The narrative of character design in visual storytelling

Visual storytelling, with the age of digital media has increased its influence not only in media but has become a form of presentation and communication in education and marketing as well, which with this study, it has been attempted to place it on a theoretical ground. An aim of creating an original work, has been set by, stripping the environment from the character to analyse at the narrative of character design within visual storytelling. Visual storytelling basically is a storytelling done with visual language, therefore what storytelling in other words narrative is, has been researched. The written and spoken forms of presentation and communication in narrative theories as well as the methodological and critical approaches have been studied. In this thesis, which is worked out with a qualitative research design and supported by the hermeneutic methodology, how the necessary elements are used/employed or not employed to substantiate the visual storytelling is investigated within the framework of the factors that form visual storytelling. How the elements, that are needed to make visual storytelling a reality, are used or not has been examined. Thus, the difference between written and spoken narratives and visual storytelling has been explained as the form of presentation and the language that is being used to create them. In order to examine character design on its own, along with the character, environment art, which creates a wholesem visual narrative, has also been explained. The design process of environment art has been elaborated by bringing up role and importance of environment art in visual storytelling, which are uniting the visuals and keeping them consistent and also the introduction and the construction of worlds. By adding the explanation of concept art and character design, the thesis has referred to all elements that creates a visual storytelling work. The thesis continues by analyzing selected character designs, from the perspective of visual storytelling elements, that are from animation, film, game and comic book medium. These characters are: James P. "Sulley" Sullivan form the animation Monsters Inc. (Pete Docter ve David Silverman, 2001, ABD, Pixar); "Toothless" and "Hiccup" from How to Train Your Dragon (Dean Deblois ve Chris Sanders, 2010, Dream Works, ABD); "Captain Jack Sparrow" from the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Gore Verbinski, 2003, ABD); "İllidan Stormrage" from the games Warcraf 3: Reign of Chaos (Blizzard Entertainment, 2002) and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment, 2007) and Batman from the comic book Batman (Batman DC Comics, 1939). The conclusion of, the character visuals having a visual narrative on their own has been reached by analysing the designs of the characters according to the elements that make visual storytelling. Keywords: Visual storytelling, visual narrative, storytelling, narrative, character design, concept art, visual design.