WEBVTT 00:00:00.216 --> 00:00:00.786 >> Hey, art nerds. 00:00:00.786 --> 00:00:03.166 We are going to be talking about character design. 00:00:03.416 --> 00:00:06.316 Now, creating an entire character from scratch, 00:00:06.316 --> 00:00:09.816 human or otherwise, takes a lot of creative energy. 00:00:10.346 --> 00:00:15.676 Every artist has their own creative process, so there is no right way to create a character. 00:00:16.156 --> 00:00:22.016 But, typically, the character design process for each artist begins at the same place. 00:00:22.016 --> 00:00:27.646 Before even putting a pencil to paper or pen to tablet, a character designer should start 00:00:27.646 --> 00:00:30.816 with the most important step of all, research. 00:00:30.816 --> 00:00:35.586 It can be helpful to try and deconstruct why certain characters 00:00:35.586 --> 00:00:38.806 and their characteristics work and why some don't. 00:00:38.806 --> 00:00:43.866 Study other characters, and think about what makes them so successful and what 00:00:43.866 --> 00:00:48.796 in particular you like about them, their personality, their style choice, 00:00:48.986 --> 00:00:51.676 or maybe you just really dig their hair. 00:00:51.676 --> 00:00:55.816 You need to take a deep look into your character's personality in order 00:00:55.816 --> 00:00:59.396 to develop a visual idea of its physical features. 00:01:00.166 --> 00:01:07.076 So one big influencer for your whole design is who your character is aimed at. 00:01:07.186 --> 00:01:10.166 What group of people is your character intended for? 00:01:10.166 --> 00:01:13.156 This group is referred to as your target audience. 00:01:13.606 --> 00:01:16.166 Think about the age of your intended audience. 00:01:16.326 --> 00:01:20.016 For example, characters aimed at young children are typically designed 00:01:20.016 --> 00:01:22.096 around basic shapes and bright colors. 00:01:22.096 --> 00:01:27.986 Be sure to also take a close look at your audience's gender, personality, 00:01:28.146 --> 00:01:31.356 or subcultures that they may be a part of. 00:01:31.356 --> 00:01:36.546 Whether you're creating a llama, robot, or monster, you can guarantee there are going 00:01:36.546 --> 00:01:40.096 to be 100 other similar creations out there. 00:01:40.096 --> 00:01:43.286 Your character needs to be strong and interesting 00:01:43.286 --> 00:01:45.756 in a visual sense to get people's attention. 00:01:45.936 --> 00:01:48.476 Even its silhouette needs to be striking. 00:01:49.946 --> 00:01:53.216 So what special trait does your character possess? 00:01:53.416 --> 00:01:56.846 Do they have any usual or unusual quirks? 00:01:56.846 --> 00:02:00.396 Maybe some cool prop hat or weapon they seem to always carry around 00:02:00.396 --> 00:02:03.356 or that illustrates some aspect of their being. 00:02:03.536 --> 00:02:10.216 Exaggerating the defining features of your character will help it appear larger than life. 00:02:10.216 --> 00:02:14.906 Exaggerated features will also help viewers identify the character's key qualities. 00:02:14.906 --> 00:02:20.836 Is your character supposed to be super fast, curious, smart, evil, kind, strong? 00:02:20.836 --> 00:02:25.816 What can you do to exaggerate or accentuate these features your character possesses? 00:02:26.726 --> 00:02:30.006 Colors can also communicate a character's personality. 00:02:30.006 --> 00:02:33.816 Typically, dark colors, such as black, purples, 00:02:33.816 --> 00:02:38.106 and grays depict baddies and malevolent intentions. 00:02:38.106 --> 00:02:41.616 Light colors, on the other hand, such as white, blues, pinks, 00:02:41.616 --> 00:02:45.386 and yellows express innocence, good, and purity. 00:02:45.446 --> 00:02:49.846 By changing only the color, you can change how your character is perceived by others. 00:02:50.816 --> 00:02:54.596 Interesting looks alone do not necessarily make for a good character. 00:02:54.596 --> 00:02:57.786 Its personality is key as well. 00:02:57.816 --> 00:03:02.056 A character's personality can be revealed through animations or even as simply 00:03:02.056 --> 00:03:03.966 as how he or she carries themselves. 00:03:04.046 --> 00:03:09.496 While some characters appear to be confident, standing tall and relaxed, 00:03:09.496 --> 00:03:13.506 others may appear very timid, with shoulders ever so slightly slouched, 00:03:13.506 --> 00:03:17.466 keeping their arms close and eyes avoiding contact with all others. 