Character Design and Blurb


First Possible Design

Second Possible Design

Third Possible Design
Chosen Design

I have chosen the first design as it modernizes the original character while giving the character a new life in modern films. This contemporary look would be challenging but incredibly rewarding and it would also be a great addition to a young person's portfolio of work.

Occupation

My character is based on Nick Bottom from Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream. Bottom is a weaver by trade but has high aspirations and believes himself to be a fine actor. Being a weaver, I think that he would be quite a clean character as his job includes weaving threads into fabric or cloth.

Age

Although we are not told the exact age of Nick Bottom within the play, we can gauge that he would be in his twenties. This is because he is old enough to drink and be a tradesman but hasn't married. Due to the average life expectancy being early thirties in the Elizabethan era, this also allows us to gauge his approximate age. This means that I may not have to age up my model but if it is still required I would do this by carefully contouring the model's natural wrinkles. I may also have to age down my model which would be done by trying to conceal the model's natural lines and giving them more youthful skin.

Race

Due to the play being set in Greece, I believe my character would be Athenian although his head does get magically changed by another character to look like a mule or donkey for part of the play. Being Athenian he would have an olive tone to his skin due to his genetics and the Mediterranean climate. This can be done using foundation or a tinted moisturiser that's the same or a similar shade as the model's natural skin tone.

Social Stature

I think that Nick Bottom would have quite a high level of social stature as his job is needed to create the fabrics for some of the garments that people in society would wear at the time. Although his actual social status would be that of a middle to low-class citizen due to the labour-intensive, time-consuming job.

Lifestyle of the times

In most of the cities in ancient Greece, life was more intellectually stimulating and exciting due to the fact that they excelled in theatrical performances and philosophy. This links to my character, Nick Bottom because he believes himself to be a good actor, within the play he also takes up multiple roles within a performance some of the characters were planning.

Scene of recreation

A scene I want to recreate is when the character of Puck gives Bottom a donkey head. I want to do this by stopping mid-transformation at which he would have the ears of a donkey but the face of a man. I would do this by adding either a headband with donkey ears onto the head of my model or just 2 prosthetics that can just be clipped onto the model's hair.

Postiche Pieces

Most men in ancient Greece had some form of unruly or unkempt facial hair. This was because not being able to grow facial hair was seen as unmanly and childish.
Within my design, I decided to go with a goatee. This is to bring the character more into modern times and make it contemporary as well as sticking by the ancient greek standards for being manly.
I would also add pieces over the eyebrows to make them look bushier.

Costume Ideas

Due to my character being a weaver and believing himself to be a "fine actor", I think that he would wear quite high-end stylish clothing to stand out in a crowd but would also wear clothing associated with the Pantone colour of the year. The colour assigned to 2022 is called very peri, which is a periwinkle blue with a violet-red undertone almost looking purple.


References

- Chrysopulos, P (2022) Everyday Life in Ancient Athens Available at: https://greekreporter.com/2022/04/25/everyday-life-in-ancient-athens/ (Accessed: October 11th 2022)
- Farley, A (2017) The Greek People's Physical Characteristics Available at: https://classroom.synonym.com/the-greek-peoples-physical-characteristics-12083772.html (Accessed: October 11th 2022)
- Notari, D (2016) Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream: Character Analysis, Overview Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/bottom-in-a-midsummer-nights-dream-character-analysis-lesson-quiz.html (Accessed: October 11th 2022)
- Shakespeare Wiki (2022) Nick Bottom Available at: https://shakespeare.fandom.com/wiki/Nick_Bottom (Accessed: October 11th 2022)

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