Another Photoshop render

In this Photoshop render you can see VeePees' mutated hand in action as he pulls on a glove, ready to begin his experiments. I drew this from the victims point of view, looking up from an operating table, the bright circular lights behind VeePee's make the environment seem like an operating theatre. I added some blood splatter to his lab coat and mask to make the scene more frightening.

3D Max model: Head/mask

This is an attempt at VeePees' head and breathing apparatus. Although not as detailed as I would want it has all the key features of his head; his goggle eyes holes,  the indents under his eyes, the lower part of the mask which covers his mouth, the indents on the side of his head which will reveal skin and the cylindrical shape in the center of his mask.
For my final 3D Model I will add more geometry to his head/mask and add textures.

3D Max models- Mechanical ears

This is a 3D model of VeePees' mechanical ears, which allow him to ear on account of having no ears of his own. I was aiming for a rusted metal texture, as I wanted the ears to looks like an old piece of antiquated equipment, but I couldn't quite achieve that. That will be rectified in my final 3D model.
I like this design as it has a distinct side profile and silhouette, which will be visible when looking VeePees in the face.

Final character design

This is a front and back sketch of my character in it's entirty. For the most part VeePees has a typical human shape, but there is a few key features that make him unique; the design of his head and his mutated hand (which makes his lab coat bulge and rip). Instead of having his coat button up with traditional buttons I decided to replace those with metal rivets, like he's bolted into his lab coat, never taking it off. This could highlight his commitment to his work.

His logo/symbol is a broken diamond shape. My thinking behind this shape is that it looks broken and incomplete, just like VeePees. It's a constant reminder to him of what he is and what he's working toward.

Early mood boards

Here are the kinds of images that influenced me early in the design process.

How an audience emotionally connects with an Anithero

I have highlighted some key quotes from this academic paper that supports my decision to make my character an anti-hero, instead of a typical villain. The audience will have a much stronger emotional connection to the character this way.

"Recent exploratory scholarship on antiheroes suggests that character identification and the process of moral disengagement might be important factors in the enjoyment of such fare" 

It is quite possible that an audience would connect with a character with questionable actions if they simply disengage with what he's doing. They don't even have to agree with his actions to be emotionally invested in the character.

"In the past few years, though, entertainment researchers have begun to turn their attention to the appeal and enjoyment of so-called antihero narratives, those featuring protagonists whose conduct is at best morally ambiguous, questionable, and at times unjustifiable (e.g., Raney,Schmid, Niemann, & Ellensohn, 2009; Shafer & Raney, 2009; Tsay & Krakowiak, 2009).Anecdotal evidence suggests that the appearance of such characters across the entertainmentlandscape is increasing, and box office results suggest that viewers love the characters and the narratives featuring them."

The quote above shows that anti-hero characters are quite popular now so the current audience will have a greater chance to connect emotionally with my character.

"a viewer’s emotional reactions toward media characters’ behaviors, motivations, and emotional responses are a function of both affective and moral judgmental processes. The strength of the resulting emotional involvement predicts the heights of enjoyment." 

The more the viewer questions and debates within themselves whether they like a character or not creates an emotional bond with the character. VeePees experiments on unwilling patients which is obviously immoral but he does it for a selfless goal, to rid the world of deformities and find a cure. The viewer must decide themselves whether they agree with his actions or not. Is human experimentation worth the greater good?



References:

http://www.academia.edu

Janicke, S. H., & Raney, A., A. (2011).Exploring How We Enjoy Antihero Narratives: A Comparison of Fans and Nonfans of 24