Month: January 2014

Pushing Character Design

31
Jan
2014

Pushing Character Design

I was recently taught an important lesson by my illustration teacher. He told me that in order to give my cast of characters more diversity, I need to push each of their designs a little further. They have aspects that set them apart from one another, and I need to take those and run with them.

Character design is important, independent from the skill level an artist has at illustrating people. I own one volume of The Gentlemen’s Alliance by Arina Tanemura. If you’ve read any of this manga, you know that her art is gorgeous. She has a fantastic style, flow and her use of screen tones is beautiful. However, there were times while reading where I would get characters mixed up. The main character and her best friend look incredibly similar when they make certain expressions, as do the main character’s love interest and her little brother.

Character Design- Too Similar?
Two very similar Looking characters from The Gentlemen’s Alliance

I loved her art, but needing to reread a certain passage or compare characters to figure out what’s going on was jarring.

 

Distinct Characters

A series that is phenomenal at character design is the Avatar series. While watching Legend of Korra with my husband, it was fun to look at Mako and Bolin, and observe just how different they are. Though they are brothers, their eyes, nose, jaw, hair, and especially their body shape are very different. If Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino could make two brothers look so different, then we know that we have tons of room to push our characters to look more unique.

Great character Design- Mako and Bolin
For brothers, Mako and Bolin look very different.

 

My Challenge: Redesign Characters that are too Similar

In order to give my cast of characters more visual power, I need to make each more dynamic and unique from the others. Mango is lithe and thin, whereas Kay is a little broader. I need to make Kay broader and Mango lither. What sets Kaipo apart is his child-like features. I need to make him even more childlike, especially in his face. I’ve already pushed Araya when I chose to broaden her hips, so now I just need to work with her outfit.

I have a long way to go, but I’m going to keep making breakthroughs, because that’s one of the joys and adventures of being an artist. I hope that those of you who are working with characters you love will keep working until you have the perfect character designs as well.

 

ChallengesCharacter DesignGreat ArtLessons I've learned

The Style Development Challenge

23
Jan
2014

 Style is earned.

 

Today I’m going to share the wisdom of my favorite art teacher, because he is a genius. I met with him today to ask him how I could improve my characters, and we ended up on the topic of style, of the way different artists illustrate things. He then made two points:

 

  1. Style is the sum of the art experiences that you have had.
  1.  To develop style, you need to create experiences for yourself.

 

To emphasize the importance of these points, he told me a metaphor. A lovely Legend of Zelda metaphor.

Imagine an adventure game like Legend of  Zelda where you go through quests, overcoming challenges and puzzles in order to gain new items. The more items and weapons you have, the more likely you are ready to take on tougher dungeons, and the more creative and adept you can be in defeating enemies. There are certain temples and areas you just can’t get to without obtaining the right item first.

Experiences are like this when it comes to art. They go in your “quest bag” as resources that can be used for any project. If you have only tried one or two styles, then that’s all you’ll know how to work with. You can’t defeat Ganon with only a slingshot. Give yourself experiences and challenges, and this will give you far greater power, flexibility, and creative liberty.

 

Challenge: The fast-track to style

 

My teacher then gave me this challenge, calling it the fast-track to developing your own style:

Make a list of your top 10 favorite artists that have influenced your work. Choose one of their characters and redraw that character in their exact style. Learn the ins and outs of what they do and how they do it. How do they stylize ears? Do they use soft or hard shadows? What about the stances and poses of their characters?

He then explained that the more informed we are, the better decisions we make. This is why we do things like draw from life and take figure drawing classes. Studying style is just as important. This isn’t the same as copying an artist. You aren’t drawing in their style just to imitate them, but to learn what you do and don’t like, and what you want to do in your own work.

I believe that completing this challenge will give me a greater knowledge of what the artists I admire do, and it will help me become aware of and develop more of my own style.

I challenge of all of you to complete this experiment! Who else wants to find more clarity in the direction they want to take their style and art? Let’s do this thing.

ChallengesLessons I've learned

Great Character Design- Tegami Bachi

20
Jan
2014

I decided to make a series of posts about “Great Character Design,” talking about artists who have created characters whose appearance and design is spot on. There’s so much good stuff out there, and there are so many talented artists to learn from!

The first characters I want to look at are from a manga series called “Tegami Bachi,” which translates to “Letter Bee”. This is a really charming series with an amazing premise, fascinating setting and truly gorgeous characters. While reading, I often find myself just staring. The stark black and white style used for most of the characters is really appealing and gives a little oomph to their appearance.

Here are some images the artists, Hiroyuki Asada, put between chapters.

Tegami Bachi- Lag Seeing

 

 

These two main characters, Lag Seeing and Niche, just blow me away. Their outfits (along with those of the rest of the characters) are so intricate and interesting to look at. So pretty…

Tegami Bachi- Niche

 

Another thing I love is how well their appearance supports their personality. Niche’s expressions almost never change. She’s sort of like a cat in that regard, and indeed, there’s something very feral about her behavior. She’s a really fun character because of that.

 

That’s all for our first Character Design session! For anyone else who is a fan of Tegami Bachi, who is your favorite character, and what do you like about their design?

Character DesignGreat ArtTutorial

Spirit Bond- Kaipo Redesign

06
Jan
2014

And here’s our darling Kaipo! Isn’t he cute? And kind of… epic? At least in this pose.

I tried really hard to make both Kaipo and Mango more epic when I redesigned them. At least in their true forms. They aren’t always all glowy and mystical, as you can see in the lineup. Alas, I still haven’t figured out their exact rules yet. I should probably get on that.

Anyway, I present to you Spirit Bond’s most adorable hero: Kaipo!

 

Spirit bond's Kaipo

Finished ArtSpirit Bond

Spirit Bond- Mango Redesign

06
Jan
2014

When redesigning my spirits, things got a bit more complicated. You see, there’s only so much you can do visually with a human character, but with a spirit, the possibilities are endless!

My illustration teacher suggested I combine Mango with something a little more beastly and magical. That’s what  tried to do, butI don’t think I took itfar enough yet. What do you guys think? How could I make Mango’s design more…. awesome?

 

Mango

Finished ArtSpirit BondUncategorized