This is the first in a series of
features on original characters I'm designing for a graphic novel
idea I'm working on. Rather than design them on paper, I design in
3D, with X-Acto knives, wire cutters, Sculpey, paint, screwdrivers
and lots of plastic bits.
We'll start off with The Rook, a
character I've long been developing and one whose name and look has
evolved dramatically over time. I've had this guy in mind for 20
years.
The Rook was always a crow/raven-themed
character, but he went from being an armored Batman type to a more
medieval knight to a supernatural creature before finally becoming an
amalgam of all three influences.
I'm using a NECA “Ninja Gaiden”
body for a base, with a Toy Biz “Darkness” head, Mattell
“Hawkgirl” wings and assorted parts.
The wings aren't meant to be organic,
but instead a kind of Da Vinci-style glider/flight pack.
He still needs to be assembled and
painted, and some original parts sculpted. Final color scheme will be
black with highlights of copper, dark grey and blue.
For a guy that's been in my head this
long, The Rook's backstory remains mostly a mystery to me. Maybe that's why
I find him so compelling.
His role in the story is a mentor to
some of the main characters and something of a tragic figure. He's
older than he looks, and about the last hero left in a world that has
lost most of its protectors.
Once soaring into battle on those
wings, The Rook now roosts in dark, abandoned lofts of vacant buildings,
hiding out from his enemies. I wanted his look to reflect that
“fallen angel” status.
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