Character Art - Brainstorming and Character Development

I am currently working on a university assignment in which the task is to create an in game, rigged, character model based on an original concept. The brief is fairly open ended in regards to how the character can look with only the following requirements affecting the design of the character:

• must be a biped (stand upright with two arms on Two legs) limbs are negotiable.
• must be organic in nature (skin).
• must have at least one (accessory/prop/weapon/armour)

I also tried to consider what sort of game my character would fit into, paying attention to designs that would have an affect on in-game mechanics etc. So with these specifications in mind I started doing some research; searching for existing character designs that I felt drawn to, in order to give me a better idea of 'who' my character would be.

In my search for inspiration I came across this image by lobsterfancy which gave me the idea of having an animal 'companion' as the required 'accessory'. I thought about how a snake buddy could make for interesting gameplay mechanics, such as being used as a rope/grappling hook, as well as being able to slither through small nooks and crannies.

With all of this in mind I began doodling.

The idea of the snake hiding in a backpack seemed to hark back to a classic character design. However, I wasn't completely happy with the design so I kept sketching.

I wanted her to have an interesting silhouette, so that she would stand out and be easy to recognise. With that in mind I gave her a big, baggy coat.

Out of curiosity I tried out the opposite; a silhouette with a heavy form on the bottom rather than the top.

To me this seemed a little easier on the eyes, with its rounder and more organic form, but no less distinct. With this shape in mind I doodled an idea...

Which I liked enough to clean up a little....

I gave her ahe robotic arm as it broke up the symmetry of the form and sort of juxtaposed the organic shape she had. I also thought that it would play well into gameplay; giving her increased strength and other abilities. I continued to make changes to her design, giving her a rounder shape.

Here is a front view sketch that was created so that I could begin work on the base mesh model; getting the basic proportions and aesthetics into 3D as early as possible.