Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Tom:
For this topic, I was asked to contribute some of my thoughts on the subject
of character design. I've known Gary Schumer for years and he thought of me
because of my topic on the subject,
Creating Characters with Personality
. Just because
I wrote and illustrated a topic on the subject, I never feel that I “know it all.” I believe
that as an artist, as in life, the moment you stop learning is the moment you start
dying.
I don't have much room here to go into all the nuances of character design, but I did
want to hit four main principles that you should think about when designing a
character:
Personality
You don't want a bland, generic character, right? So, don't just think: “I want to draw
a cute, little bear.” Think: “I want to design a bear that is kind of lazy and only motivated
to go fi shing (his one true love). He knows everything about fi shing, but won't do any-
thing around the house for his wife. In high school he was a football champ, but has
since let himself go because he doesn't need much strength for fi shing. He is a likeable
guy though.” Now you're ready to design a character with a personality. Knowing what
you are designing is job one.
Goals
It's important to know what, why, and how you want to design this character.
Make some goals. If this character is not just for fun but for a client, then you will
have a lot of the “goals” of what you need to design given to you. Is it for a
certain age group? Do you want it to be cute or just appealing (there is a difference)?
Does it have to do anything special, such as run fast, look pretty/sexy, look a
certain age, etc.? Is there a style that you are trying to accomplish? Should it look
realistic or extremely cartoony? All these things should be thought about or discussed
before pencil hits paper. After all, without goals, how do you know when you are
done?
Shapes
When I start drawing, the fi rst things I start thinking of are what shapes will make up
this character. If it's a happy, thick character, I will start working with circle shapes. A
strong, fi rm kind of character would get squares. A thin, wimpy kind of character might
be rectangles or ovals. You always want to be able to break your character down into
basic shapes so that you (or others) can duplicate that character in a variety of different
angles, poses, or expressions.
