The Turning Point

I’m finally reaching a turning point for my character; I’ve been developing two completely different directions to take my personification of grief. Originally I imagined grief as a tall gloomy character which unleashes its own depression on its victims via its presence alone; aesthetically it would be dark with features not far from a stereotypical witch, long crooked nose and saggy skin. The main characteristic of the face would be huge drooping eyes sockets which hang all the way to the floor exaggerating the exhaustion felt; the character also carries a rather frightening white mask which he places over the victim. The mask has a huge smile and represents false emotions which you show when experiencing grief, having to put on a happy face in the denial phase.

I Still believe this personification of grief is fairly good, the image in my head oozes horror and pain but seems to obvious, it’s a personification of the emotion felt rather than an embodiment of a character which gives off grief which I feel stronger about. I’ve moved towards an insect like character which appears when its subject is experiencing grief, my concept includes the five stages of grief and elements of impregnation and gestation. I want to create a character which attaches itself onto the subject, injects Grief into the heart of the subject and stays attached until the sufferer eventually reaches acceptance. It might seem quite horrific but as well as injecting grief, the character will also comfort the subject as if it’s holding on offering support, as the subject travels through the five stages of grief it will become weaker, modifying and morphing until it is no longer needed and it turns into dust and dies.