The challenge: Create a comic-inspired character who has physically manifested a genetic mutation.
I was not a huge fan of Niko's design for a magnetic mutant, but I will give him credit and say it is definitely a hard power to conceptualize for a biologically plausible character. Everyone thinks of characters like Magneto or Polaris when they imagine a magnetic superpower, but neither of them show physical signs of their ability. When I was thinking about magnetism, I kept thinking about how that shows up in nature. I thought of magnetic elements, like cobalt and iron; but also about changing electric fields, and that led me to my concept.
My concept: This mutant was born with physical properties similar to that of an electric eel. He has clumps of electrocyte cells built up in his tissue that can generate strong electric fields that will shock on contact. He was ashamed of his physical appearance, so in an attempt to remove his genetic mutation, he sought medical help. The procedure that followed not only failed, but increased levels of iron in his blood to very high levels. Because of the high magnetic properties of iron, this allotted him to alter magnetic fields in his immediate vicinity by discharging a positive or negative flow from his electrocytes. When engaging his electric/magnetic abilities, the iron pooled in his blood and forced its way towards the surface of his skin to cause a more magnetic effect. This pooling causes deep red discoloring under parts of his skin, and sometimes the ore pushes through his skin in a very painful but powerful experience.
I would LOVE to color this character, and might try to get to that later this week! Stay tuned, I will tweet out a colored version once it gets done!
What a great concept! What's your process in creating a character concept? I'm teaching myself makeup effects, and concept creation is something you don't see a lot of info on.
ReplyDeleteDana,
ReplyDeleteComing up with a strong concept is 1/3 creativity and 2/3 research. Knowing everything about the environment your character is in, their background, their age, what their economic status might be, what time period they exist in, etc. are all important elements that can be reflected either in the makeup or in the costuming.
For this character, the challenge was to create a believable excuse for a person to have magnetic powers. So look to nature, because there is a lot of whacky stuff happening in the plant and animal kingdoms. Taking stuff from biology and translating it into your character helps make it seem more realistic, even when it can be fantastical.