00:00
00:00
Sijbren
I'm Sijbren Schenkels, a character designer and animator. Spread the Pixel!

Age 33, Male

Animator

The Netherlands

Joined on 10/11/16

Level:
15
Exp Points:
2,421 / 2,500
Exp Rank:
24,009
Vote Power:
5.73 votes
Art Scouts
1
Rank:
Town Watch
Global Rank:
69,412
Blams:
14
Saves:
86
B/P Bonus:
2%
Whistle:
Normal
Trophies:
11
Medals:
55

Altering these settings may filter what you see.

Latest Art

More

Recent Game Medals

695 Points

Strong Armed 10 Points

Get punched by a banana

Novice 5 Points

Launch 1 mile (5,280ft)

Drunk Driver 10 Points

Blow up a jeep

Jump Man 5 Points

Smash a goomba

Acupuncture 5 Points

Get skewered on spikes

Gold Star 5 Points

Launch the Turtle

SPOOKY TIME 10 Points

Beat Week 1 in Story mode and unlock Week 2

Friday Night Funker 5 Points

Start the game

Nightcrawler II 10 Points

Get to stage 10

Nightcrawler I 5 Points

Get to stage 5

Latest News

More

iu_14487_6074311.png


It’s been a couple of months, so I thought time for an update. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot to cover. I continued with the character designs, this time the priests of the Pietra Bianca Cathedral.  


Just like I did before, I took a lot of inspiration from medieval illustrations, but also from a lot of movies. For the designs for the priests, I looked at the movies Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Franco Zeffirelli) and Becket (Peter Glenville).


iu_14488_6074311.jpg


Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a great example of a typical 70s representation of religion. Instead of a historical accurate view, we get a more aesthetic and mythical view on the subject. And that’s exactly what I’m looking for. It’s also about Saint Franciscus of Assassi, which is becoming a returning source of inspiration since Name of the Rose. Particularly the ending of the movie was very interesting for me, because it visually shows the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. This worked as a strong contrast to the monk Franciscus dressed in drags. The movie has beautiful backgrounds, which I’ll refer to later when I will be working on my own. 


iu_14486_6074311.jpg


Becket seems more like a movie about kings at first sight, but the church plays a big role in this movie. The clothing looked a lot closer to traditional dress, it works well as a counterpart for the former movie. It took its time displaying extensive rituals. I don’t know how historically correct all of this is, but that’s not really the point of my research. The goal is not to replicate Roman Catholic tradition, but to create some depth for my own fictional church. 


iu_14490_6074311.jpg

iu_14489_6074311.jpg


To get a general feel for the style, I started to sketch different priests, bishops, archbishops and even some demons. The clothing was very important, contrary to the monks that all wore the same robes. The hierarchy has to be visible by their clothes. In the end, it has to feel like an actual complete church order. 


iu_14492_6074311.jpg


iu_14491_6074311.jpg


As is to be expected, I looked at lot at illustrations depicting the Holy Virgin Mary, for the design of the Holy Mother Arabella and at baby Jesus for the design of baby Elios. I found the way she tilts her head and her motherly gaze (both proud and exhausted) towards her son especially important. For the son, he has to be the most perfect baby with an almost mature look in his eyes. 


iu_14495_6074311.png


Holy Mother Arabella and Baby Elios


iu_14493_6074311.png


Basic Priest


iu_14494_6074311.png


Thurible Priest


iu_14496_6074311.png


Stage Priest


iu_14497_6074311.png


Flabellum Priest


I kept the priests quite plain, the bishops and archbishops will have more exuberant clothing. I wanted to give each priest a different outfit (again, to contrast with the monks). Aside from their variety, it was important to give them similarity as well. Because the story has its own fictional religion, details will differ from Christianity. These will have a big impact overall. For instance, it does not contain the symbol of the cross. The symbols people associate with within this fictional religion will be locks, keys, cubes and triangles. This will challenge me to dig deep into the visual symbols of the Christian faith. 


The project will be on another hold for a little while, because I have to work on a smaller project that’s a bit more manageable for a starting animator. Next I’ll be designing the bishops and archbishops of the order. But it’s probably going to take a while before I’ll have another update. 


Thank you for your time,


Sijbren Schenkels


3