Dead Youth Character Design and Feedback

 

In our brief we were tasked with making a relate-able and likable protagonist that could be represented in multiple forms of media and be instantly recognizable. In our group we decided to create a superhero, as Marvel Super Hero movies are some of the most iconic and recognizable franchise right now, and the protagonists they center around are easily recognized in all different forms of media. They’ve been represented in comic books, video games, movies and TV animation. Our first designs were to create a hero that differed from regular perception, to create an image that would still be recognizable but separate itself from the popular idea of a superhero, so it wouldn’t have to compete with the established images present in popular superhero franchises. We came up with a contemporary design based more on the average teenager, who has to overcome challenges that most superheroes would never have to worry about. Fighting people that have superpowers, when you yourself, don’t have any. We thought that idea would be relate-able as people like to support the underdog in a situation, especially when the odds are so unfairly stacked against them.

Our design was based on trying to find an interesting design that a teenager/young adult would probably use if they were to don a superhero identity but dislike the idea of wearing colorful suits and don’t have access to advanced super armor like Tony Stark. After we came up with a design that made sense for the character and the setting, we proceeded to draw the design and come up with the back story related to it.

After we presented our idea and gathered feedback, we analyzed it to see if we had achieved the result we wanted with our character design. We wanted our character to appear intimidating but still seem like he was a hero by toning down some aspects of his design. We gave him a tie and school shirt as well as jeans to resemble a more youthful character, it fit with the back story we gave him while also providing a less imposing appearance. The analysis of our feedback showed that our design was somewhat successful but didn’t entirely make him seem relate-able without further context. People didn’t think he was trustworthy or likable, but they didn’t think his design was cool, scary and interesting. In retrospect, the next time I design a character in this vein, I would try to find more methods to make him seem likable while still keeping the core aspects of his design intact.

Dead Youth Biography

Dead Youth

Dead Youth, whose real identity is Dean Fletcher, is one of the last bastions of hope in Handon, a city abandoned by humanity 2 years ago. Although Handon has no police or government, it runs as before, with more crime, but the same daily routine. Up until now, Dean’s daily routine was maintaining the cinema, playing the movies, and stopping the inevitable fights in the 3^rd screening room. While it was depressing and hard, he dealt with his situation, that is, until a dead girl walked back into his life, someone he saw die right in front of him.

A girl from his class, donning the same punk style of clothing she was known for, walked in to watch a movie, with a distant look on her face. When their eyes met, everything changed. Dean’s first reaction however, was not joy. He was horrified. One of them had found him, he thought. She recognized him too, although she tried to call out his name, he ran as fast as he could. Stumbling into the basement he called home, Dean scrambled through his belongings, picking up one thing after another, ready to flee. The girl walked in through the door and spoke out to him. Dean turned around, his arm extended, shooting her in the head with a Beretta Handgun. He had never intended to run, but for a moment, he wished he had. The girl stood back up blood dribbling out of both sides of her head. The flow of blood stopped as she stood above him, his arm still pointed towards her, finger battling against the spring of the trigger. Kaylee, the girl he thought dead twice, explained herself, and eventually, he dropped the gun.

2 Years ago, an outbreak occurred when a meteor landed near the coast of Ingrad, a small island country. The Meteor brought with it DNA modifying spores that affected 0.049% of the population, giving them incredible powers and abilities. Within days, Handon, the capital city, was in turmoil. Dean Fletcher was a schoolboy at the time, when 3 people afflicted with powers took his school hostage. They didn’t realize that hostage situations don’t work like the movies, and when the police threatened them, one of them panicked. Out of 68 People in the room, only 7 were left alive by the time the police arrived. Dean was one of them. Shattered by the event, he became twisted, confusing his own emotions to try and hide his own grief from himself.

As he reconciles with his past Dean decides to find the people that killed his friends and get revenge, donning a persona with the help of Kaylee, he starts to hunt down the people with powers, hoping to find the ones that killed his friends. The one with blue tinted goggles, his reactions faster than a speeding bullet. The one with bone like blades crowing out of his arms, scars lining his body from where he wasn’t used to his new appendages. Then the one with the red hair and redder baseball bat, who could hear someone a mile away, see a star light years away like she was in front of it, and feel the very makings of your being in her fingertips.

Under the name Dead Youth, his bright red tie, school uniform and skull mask representing his defiance against the people that killed his friends, the youth of Handon.

Dean fights with 2 Beretta’s and an almost infinite knowledge of martial arts and acrobatic moves that he learned from watching Hollywood and martial arts films. He has posters of idols such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan on his walls. He was born with an enhanced procedural memory, allowing him to instantly learn almost anything he sees, and in his spare time he watches the movies he loves and also practises his moves in the empty cinema, honing his skills for the day he subconsciously knew would come.