Digital Character Design

Please post the following with your character design:

Reference: 5 points

3 Silhouettes: 5 points

Clothing experiments: 5 points

Correct anatomy / skeleton / muscle mass: 10 points

Costume Details: 5 points

Color choices: 10 points

Appealing Prop / Weapon design: 10 points

Character from 4 Angles: 80 points

Dynamic Pose: 10 points

Villain Sketch: 10 points

Extra Credit: up to 15 points

As posted previously, the final for the Thursday class is due tonight by 9pm, December 8th! If you’re in the Friday class it’s due by the end of class Friday night (December 9th).

Stage 5: Build model sheet

Draw your character turnaround from 4 angles; draw them next to each other from the front side, back, and front ¾ views.

Each part of the body should line up with the other views (except for the feet in ¾ view).  Color your model sheet character using the 3 colors you picked, plus skin tone.

Stage 6: Boss phase

Draw a villain from your world that your character has to defeat, this can be a simple sketch, no model sheet turnaround or color required.

Extra Credit: facial expressions, personality poses, townspeople, henchmen.

Draw your character in a dynamic pose with a simple background like a gradient or fog, with a shadow on their feet to make them feel grounded, see below for examples. 

https://goo.gl/forms/kLuXmnxrWfLJEse23

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone, remember to work on your characters!

Think of drawing like driving your car, you think of your destination and trust your driving skills to get you there. You don’t sit in your driveway gripping the wheel in fear that you might not make it, you start up the engine and get moving because you have places you need to go to.

So sit down with your sketchbook, Wacom, or tablet, and take things one step at a time. See post below for Stages 1-3 and tutorials to help you along the way.

Stage 4: Refine 1 Character

Use the simplified skeleton to create your character’s body, add muscle mass.

Add detail to their costume and weapon to make them unique to your world and character.

Try different head shapes and faces, use celebrities/friends for inspiration.

Create a color palette for your character’s skin, skin can all be 1-color or more depending on your shading ability.

Pick 3 colors for your character, their colors are their “brand” so make sure the colors fit the personality type.  (red=powerful, purple=magic, blue=dependable, green=adventurous, yellow=energetic, white=purity, brown=honesty, orange=spontaneous).

Your character’s outfit should use 2 main colors, the third is saved for small touches like gems, glows, hair, scarf, belt, etc.

Draw a prop, weapon, pet, and/or vehicle for your character.

Stage 5: Build model sheet

Check the “Character Sheets” folder on the server or google for examples.

Draw your character from the front in a “T-pose” but with the arms in a relaxed 45 degree angle; draw them next to each other from the front side, back, and ¾ views like we did with the skeleton.

I recommend using the Line Tool in a separate layer to make sure each body part is at the right height, (1pt grey lines for the top of the head, chin, shoulders, chest, belly button, waist, hips, knees, feet).

Each part of the body should line up with the other views (except for the feet in ¾ view).

Draw your character in a dynamic pose with a simple background.

Boss phase:

Draw a villain from your world that your character has to defeat.

Color your model sheet character using the 3 colors you picked, plus skin tone.

Bonus round

When designing a costume, you want to trace the roots of your design as far back in real history as possible. 

For example, for Fantasy characters, look at photos of real medieval armor. These will give you ideas for surface textures and small details that you might have missed when you first designed the character.  http://armorref.tumblr.com/ 

For Sci-Fi it’s more about using geometric shapes and smooth metallic surfaces, look at new tech products, factory machines, scientific robots, modern military gear, prototype airplanes, etc. 

Don’t get stuck with a grey character, make sure you add some paint or racing stripes to your metal parts!