I knew I wanted to create a character off of a bat. I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to make it an existing bat species or an all together new one. In my research I found different species of bats that came in all shapes and sizes which helped inspire different shape combinations and themes I could explore:
The most notable thing I found was that bats ears came in all shapes and sizes due to their adaptations. Another thing I wanted to do was to explore with different nose shapes with both the character and the companion.
With these references in mind, I first started with some exploratory sketches. I quickly became attached to the sort of spiky scruff idea as it had the most interesting silhouette and had plenty of potential
Using this and the research pictures, I cleaned up the sketch a little, focusing on the main forms of his body that I could use when modelling. Eventually, I ended up at this design. I liked how his body tapered a little due to the fluff. I also liked playing around with the rounded points like the ears, tail and other details.
After this, I used this as a premise to start experimenting with colours. I knew I wanted to keep it simple as he would likely end up being pretty small on the screen, so details weren’t to be fussed over. I grew to like the theme of celestial imagery an colours- experimenting with purples and blues, as well as their complimentary pairing yellow and oranges. These would be sharply contrast each other no matter the size.
Eventually I settled on this purple-ish hue and yellow as it complimented the main character pretty well. It’s simple but gets the point across in a visual way.
