Puppet Concepts

By Samuel Cheung

Sample Outlines:

Before creating the puppets, we needed templates to start with. After a bit of searching on Yahoo, we were able to find good templates to base the characters on.

Prototype Sketches:

The main parts of the anime character templates, such as the torso, legs, and arms, were traced and incorporated onto copy paper. Each of the characters originated from different social classes, thus they needed to be unique in their own way.

For the main characters, Kunti and Karna, we wanted to put noticeable differences that would separate the two characters. Despite being siblings, the brothers are polar opposites. Kunti, the eldest brother, is burdened with the responsibility of taking care of his younger brother amidst a society that doesn’t treat them as equals. Karna, the younger brother, aspires to be a hero and idolizes Dronacharya the archer. He is very clueless most of the time and often slacks off on his work.

The brothers come from a very low class, thus their clothes appear more ragged and worn out. Both brothers sport village bands—brown armbands that symbolize their social class. Some notable differences had to be made for the brothers since their lifestyles were opposite to each other. A looser clothing concept was applied to Karna since his character is more adventurous, while Kunti’s outfit appears to be more modest and tidy. The brothers sport feather hairpieces that symbolize their age differences. Karna has two feathers, while Kunti has one, since he is older and thus has more experience.

For the princess’s puppet, we wanted to give her character a more regal and divine presence, given her status in society as well as her calm and peaceful demeanor. The princess’s outfit was heavily inspired by a character that I drew in the past.

I wanted to apply similar concepts to the clothes that the princess would wear, something that would make her look like a more regal, powerful figure. The princess’s outfit features a long dress with tassels and a short shoulder cape with pauldrons that symbolize her status as a royal official. She wears a chestplate bearing the insignia of her family and armbands similar to those worn by the peasants. However, these armbands are reserved for people of royal descent and nobles who reside in Springstar Village.

Digital Sketches:

After finalizing the sketches on paper, I took a screenshot of the art concepts. I imported them into an art program called Fire Alpaca, which allowed me to trace and color over the concept sketches. The arms and other movable parts of each individual character were separated from the body.

The Dragonkin Princess:

For the princess’s character, her robes, shoulder plates, and armbands were colored with different shades of blue and purple to symbolize her royal status. Her family insignia on the chestplate was removed and replaced with a feather/leaf-like symbol, which references her calm and soft personality.

The Two Brothers:

The brothers’ outfits, both were painted in different shades of green and brown. They both sport their usual farm wear, with additional details such as stitches added to their clothing to reflect their status as commoners.

Given their financial situation, the brothers most likely cannot afford much. The color shades used for the brother’s outfits are slightly different to symbolize their opposite personalities.

Kunti’s outfit, despite being very old, is well-maintained and tidy. In contrast, his brother’s outfit is very dirty and sloppy, which parallels his carefree attitude. An additional cape-like tunic was added to Kunti’s outfit to reference his dream of becoming a hero like his idol, Dronacharya the archer. He also now carries a small pouch resembling a quiver.

[ The Archer]