Portfolio Class- Character Development!

[emooi]

Great work everyone!

I really wanted to attend this class, so i asked Dan for his approval.
As soon as i got the green light yesterday i busted my ass off to catch up with you guys.
the best choice for me was also the Japanese/samurai culture because i really like the style and think it would be great in my portfolio. The reason i never did it before was that i always stayed away from it because it is so detailed. So now it is the time to give it my best shot.

After i did my research and build up my mood-board,


and watched the first feedback live stream. i decided to include the red dragon into Arthur's armor.
Many brainstorm sessions went by and finally i roughly sketched my idea out


The idea is to make the armor on his left side the red dragon, that protects Arthur but also let Arthur looks that he has become one with the dragon through Excalibur.
Excalibur in my case is the tail. In my research i found that a emperor/king transformed into a dragon when he started to grow a tail :)

Time for some study's. number 1 and 2 are study's and 3 and 4 are my designs for the helmet. I'm going with number 4.


also made some nostrils from rope, so when he fights or moves it gives an extra dimension to the dragon/helmet to make it come alive.

For his chest plate i didn't want to go wild out on the dragon idea. so i go with design number 4 and the plates from 3.


Here's the design for his dragon shoulder pad and underarm


As for Excalibur i dont want to go with the famous Katana sword so i choose the Nodachi type sword and turned it more into a dragons tail shape, number 5.


Also did some Asian face studies to see what age/facial hair works best for Arthur.


The strongest part so far was to get a good pose. I looked up some famous figures and other noble men to see in witch pose they where painted so i had some refs. The only thing i had to figure out was how to make the armor pop out.
and i think number 3 wins.

Tomorrow i paint my final sketch before i render it all out, and post it here as well.
Sorry for the long post but hope my idea is clear :) any tips, feedback or critique is most welcome, and btw sorry if my English isn't so good

Erik