Here are the textures I created using substance painter for my child character I used a combination of Paint layers with a fill effect to add an overall colour to the UV. To achieve the freckles and details on the face I used a black layer mask and painted over it with different texture brushes to reveal the fill layer colour. I have also added 3 different skin layers stacked on top to achieve a textured feel on the skin.



So - I think the really important thing with 'pirate' is to make a big early effort to move past that image of the traditional pirate trope - if only so you can circle back to it after a really good look elsewhere. There are a couple of ways to do this: while the definition of pirate associates with ships and the sea, in essence, a pirate is someone who attacks another kind of vehicle or thing in the quest to steal its cargo or prize or whatever; so pirates don't need to operate 'on the sea' in order to 'be' a pirate; so, sky pirates could be a thing; dragon pirates could be a thing; pirates riding on the back of moths could be a thing.... If you side-step the sea, perhaps your 'airport' becomes an easier fit, and if airport simply connotes a location wherein lots of 'flying vehicles' come and go, then your 'airport' could be a place that 'isn't' Gatwick or Heathrow, but someplace more fantastical. In short, one transformative approach to this project is to stop thinking about it as 'reality-based' or even 'human-based'. It does seem that with your 'briefcase' (essentially a box containing something important or of value!) you've got a ready-made macguffin in waiting...
ReplyDeleteJust in terms of shaking things up further, I did a bit of research into flying animals that associate with pirates or with pirate-behaviours... for example... the Yellow-Bee Pirate Wasp...
http://ujubee.com/?p=744
There's the obvious association with parrots!
This concept should keep you busy - the very definition of piratical behaviours in other animals:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoparasitism
So in short, I think there's something valuable in linking 'flight' with 'pirates' in the first instance as you will very quickly shift your thinking away from Johnny Depp etc!