P6: Develop an original character to be included in the planned story
In terms of appearance, below are some initial character sketches I have done that show Ten's facial features, hair, body shape, height, etc.
She doesn't have the most feminine body shape, because in a lot of comics and graphic novels, women are given an hour glass or pear shaped body, with large breasts and hips to appeal to the male gaze. I have instead chosen to portray Ten my way as I want to show my female teenage audience that women can look however they want and be taken seriously as strong individuals. Also, I don't want Ten's appearance to be a focus of the graphic novel, as it would take away from the tone that I am creating - one which is bleak, serious and mature. I don't want to give readers reason to sexualise my main character unnecessarily, and I believe that I will draw in a large audience of teenage girl by creating a character that isn't there just for 'eye-candy'.
Throughout the graphic novel, Ten will wear a very similar outfit in order for her to be recognisable to the reader and to also create brand familiarity that will be useful to have if merchandise is ever made for Hope World. She will wear a hoodie or coat, jeans and trainers consistently through the series as this is what people of her age mostly wear - and also what the target audience wear. Although Hope World is set in the future, the cyberpunk aesthetic incorporates free-running and ninja themes so I want the fashion of the time to value comfort and practicality more than looks. Ten also likes to dress in dark colours, as before the plot of Hope World, she was in hiding and so needed to blend in with the shadows at night.
In terms of colours, I have chosen for my entire graphic novel to be in black and white. I have chosen this because I want to create a bleak tone and also because I don't want my art style to take away or distract from the story, so I want to keep it fairly simple. I may use some grey tones to stop clothing, hair, backgrounds, etc. all blending into one, but for the most part I want my style to stay monochrome. Black and white are also opposites, with black connoting danger and mystery, and white connoting purity and innocence - so I have chosen these colours to show contrast in my novel and that both good and bad exist in any circumstance. This links in with my narrative as it discusses how the lines can be blurred between good and bad, specifically when the government advertise a product as being all-good, but there are bad things that are hidden from the public.
Character traits:
determined
patient
realistic
responsible
independent
stubborn
hates change
loves retro tech and old music
family oriented
committed
In my graphic novel, I want to show many sides of Ten's personality, both good and bad. At the beginning of the comic, we see more of her good traits - like being a hard worker. She is a very determined and committed person, so once she is given a task, she won't let anything stop her from completing it. The same goes with her relationships with friends and family, she is very committed and loyal to those she trusts, but is sometimes too realistic and can come off as being pessimistic or unwilling to take risks. She is family orientated to a fault, and is often more responsible and mature than her older sister, making their mum trust Ten more than her reckless and optimistic sister Fizz.
Later in the graphic novel, as the themes get darker and more serious, I want to introduce a darker side of Ten and explore the negative sides of her personality. Her need to be independent, dislike of change and stubbornness will work against her and make others in her group feel disconnected from her and that they don't share the same goals.
The aim of showing all aspects of Ten's personality is that the readers will be able to connect with her and feel like they are a part of the story. I also want the teenage target audience to understand that real people aren't one-sided as characters are often represented to be in comics and graphic novels. I want to paint a picture of how real people would react to the things they experience in the graphic novel, and therefore help the reader to create discussions with peers about how they personally would've reacted. I also want to challenge stereotypes of women we are used to seeing in the media - the meek and caring mother-figure - by showing that male characters aren't the only ones who can be possessive, angry and stubborn. Although this could be seen as a negative stereotype, this is a fair representation of what some women are like, and doesn't just limit women to a shallow one-dimensional underdeveloped personality.
M2: Explain the characteristics and features of the original character
Below are sketches of Ten's various facial expressions that will appear in the extract I am creating.
Since Ten is a very patient person, most of her expressions in the extract are neutral because she is generally unbothered by most situations. Her neutral expression also makes her seem a bit mysterious as the audience can't tell exactly how she is feeling. The audience usually gauge how they react to a situation on how the characters react - so if a character looks scared the audience know they are in a bad situation. But if Ten doesn't react positively or negatively to a situation, the audience feels a bit more on-edge. This effect is very useful for my graphic novel because I want the audience to feel uneasy when they are first introduced to this fictional world.
The other expression I have used in my graphic novel is worried, I used this when Ten is concerned about her glitch and is experiencing pain in her arm. I used this facial expression because I want the audience to see a weak side of Ten so they can relate to her and feel connected to her because she won't show this weakness in front of other people, but the reader gets to see it. This also makes the reader feel anticipation and gives them a hint that something bad is about to happen, because if Ten - a very relaxed person - is worried then it must be bad.
Below is a full body shot of Ten in her usual outfit.
This is what Ten usually wears, as this reflects her casual and relaxed personality, whilst also keeping her mysterious image as she blends in with an urban setting very well. She dresses for practicality over aesthetic, so only wears skirts and dresses to formal events, and is most often seen in black jeans and a hoodie or jacket. This outfit also shows the audience that she is quite stubborn and doesn't like change as she wears the same thing almost every day and refuses to experiment with fashion.