Challenging Conventions of Character Design 2

So, since introducing my first thoughts on the direction of my MA, I have considered some other aspects about the influences of culture in character design. 

I realised, first of all, that to take great influence from culture, to incorporate it well and realistically into the design of characters (and by extension their environments/worlds/lives) I need to understand: what constitutes culture? How do I define what it is and what really makes up a culture?

Countless games and movies take direct inspiration from real life culture. As if to back that up, a friend pointed out a video by Feng Zhu in which design is discussed regarding references to real life. According to that, the majority of design works best when the real life references/influences outweigh the completely imaginary aspects. Now, this could be another avenue that I could experiment with. Would most people prefer designs that came mostly from real life influences, i.e. culture in this case, or those which are vastly made up, inspired more readily by the designers visual vocabulary and imagination.

Along similar lines, it also occurred to me that it isn't merely historical culture or long lost cultures that inspire design, but obviously modern day cultures. This raised the question to myself: is the historical context growing outdated? How well do the historical influences blend with the flourishing sci-fi genre, for example? On the flip-side, perhaps there is not enough wonder and versatility to take great inspiration from today's cultures. After all, even eastern cultures are becoming somewhat westernized. Again, this could open an opportunity to experiment with how people perceive characters from more recent cultures in comparison to older cultures.

Another question I asked myself was whether there is direct causation between suitable art styles and the cultural influence into the design of a character. Perhaps certain art styles only work because of the inspiration behind the character - the setting of the character and its environment etc.

Going back to my mention of Mario in my last entry, people obviously grow attached to their favorite characters. Would it have the same outcome if that character came from another culture. What about lesser known cultures? It might be possible that these kinds of characters might become niche and detached from player relation. This makes me consider why we don't often see more unique cultures in games and other media more often. Of course, the experience a player receives can be a whole let better when they relate to the character whose role they assume, so player-character relation is pretty important in my opinion.

Again, more answers to find. I need to appoint myself a solid set of questions to systematically answer, to guide my exploration of these thoughts and considerations.

Challenging Conventions of Character Design

Finding a starting point is one of the most difficult parts. Finding one for my MA was even trickier! 

Firstly, though, I considered what I enjoy, what I specialize in and what I've dabbled in before. How could these things create a pathway for me to explore? 

My specialism is in character design. When I considered this, I reflected on how I used mythology as an influence for previous characters. In regards to this, the suggestion of culture - something that widely interests me -got me thinking further about how much of an influence culture can have when designing characters. 

There are a few examples, such as Okami, where the obvious cultural influence screams out at you. Immediately, you know it is an art style taken from Japanese culture.

Okami - traditional Japanese ink painting style

                                   

But how does this reflect in less obvious characters and, by extension, their worlds? I want to question the impact of cultural influences and references within character design and how people interpret those characters. One could design a character, and it may or may not work in one style or another, designs influenced from existing cultures - both historical and modern. 

In terms of exploring this, I would begin with researching existing characters from various different media and investigate their impact on their respective audiences. How clearly do people see the cultural references, if there are any, and do they understand it? Does this spark their interest in that culture or does it put them off? 

By no means, when I'm referring to the influence of culture, does it merely apply to an art style. It could be in that very character's personality or the clothes they wear, which might be influenced by a place/era/tradition/you-name-it. Perhaps, while the inspiration behind the character might be subtle, this kind of thing has a bigger impact than people might think. I want to challenge whether there is more to character design than simply creating a recognizable mascot.

Take Mario, a blatantly recognizable character for various reasons, and yet one of the things that makes him so fun and agreeable is the novelty that he is an Italian plumber, and with it he brandishes the typical mustache always associated with Italian culture. Stereotypical though it may be, the influence from Italy is clearly there. Would the character have been taken/accepted any differently if he had been of any other culture?

And there's my starting point! The point raises a number of questions; now it's time to begin searching for the answer to them.