I enjoy drawing birds. And girls.
So there’s this.
I like Birds
21
Jan
2016
Category: Character Design
Tiger Stripe Corporation- Characters 1
09
Apr
2014
For a while now, I’ve had some ideas swimming around in my head about a bunch of kids who fight giant tigers and live in a town full of bounty hunters. There might be some vacuum cleaners in there too.
I drew these a long time ago, but just recently colored them, so I thought I’d stick some of them up here.
These are the main 5 characters.
Here are some of the other ruffians in the town. More characters to come later.
Spirit Bond- Araya Sculpture
17
Mar
2014
While designing Araya, the main character of Spirit Bond, I made a small 3-D sculpture known as a maquette. This was an extremely challenging project, but it was well worth it. After all, I know have a small model to use as reference material when drawing this character.
She is made of polymer clay with a wire metal armature for structure. The armature is hooked into a wooden base. The whole thing was then sprayed with a gray primer. It was supposed to be matte gray, but I used a glossy one on accident, which is why she’s a little overly shiny. All in all, I’m very proud of this sculpture!
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Spirit Bond- Character Redesign in Progress
17
Feb
2014
I’ve taken up the challenge I issued for myself back in January about pushing character design. This is still very much in progress, but I feel great about a lot of the changes I’ve made. I’ll start with the awesomest of them all.
Mango is looking pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself.
Next up is Araya! I think I finally found an outfit that just seems spot on for her. I’m so pleased.
I also doodled Lauren in her new outfit, and messed with her face style and body type. I’m still not totally satisfied, buuuut… *big shrug*
And lastly… the guy i wanted to make the most progress with… I haven’t quite figured out. Truth be told, the more I broaden Kay’s shoulders and manly-fy him, the less I like him. I might have to make him more unique in a different direction, haha… But just so you know that I’ve been trying, here’s the latest image (with a bald Araya, Kay and Mango in the back ground to compare heights).
I just realized that it’s been a long time since I’ve drawn Kaipo. I hope he’s not off in a corner somewhere crying. Don’t worry Kaipo, love, you are not forgotten!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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?
Main Character Line-up
22
Dec
2013
Here they are, lined up again, in all their beauty: Mango, Araya, Kay, and Kaipo. They’re my darlings. Most of the design changes are in their clothing. I made Kay’s skin a little darker too. DIVERSITY!
It’s fun to watch your characters change. They’re growing up!
