My starting point for the Gardener was to make her seem less wealthy than a character like the mother. She i supposed to be a worker and so in the same way as the factory workers, the steampunk elements need to be functional and she should have a range of tools at her disposal too help her garden. I started with the typical victorian maid look.
I now focused in on the steampunk elements of the character as this could help to define her. I wanted this cool arm piece that became a range of tools in one arm tool that would transform and morph into the different tools.
Here is my first whole design inncorporating a range of the steampunk elements.
I like the steampunk elements however I feel the design doesn't feel right. She feels too much like a warrior and less like a gardener. She doesn't have the dainty feel I wanted so I needed to strip those elements back to a simpler look and keep them much more subtle. Below are some more designs bearing this in mind.
I liked these designs a lot. Particularly the last two. I took the steampunk elements out and chose to do simpler, more delicate details like the ivy embroidery on the dress. I would include leather elements like the belt and boots which would bring that touch to her and keep her costume fairly standard and plain as it reflects her character as a worker in the garden. I wanted to include the large bow on the back however to bring back that strong victorian theme back into the design. I also liked the hood of this design which gave her a different element than any others and would also be a practical device for work in the damp dripping gardens. The long braided ponytail would reflect the spiral columns and tree trunks in the garden. The design still needed work however and I wanted to perhaps put a little more steampunk into the design as it was now lacking and I felt like it could be simpler with and more refined yet.
These are my best designs for the gardener. On the left is a simple attempt. I tried to use less lines and keep her square. I made her dress as plain as possible and a basic shape. I liked her but I felt she didn't have that tall gangly quality I wanted her to have. The head and hair wasn't quite right either so I did my second design. This was it. I feel like I have nailed it here. I have put the onytail back in and accentuated the steampunk feel by including a leather petal like tool apron that hangs on her front from the belt. I have made her taller and thinner and tried to add little nuances like the sleeves being different lengths. On the end is a close up torso shot of the gardener refining the head and hair into its final design as I wanted entirely happy with the previous one and with this design I got a more structured and designed hair style for her.
This is a colour design I did on photoshop. I wanted to use quite natural colours and materials for her to fit into her environment.
