Curiosity Rover has a lot of components to it. There's a lot of equipment from cameras to drills, solar panels and air bag for when it landed. In this video, I think one of the most interesting thing is that Curiosity, or the Mar's rovers, are described as geologist. Analysing rock samples and studying the surface of Mars.
Mood Board:
This is the mood board I used to store all my references. I collected them throughout the process of the design. For Curiosity Rover, I wanted to collect references that might be used to make the character very functional or well-equip.
Speed Paint Video:
With this first set of draft I struggled to initially conceptualise an idea or identity for the character. The first design I tried to carry that triangular pattern over from the Orbital Reflector character design. But I felt like it wasn't working. However, the little wheels on the feet I initially drew, I quite like a lot and took that moving forward, which eventually turned into rollerblades.
The third and fourth design I tried playing around with contrast a bit more and added in a material that resembles the air bag from when the rover landed. The white apparatus and the backpack are meant to resemble the main white chassis of the rover and the goggles are meant to be the camera from the rover. I also added a grappling hook to the side of the character designs, this was inspired by the rocky terrain of Mars and not anything that is actually on the rover. The idea is that it would help them climb mountains or cliffs. Or potentially move around like the characters from Attack on Titan using their 3D manoeuvre gear.
The first design here I tried playing around with the silhouette. I really liked the bagginess of it, creating a recognisable shape of the character. The second one, I was a bit more experimental with the clothing changing the trousers and the length of the sleeves. Overall, I didn't like it as there isn't enough contrast between the white and the beige. For the last design I tried keeping contrast in mind while going for a more military vibe or a more heavy feel. I also made the rollerblades larger that can act like a shock absorption spring when landing.
For the gauntlets, I based it off the drill that is on the rover. I decided to go for a gauntlet/ knuckle weapon as in the last design I didn't like how bare the arm was so I decided to go for the gauntlets to make look less bare.
If I was to take this design further I would make minor adjustments to the design to play with the silhouette or make experiment with different clothing to try and express the character in different way.