Afronaut character design.
I designed a series of paper doll characters for The Next Museum. Here is their description of the project vision, “The National Society of Black Engineers is an organization whose mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community. We envision a world in which engineering is a mainstream word in homes and communities of color, and all Black students can envision themselves as engineers. In this world, Blacks exceed parity in entering engineering fields, earning degrees, and succeeding professionally.”
As a person of color in the tech industry myself it was an honor to work on these characters. I cannot begin to explain the importance of seeing diversity and representation in white male dominated industries. Hopefully the work that The Next Museum does will encourage the success of people of color in these industries! You can check out more project details on their instagram: The Next Museum
Afronaut and his sister with all of their outfits and accessories.
The rest of the Afro family with their casual outfits on.
Process.
Throughout the process these characters had many modifications and renditions. I met with the client weekly for updates and changes. I was modeling these characters after characters they had already designed. They wanted me to recreate these characters with my own artistic interpretation and style.
I made a mood board with the overall style and color palette I would be going for. I got a lot of inspiration from fashion. Specifically modern styles with a retro feel. The photo to the left of a man in a long coat is my first reference image for the main character, Afronaut. I started with him and moved forward from there.
Creating paper dolls held quite a challenge. Each character has a casual outfit and an occupational outfit, as well as a multitude of accessories. I had to make sure all of the other accessories and clothing would fit over my two base designs. After I was done creating first two characters I adjusted the hands to make a fist instead of my initial hand gesture. This allows a lot more freedom with the kinds of objects they can hold in their hands. Eventually there will be a lot more elements to develop for these paper dolls. I can’t wait to keep building on this world!
Version 1 of Afronaut and his sister.
