DEATH

Yet another design to create for the comic, but for this one I have a strong foundation, using Stacey Rozich's designs as reference.

I started being really playful with the shapes building the character and the tone. There isn't anything saying death has to follow certain perimeters in terms of build, meaning I explored all shapes and sizes. I even experimented with the tone, having goofier, more caricature designs in the mix. I decided on a sort of respectful design, lacking any extreme modifications to the form. Having too goofy a character would kill the tone of the comic in general.

Here are fleshed out versions of the design, with a scaling guide as I start to consider the height of the characters. The only real alteration to the death design is the cloth over the eyes, and golden bones. The cloth is there to represent a sort of blindness to the situation. Regardless of the fact that a young boy will be losing his father, death has a job to do and is unaffected by the sadness of the situation. The gold, inspired by Rozich, is also a signifier of the importance given to death in our western culture. We worry so much about it, giving it such importance, whereas in other cultures it is seen as a time to celebrate the persons life. I felt a need to somehow portray our approach to the situation through this.

I see some potential in this design, I feel I may use it on some products in the later stage of the project.