00:03:17.566 --> 00:03:21.466 The personality of your character doesn't have to be particularly agreeable, 00:03:21.466 --> 00:03:27.346 but it does need to be interesting, unless your character is purposefully dull. 00:03:28.216 --> 00:03:31.786 The basic shapes you use to construct your character can contribute 00:03:31.786 --> 00:03:33.716 to its perceived personality. 00:03:33.716 --> 00:03:38.196 If you want to learn more about this, I have a whole video that goes into shape language. 00:03:38.196 --> 00:03:39.676 So be sure to check it out. 00:03:41.046 --> 00:03:45.476 Expressions showing a character's range of emotions and depicting its ups 00:03:45.476 --> 00:03:48.186 and downs will further flush out your character. 00:03:48.186 --> 00:03:52.256 Depending on its personality, a figure's emotions might be muted and wry 00:03:52.256 --> 00:03:55.356 or explosive and wildly exaggerated. 00:03:55.356 --> 00:03:59.626 Subtle alterations in the shape of your character's eyes, mouth, 00:03:59.626 --> 00:04:04.226 even eyebrows can change its expression dramatically. 00:04:04.226 --> 00:04:07.756 As the old saying goes, the eyes speak louder than the mouth; 00:04:07.756 --> 00:04:10.546 and emotions can be seen around the eyes. 00:04:10.966 --> 00:04:15.096 Even with only being able to see the eyes of each of these characters, 00:04:15.096 --> 00:04:21.466 I bet you can get a pretty close guess as to which emotion he or she may be expressing. 00:04:25.056 --> 00:04:30.846 The driving force behind a character's personality is what he or she wants to achieve. 00:04:30.846 --> 00:04:35.416 Often, the incompleteness or flaws in a character are what make them interesting. 00:04:35.476 --> 00:04:39.656 And to help out -- figure that out, your character needs a backstory. 00:04:39.656 --> 00:04:44.986 Developing its backstory for your character is important, especially if you're planning 00:04:44.986 --> 00:04:48.166 for the character to exist within comics or animations. 00:04:48.166 --> 00:04:49.906 Where does your character come from? 00:04:49.906 --> 00:04:51.796 How did it come to exist? 00:04:51.796 --> 00:04:55.356 What life-changing events has it experienced? 00:04:55.356 --> 00:04:59.346 Having answers to these questions are going to help back up the solidity 00:04:59.346 --> 00:05:01.466 and subsequent belief in your character. 00:05:01.466 --> 00:05:05.836 Sometimes telling of a character's backstory can be more interesting 00:05:05.836 --> 00:05:08.006 than the character's present adventures. 00:05:08.176 --> 00:05:11.446 The deeper you go, the more real your character will be. 00:05:11.736 --> 00:05:17.066 Relationships, hobbies, bad habits, routines, things they collect, things they hate, 00:05:17.066 --> 00:05:21.086 what home is like, what they wish to accomplish, the list is endless. 00:05:21.086 --> 00:05:27.676 Even when you think you are nearing the end of your character's design, question each element 00:05:27.676 --> 00:05:31.716 of your creation, especially things such as its facial features. 00:05:31.716 --> 00:05:36.066 The slightest alteration can have a great effect on how your character is perceived. 00:05:36.136 --> 00:05:41.986 Things like head shape; hairstyle; facial features, such as eyes, ears, nose, mouth; 00:05:41.986 --> 00:05:45.886 even the fit of your jeans on your character says something 00:05:45.886 --> 00:05:48.616 about their personality or their mission. 00:05:48.666 --> 00:05:52.076 Baggy, lazy, comfortable, athletic jeans. 00:05:52.076 --> 00:05:55.746 Got some relaxed, stable, and more reliable jeans. 00:05:55.746 --> 00:05:58.416 They got those stylish and creative skinny jeans. 00:05:58.416 --> 00:06:03.026 Okay. So there's so many options, so please pay attention to every single detail. 00:06:04.786 --> 00:06:09.826 The idea of character design is to go on a creative dive into the unknown and, 00:06:09.826 --> 00:06:14.236 from that abyss, pull out the best design that matches the character description. 00:06:14.826 --> 00:06:20.176 Great and memorable characters come as a result of the time and creative energy put 00:06:20.176 --> 00:06:22.656 into making them by character designers. 00:06:22.656 --> 00:06:24.996 And think about this. 00:06:24.996 --> 00:06:32.366 Every single character you've ever seen on TV or played in a video game was designed by someone.