How to character design

How to character design

• What I still need to work on
• What/where I am already doing it
• What the article says is important http://www.creativebloq.com/character-design/tips-5132643/2

1. Consider where it will appear. On our gifs 'there's no point designing it to have a lot of intricate details and features.'
Noticed that it was important to keep the characters simple with limited line work (on the faces and the clothing) and block colours (hair and trousers)

2. Make characters distinctive. 'Matt Groening used yellow to make The Simpsons characters stand out from the crowd'. 'Your character design needs to be strong and interesting in a visual sense to get people's attention.'
For me I guess this is the use of coloured pencil and the aesthetic that this creates as I feel that this medium has interesting quality to it and therefore is quite eye catching

3. 'The drawn lines of which your character design is composed can go some way to describing it. Thick, even, soft and round lines may suggest an approachable, cute character, whereas sharp, scratchy and uneven lines might point to an uneasy and erratic character.'
Need to decide how I am going to do this. I feel that coloured pencils have limited availability to do this but it is possible to get lighter and darker shades so can think about what/where will be softer and heavier

4. 'Exaggerating the defining features of your character design will help it appear larger than life. Exaggerated features will also help viewers to identify the character's key qualities.'
This is something I still need to explore...elongating chins and foreheads and accentuating features like arms (manly/muscular) and feet/hands (small and dainty for the girl)

5. 'Colours can help communicate a character's personality. Typically, dark colours such as black, purples and greys depict baddies with malevolent intentions. Light colours such as white, blues, pinks and yellows express innocence, good and purity. '
Whilst drawing in all the different coloured pencils I did find that I preferred some of the drawings more than others and particularly didn't like the mid green drawings as the connotations of the colour changed what I was trying to portray
Need to chose what colour each character is going to be... lighter colours for the young innocent girl and darker colours for the guy?

6. 'Props and clothing can help to emphasise character traits and their background.'
Thought it would be good to add some flower accessories to the girl so that she looked younger and child like.
Need to find an object for the guy to have and chose which kind of hair band for the girl? Still need to figure out what they are going to wear... my reference imagery was just what my friends were wearing, even featuring pyjamas...

7. 'Depending on what you have planned for your character design, you might need to work out what it will look like from all angles. A seemingly flat character can take on a whole new persona when seen from the side'
I have done lots of drawings of the same person from different angles in order to create a sense of them from different profiles so that emotions can be seen through their facial expressions and body language
Not right now, but I will need to chose one/two people and then develop exactly what they are going to look like and develop this through more drawings

8. 'Interesting looks alone do not necessarily make for a good character design; its personality is key as well.'
I have already tried to capture a young giggly excitable girl and a nervous yet excited teenage boy and started to illustrate their interaction
Need to develop this more through more drawings to really capture the tension and atmosphere between them

9. Expressions showing a character's range of emotions and depicting its ups and downs will further flesh out your character
Have already done lots of drawings of the different people from different angles.
Now need to develop the happy emotions and body language as it portrays my response to the song and what Im trying to portray

10. 'Build up a back story'
I guess this is the RomCom story that I am imagining when I will later create my gif...
Not right now but soon will need to decide on my scene for the gifs and what is going to happen in them and how I can portray this in a short repetitive gif.

11. 'When artist Yuck creates his characters he doesn't really know what he'll draw. "I just listen to music and draw the result dependent on my mood: freaky or cute. I always want to have a drawing that I find interesting. I then work more on the character after it's okay with me and my brain," he says.'
Similarly our stimulus was the same, music, and when capturing the images the reference photo were created whilst dancing and laughing to the music.
Need to keep drawing to the music so that it inspires me constantly and my mood whilst drawing is evident in the characters

12. 'In the same way that you create a history for your character, you need to create an environment for it to help further cement believability in your creation. '
I guess this will be the location of someone running down the road after the girl he loves or the guy dancing around in his room because he had just had his first kiss
Need to decide on the story for the 3 gifs a bit later on but this will bet important