythology. On top of that, it was important for me as a woman myself to write Venus as a tridimensional character, deeper than just the pretty face everyone seems to remember. Intentionally using her cleverness and beauty to thrive in her battles, Venus was able to take ownership of her story.
Universe
Universe
Humanity's creative universe is a place habitated by living renaissance art pieces. At the Art Coliseum, these characters fight for the glory of holding the Olympic Cup.
Character
Character
Crafted by Botticelli more than 500 years ago in Florence, Venus is one of the many paintings in the creative universe shaped by humanity. Though she has been a symbol of desire and fertility for centuries, the modern reinterpretation of her figure has transformed Venus into an emblem of female strength and independence. Once overlooked in the Coliseum of Arts, she has proven to be a formidable competitor in any challenge and a new favorite to win the Olympic Cup.
Venus is a captivating goddess, possessing sharp wit and immense magical powers, but her grandeur can lead to carelessness and cause her to underestimate her opponents. She has developed a taste for victories in the Coliseum and will pursue the Cup at any cost.
Born from the sea foam, Venus has an intrinsic connection to the ocean. Her body reflects the beauty standards of the era in which she was painted. Her palace mirrors the aesthetics of the Roman Empire and Renaissance paintings. Venus’s powers manifest through flowers and seashells; due to her magical nature, she does not wield conventional weapons. Her see-through garments convey the texture of the tides, flowing fluidly.
Moodboard
Moodboard
Bark Sheet
Bark Sheet
When it came to creating Venus' bark sheet, I wanted to convey both her personality and backstory as a way to add narrative depth to the hypotetical fighting game. I also decided to challenge myself by going beyond what was being asked by my professor and creating contextual barks.
I conveyed Venus as a funny and fierce woman. She takes ownership of the sexual nature of her character by making jokes at the player's expense. She throws satire when hitting her opponent, tries winning her way by flirting and gets annoyed when losing.
Opening Lines:
"Be ready to taste sea foam today"
"Have I seen you around before? Unremarkable face, not sure I could bother remembering that"
When She is Hit:
"Hitting a girl? You're naughty"
When She is Hitting:
"Don't get distracted, my fists are up here"
When She is Using a Special Attack:
"You like flowers, darling? I got something for you"
When Opponent is Low:
"You look pretty when you're down on the dirt"
When She is Low:
"Is that all you got? I can show you everything I got after we're finished with this"
"What are you compensating for with those moves?"
When She Wins:
"Come on, sweetheart, that's pathetic. Maybe next time... (chuckles) who am I kidding?"
When She Loses:
"We're done here! You win, I guess... for now"
Sketching
Sketching
Final Design
Final Design
Through the process of creating Venus, she sure won a place in my heart. Creating projects you're passionate about is always a breath of fresh air through a busy academic career. Not being a visual artist, my goal was never to create something that looked good to the eyes, but that actually felt alive and conveyed the character personality and backstory well.
For her final design, I made sure to include her roses and gold jewelry, as well as the flowy and see-through garments. Her body was deeply based on Princess Teegra from Fire and Ice (1983), with adjustments to fit Renaissance beauty standards, as well as her jewelry being inspired by Aphrodite's from Hades (2018). Her color pallette is soft and warm, bringing a lot of the spring aesthetics that come with the ideas of beauty and fertility.
The process of creating the art for this piece really taught me how to quickly work up a visual reference that conveys a character and explore different designs for the same idea.
Venus ended up developing into a fun and elegant character, full of symbols and personality all-around, which I deeply regard as a beloved character development project.
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