This is what defines the direction of your character, as well as being a useful narrative tool and bringing a feeling of movement. One key aspect to consider when creating a character design is the line of action. Decide who your character design is aimed atĪ line of action is the backbone of a character drawing You can also push the emotion further." 07. "I think it's fun with animation that you can push things further, and people will still accept it as real," she says. Anna Mantzaris' hilarious Enough film (above) shows everyday characters in mundane situations, doing the things we've all dreamed of doing on a bad day. The technique of exaggeration can be applied to characteristics, too. If your character is strong, don't just give it normal-sized bulging arms, soup them up so that they're five times as big as they should be. Exaggerated features will also help viewers to identify the character's key qualities. Exaggeration is key in cartoon caricatures and helps emphasise certain personality traits. ExaggerateĮxaggerating the defining features of your character design will help it appear larger than life. She looked back at her initial artworks, and it brought back the feeling she had when creating them. Cornelia Geppert, CEO of indie games studio Jo-Mei, is a huge fan of The Last Guardian, with its unique aesthetic and great video game character designs.Īt one point one of her team members had to say to her that their Sea of Solitude design was looking a little too similar to The Last Guardian. It's easy to subconsciously let our favourite designs influence us. Sea of Solitude is an upcoming game by Jo-Mei studio Other inspirations include ceramics – an organic texture and muted colour palette stop his work feeling too clinical – and folk costumes. The process begins with the designer taking videos of himself as a reference, trying to capture something of the character idea's movement or posture. "When I begin a project, I often start with the feeling I want to evoke," he adds. The odd movements can spark unique character behaviour. "I like birds' mating rituals a lot," laughs Rowan. It's also a good idea to look beyond character designs when hunting for inspiration. Try to notice people around you – how they walk, their gestures, how they dress – and use that in your design." 04. Your mind is a visual library that you can fill up. "When you work with characters you need to be inspired," advises Ørum, "and you can do this through research. Study these character designs and think about what makes some successful and what in particular you like about them.
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There's no shortage of research material to be found, with illustrated characters appearing everywhere: on TV commercials, cereal boxes, shop signs, stickers on fruit, animations on mobile phones, and more. Research other charactersįor guidance, it can be helpful to try and deconstruct why certain character designs work and why some don't. Above you can see Wallace's new take on well-known festive figures, created for a Hong Kong department store. "If you look at something and then you try and hazily remember it in your mind, that's when you end up making something new, rather than a pastiche of something," he says. So Robert Wallace – known as Parallel Teeth – suggests not having the reference material right in front of you as you work. While inspiration needs to come from somewhere, the aim is to create something original. Movement is all but impossible to add later, so make sure it’s in the initial sketch." 02. As soon as you start to tighten up the drawing, you’ll automatically lose some of the dynamic, so it’s important to have as much life in the early stages as possible. "Decide what you’re trying to communicate, then create loose sketches with movement, acting and flow. "When starting out on your character design, don’t get caught up in the details," says Pernille Ørum. "I don't like to feel like I've created by characters I like to feel like I've kind of just encountered them." "I try to stick to my original drawing style, because the instinct is to try and clean it up," says Laurie Rowan. So when you're working up your design, make sure you don't lose that magic. And most agree designers agree this is often where the essence of the character is captured.
Many character designers will start their project with a sketch. Make sure you don't polish all the charm from your characters