This character survived a disaster, losing her memory and her family. She was always trying to regain her memory, which made her constantly depressed. One day, when she was helping a little girl mend a toy, she discovered that she could sense others' memories by mending things. So she opened a tailor shop by the roadside. While helping others, she also learned about the different stories that happened to them. At the same time, she gradually recalled some of the good times in the past. Finally, she decided to put down the needle and thread, move away from the tailor shop and start a new life.
INTRODUCTION
to CHARACTER
STORIES
ABOUT DEDSIGNING
At the very beginning, my design concept was to create a character related to "nostalgia". So I identified several concepts associated with "nostalgia": outdated clothing, hand-sewing, and crows (because crows had auspicious meanings in ancient times). Then these elements were reflected in the character I designed: a cloche hat, the wool and needle-shaped decorations on the hat, outdated hairstyles and the seams on the clothes.
I chose the cloche hat as one of the anchor points for my character design because the top of this hat is relatively round and resembles the head of one of the reference objects I selected, the crow. Moreover, this type of hat was quite popular in the 20th century. I also added wool and needles to the hat to emphasize her identity as a seamstress.
Regarding the design of her sleeves, I designed her sleeves to be wide, because I wanted them to look like the wings of a crow. To emphasize her identity as a seamstress and her sewing skills, I added decorative stitching to her sleeves.
The dress I designed for her is also quite retro, characterized by its relatively wide skirt. To further emphasize her image as a seamstress, I added an apron with stitch decorations for her. The design of the skirt hem behind her is intended to make this area look like the tail feathers of a crow. Meanwhile, this hem that only exists on the back half of the skirt makes the design of this character even more distinctive.
Regarding the design of this character's legs, to make her entire figure look more harmonious, I designed a relatively large pair of shoes for her. The shape of these shoes is slightly curved at the front, resembling the kind of shoes a witch might wear, which adds a touch of fantasy to the character. Since the story of this character is somewhat like a fairy tale, I did not design her entire outfit based on real-world clothing. This includes her hairstyle, which is a retro style with a long braid at the back, making her look more energetic, just like her story, where she discovers beauty in a gloomy life.
Regarding the character's personality, I believe she has a rather strong and independent nature. After enduring the significant blows of losing her memory and her family, she was still able to persist in living and eventually let go of her attachment to the past and embark on a new life. However, she is also the kind who is not good at expressing herself. Because she rarely interacts with others and only communicates with people when helping them sew things. Through sewing, she gains the ability to see others' memories, which also fulfills her spiritual needs. To others, she seems like a cold young woman. But in fact, she is a warm-hearted person who desires a better life.
When creating the background story for this character, I was reminded of a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe called "The Raven". In this poem, the role of the raven is to inform the protagonist of the love interest's death, indicating that it will never return, and reminding people that some things can never be regained: “ Quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore. ’”And the character I designed also incorporates the imagery of the raven. Her fragmented memories and past cannot be restored, although she is a magical tailor with the power to sew others' memories. This element of the raven has become the visual representation of the unsewn cracks in her memory.
PRACTICING
Because the clothes of the character I designed are relatively loose and take up a large proportion of the character's image, while designing this character, I also specifically drew some practice sketches. I drew some quick sketches about the folds of clothes and fabrics, so that I wouldn't feel too exhausted when drawing the dress of the character I designed.
In addition, in order to find more suitable poses and expressions for the characters I design, I also drew various quick sketches of poses. Because I believe that the more I practice, the more natural the poses of the characters I draw will be, making them look less stiff and more like real people.
