Character Design: Props and Sidekicks

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Today for our Character Design class, we took a look at props and sidekicks, and how important they can be to the main hero and the story. To start off with, we were given a specific time period to study, and then translate that into a design that takes those influences and push them to become futuristic. I was given Ancient Japan, so I decided to study geisha women.
I wondered what it would be like to have a geisha woman actually become an assassin, and perhaps even a cyborg. I imagined the fan becoming a giant weapon that's made out of pure energy.
The second part of the session was used to create a sidekick for our project. I considered using a cat as an emotional sidekick for my main protagonist, Linette. As Linette later on becomes a ghost in my story, I thought about having the cat be a spirit guide in that realm to keep her company. I also want to link the cat to her love interest, René, to give them a more heartfelt connection, perhaps being René's pet cat gone past that helps Linette find a way to see her love again. I plan on developing the design to be more ghost-like, rather than just a generic cat.

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