Shiloh's Character Design
About Shiloh
Shiloh is the main protagonist of January and the Raven. He takes up the unfinished work of his best friend in order to contribute to something larger than himself, symbolizing perseverance in something ever-changing.
He isn't necessarily keen on keeping up his appearance, so it was fun bringing a lazy young man to life, working on balancing a compelling character design with something that a real person would put on in the morning to get out and live through a long, hard day.
Considering all designs, this spans from Oct. 2020 to April 2026. I was the solo artist, character designer, and writer for this portion. All illustrations were done in Clip Studio Paint.
Design Process
Shiloh's Original "Final" Design
Shiloh Redesign: 24 Hours
January and the Raven has been in the works since I was in 10th grade in 2020. With this, naturally, comes a lot of learning. Before this, there were sketches of Shiloh in brown button-ups, sketches of him in checkered capes, and sketches of him in elaborate suits. This final was a younger me's attempt at making something that mixed both the casual and the fantasy elements of the story, and that provided realistic functionality while being distinguishable from the rest of the cast. There are a lot of errors in this design, and most of them come from a lack of experience and what was, at the time, an incomplete world.
For my Solo Studio class, I was tasked with a variety of projects wherein I was meant to do as much as I could within 24 hours. For this, I chose to give a go at redesigning Shiloh, something that has been long overdue.
This initial process began with some rough sketches of potential looks for the character. In an attempt to stick close to the essence of the original design, I focused more on cleaning up the silhouette than making any larger changes. I slightly switched up the color palette to allow the red to pop more, and brought more attention to his eyes. I ended up sticking closer to the second design, seeing as the minor details on the other two designs added little and made the design feel chunkier.
After 24 hours, I had an incomplete, though drastically different design. While I felt that this was something to stick with, for the most part, I still felt that there were minor changes that I could make. I was also unhappy with the drawings themselves, feeling that they were rushed due to the time limit. Because of this, I chose to continue working on the design.
Final Design
For the final, I wanted to showcase not only the improvement in character design, but in the actual quality of the work itself. Because of the nature of references having no shading, I made an effort to create depth using weight variation on the lines. I also included two close-ups of the head to emphasize the shape of his nose and the placement of his facial features, such as the scars, pupils, and freckles. I stuck with the 60/30/10 rule in an attempt to use my colors intentionally as well. I also changed the placement of the scar itself to declutter the face and make it feel like a more natural, imperfect cut. I feel good about this design, it's something that proves practical and effective, and is still recognizable and pleasing to the eye.
Reflection
This project was overall successful. I think it showcases both the improvement in my art and the deeper consideration I now give to designing characters that fit into the world around them. The process was fairly smooth, and while I had to work on the initial redesign within a day, it gave me the base to build off of for the finished sheet. There are some things that I would like to change in the future, like the way that the shoes look or the proportions of the face. I'd also like to update the other cast's character references and set them in a lineup to give a comparison visual. Overall, this felt like a very successful redesign, and it's a good reminder of how far I've come in my creative journey.