In my experience as Character Designer, I could remember at least two noteworthy cases of witches. One is not a real witch who was just made to believe she is (by her villain boss) and another is a powerful Asian ‘modern’ witch.
On the first one, the very first thing that came to my mind is of course an old woman with a long gray hair. On the second thought, I figured out that in any form of reference, you’ll always find this picture. So, I thought of something that will fit the strength and the weakness of the character.
The character is supposed to be an old deprived woman who serves a not so powerful but creative Boss. She is being used to create horror in the neighborhood while her boss is doing the real bad thing. In my visualization, I thought of showing her most of the time in shadow or in gloomy figure, so that at the end, we’ll find out that she’s not a real witch. So I just focus on the shape.
Since her boss is dealing with bombs in the movie, I thought of her using a gas mask that will cast a hideous shadow. I gave her a dreadlocks hair that adds terror, and a broom. That’s it!
The other witch is supposed to be Asian, powerful and chic. Since I am a Filipino, I thought of giving her the ‘Saya’ dress element which I believe will grade her from other witches. I don’t want her to be a beauty that is worn-out. I thought of her to be an unattractive that has gone into a nose lift and all those face reconstruction. I also gave her hair without strand that looks like a silk cloth that is fashioned in layers. That’s it!
