If you were able to escape this world, where would you go? For Abbie that place is Versonia, a magical world filled with fairies, trolls, adventure, and most importantly, her dragon companion, Sparky. But when the cracks start to show and Abby learns that Versonia is a product of her comatose mind, will she be able to escape? Or will she be trapped forever in her growing nightmare?
Throughout my life I have always loved two things, the horror genre, and cute characters. I know what you are thinking... "Those are two very opposing things to love" , and yes, you are correct. The irony is not lost on me! But I suppose people cannot choose the things they hold dear to their hearts.
When I was first given the opportunity to conceptualize and design my very own character, I could not decide which route I would go. At first I thought, Cute is easier to sell, but then there is the issue of being drowned out by the millions of other characters that fall under that line. So then I thought about horror, but I still needed the character to be appealing. Neither path felt quite right, until I stumbled upon a game I used to play called Don't Starve.
Don't Starve is a survival video game developed by Klei Entertainment in 2013. The game falls under the horror genre, with a creepy atmosphere, and a very memorable sketch-like style. But to me the most interesting aspect of the game was the way they were able to create haunting characters that are also adorable and unique. This is what inspired me to create Abby Evergreen.
In the initial concept stage I tried to capture an unsettling feeling with the character, while also needing her to appear friendly and warm. After playing around with different designs, I settled on wide innocent looking eyes, rounded features, and a warm color pallet to represent her demeanor. Contrasting from this, I used different off-putting details to add in as a tie in to the horror aspect, such as her ghost-like eyes, and horns.
Genre: Horror Gender: Female Age: 16
Personality: adventurous, kind, naïve, brave
Now that I had Abby's turnaround complete, there was only one thing left for me to design... The details!
With nods to her dragon companion, as well as her love of archery, several piece of who Abby truly is were taken into account when designing the final touches of her design.
From the very beginning I knew Abby would hold a special place in my heart. Not only was she the combination of two things I love, but she was also one of the first characters I every truly designed.
I knew that even if she didn't come out just perfect, there is a sort of beauty in the imperfect... and I knew that Abby Evergreen would always be mine.
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