The Tale of Quinn
The Tale of Quinn is a fictional universe that I’m building based around the titular character.
I decided to create the character (and the world she lives in) as I wanted to give myself a large, ongoing project that would allow me to develop in different areas of art and design, while keeping things streamlined and focused around one central idea.
This project is giving me a chance to continually practice and develop skills in character design, world building, concept art and more, whilst also giving me the freedom to explore and develop my artistic style.
I have created this page as a way of documenting the journey I’m on as I continue to build upon The Tale of Quinn.
Back in 2020 when I first started planning out the story and characters of the Tale of Quinn, these were the first designs for Quinn, combining elements of traditional Japanese kimonos with a modern, sporty aesthetic.
Initial silhouettes of the main characters, figuring out body types and proportions that would help decide their outfits later down the line.
Photobashing to create an image that gives a sense of scale and population to the streets where the story is set - over the top neon signs illuminate every old fashioned store front, and glittering, towering skyscrapers dominate the horizon.
Taking a break from all of the struggles that come her way, Quinn finds peace up in the abandoned structures that scatter the city.
Character Concept: Cache
Cache is one the key characters in The Tale of Quinn. All of the main characters are in some way rejected by society and find solace and safety amongst others like themselves.
He’s a bit of a hippy, whilst being an extraordinary computer hacker, and believes that life exists in anything with an electrical current. As such, he sees his hacking as a way of communicating with machines, understanding them and co-existing peacefully alongside them. He’s implanted himself with bio-electrical circuitry so that he’s able to ‘telepathically’ communicate with technology, and he created a little bird out of parts of abandoned machinery that travels with him as his side kick, helping him out with surveillance and infiltration, and generally just keeping him company.
Character Concept: Brutus
Brutus is one of those clueless but loveable older guys who often say the wrong thing, can’t keep up with the younger generation and grumbles through life. But despite his misgivings deep down he’s actually a teddy bear who just wants the best for everyone (you don’t want to make him angry though).
An ex-professional bodybuilder who started running his own gym after a bar accident left him disfigured and unwilling to appear on stage for physique competitions, Brutus says he wears a lion’s mask as a reminder of his inner strength, but secretly he likes how scary it looks!
Character Concept: Rose
Don’t let the cross hanging from her neck fool you into thinking Rose is a woman of virtue - she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
An exceptional con-artist, Rose can often be found swindling men for all they’re worth with slight of hand card tricks. Using her ‘assets’ to distract the men she’s targeting so that they’re putty in her hands, Rose is dressed in thick leather for added protection in case things turn nasty.
Character Concept: Mother
Mother is the leader of the bunch of misfits she considers her family. Providing each of them a safe space to be themselves, she protects them all with a ferocity that only a mother could have.
Being ex-military instilled a strong sense of formality and duty in her, which she expects in return from those who she looks over. She runs a tight ship, and demands a lot from those who she has helped out, but she sees it as simply as kill or be killed when it comes to looking after her family.
