Cool Drawings of Fiction Characters
27 top character blueprint tips
The process of tackling character design is oftentimes full of hurdles. Y'all need a whole lot of creative thinking to create your ain character from scratch, although many of the well-known characters from cartoons, ad and films expect straightforward. Really, a vast corporeality of effort and skill volition have been exerted to brand them and so effective.
From Mickey Mouse's famous three-fingered hands (drawn to speed up production when he was get-go developed for animations in the 1920s), to the elegant simplicity of Homer Simpson, creating character has always been about keeping it simple. To explore these, and other iconic characters, further, see our guide to Disney Plus).
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Just what do you demand to consider for your grapheme design? Aside from clean lines and easily readable features, there'southward knowing what to exaggerate and what to minimise, how to give a hint of depth and background and what to practice to develop personality.
Then, of course, there'southward the matter of the technicalities of how to draw your character blueprint. If information technology's going to be used in movement or as role of a comic strip, you'll need to make sure it works from any angle.
For this article, we asked a range of leading artists and illustrators their advice on creating memorable, unique grapheme designs. Many of these tips come from Pictoplasma (opens in new tab), an annual character design festival in Berlin.
Tips for bright character design
01. Don't lose the magic
Many character designers will commencement their project with a sketch. And near concord designers agree this is often where the essence of the character is captured. And so when yous're working up your blueprint, make sure you don't lose that magic.
"I try to stick to my original drawing style, because the instinct is to endeavor and clean it up," says Laurie Rowan (opens in new tab). "I don't like to experience like I've created by characters; I like to feel similar I've kind of just encountered them."
"When starting out on your grapheme blueprint, don't get caught upwards in the details," says Pernille Ørum (opens in new tab). "Make up one's mind what you're trying to communicate, then create loose sketches with movement, acting and flow. As presently as you start to tighten up the drawing, you'll automatically lose some of the dynamic, so it's important to take as much life in the early stages every bit possible. Motion is all but impossible to add later, so make certain it's in the initial sketch."
02. Step away from the reference material
While inspiration needs to come up from somewhere, the aim is to create something original. So Robert Wallace – known as Parallel Teeth (opens in new tab) – suggests not having the reference material right in front end of you as you piece of work.
"If y'all look at something and and so you endeavour and hazily recall it in your listen, that's when you end upward making something new, rather than a pastiche of something," he says. Above you can see Wallace's new have on well-known festive figures, created for a Hong Kong department store.
03. Research other characters
For guidance, it can exist helpful to try and deconstruct why certain character designs work and why some don't. There's no shortage of research material to be constitute, with illustrated characters appearing everywhere: on Telly commercials, cereal boxes, shop signs, stickers on fruit, animations on mobile phones, and more. Study these grapheme designs and remember about what makes some successful and what in particular you like near them.
"When you piece of work with characters y'all need to be inspired," advises Ørum, "and you can do this through research. Your mind is a visual library that yous can fill up up. Endeavor to notice people around you lot – how they walk, their gestures, how they wearing apparel – and employ that in your blueprint."
04. ... but also look elsewhere
Information technology'southward as well a proficient thought to look beyond character designs when hunting for inspiration. "I like birds' mating rituals a lot," laughs Rowan. The odd movements can spark unique character behaviour.
"When I begin a project, I often showtime with the feeling I want to evoke," he adds. The process begins with the designer taking videos of himself as a reference, trying to capture something of the character idea'south movement or posture.
Other inspirations include ceramics – an organic texture and muted colour palette stop his work feeling too clinical – and folk costumes.
05. Don't lose sight of the original thought
It's easy to subconsciously permit our favourite designs influence us. Cornelia Geppert, CEO of indie games studio Jo-Mei (opens in new tab), is a huge fan of The Concluding Guardian, with its unique artful and great video game graphic symbol designs.
At one bespeak ane of her squad members had to say to her that their Ocean of Solitude design was looking a petty too similar to The Last Guardian. She looked back at her initial artworks, and it brought back the feeling she had when creating them. The project shifted back on track.
06. Exaggerate
Exaggerating the defining features of your character design will help information technology appear larger than life. Exaggerated features will besides help viewers to identify the character's fundamental qualities. Exaggeration is key in drawing caricatures and helps emphasise certain personality traits. If your character is potent, don't just give it normal-sized bulging artillery, soup them upwardly so that they're five times as big as they should be.
The technique of exaggeration can be practical to characteristics, too. Anna Mantzaris (opens in new tab)' hilarious Enough film (above) shows everyday characters in mundane situations, doing the things we've all dreamed of doing on a bad 24-hour interval. "I think it'south fun with blitheness that y'all tin push things farther, and people will still accept information technology equally real," she says. "With alive action it would look absurd. You can also push the emotion further."
07. Decide who your character design is aimed at
Think near your audience. Character designs aimed at immature children, for example, are typically designed around basic shapes and bright colours. If yous're working for a client, the grapheme's target audition is commonly predetermined, every bit Aussie creative person Nathan Jurevicius (opens in new tab) explains.
"Commissioned character designs are ordinarily more restrictive but no less creative. Clients accept specific needs but also want me to do my 'thing'. Usually, I'll intermission down the core features and personality. For case, if the eyes are important and so I'll focus the whole pattern around the face up, making this the key feature that stands out."
08. Brand your grapheme distinctive
Whether you're creating a monkey, robot or monster, y'all tin guarantee there are going to be a hundred other similar creations out there. Your character design needs to be strong and interesting in a visual sense to get people'southward attention.
When devising The Simpsons, Matt Groening knew he had to offer the viewers something different. He reckoned that when viewers were flicking through Goggle box channels and came across the show, the characters' unusually brilliant yellow skin colour would grab their attending.
09. Create articulate silhouettes
Another good way to make your graphic symbol distinct and improve its pose, says Ørum, is to plow information technology into a silhouette. "And then you tin can run into how the grapheme 'reads' and if you demand to make the gesture more clear. Do you sympathize the emotion of the grapheme and come across the line of activity? Tin things be simplified? Try non to overlap everything, and keep the limbs carve up."
07. Develop a line of action
One fundamental aspect to consider when creating a character design is the line of activeness. This is what defines the direction of your character, as well as beingness a useful narrative tool and bringing a feeling of motion.
"Endeavour to bring the line of activity all the way out to the extremities," says Ørum. "A ballet dancer is a practiced instance: they emphasise the line from the tips of their toes to the tips of their fingers. The line of action is also easier to see in creatures with fewer limbs, which is why mermaids are an ideal subject for developing a strong line of activeness."
08. Make information technology personal
Geppert'south Sea of Solitude video game is an exploration of her experiences of loneliness. Intensely personal though it may exist, the game striking a chord with audiences when information technology was previewed at E3 earlier in the twelvemonth, considering it deals with an experience that is so universal yet notwithstanding strangely taboo.
"The best art is based on personal experiences. People can relate better if it's based on the truth," says Geppert. "It's not a made-upward story, even though it's based in a fantastical setting."
09. Find the posture first
Félicie Haymoz (opens in new tab) has worked with Wes Anderson on both of his blithe features: Fantastic Mr Fox and Island of Dogs. When embarking on a new grapheme design, Haymoz likes to start by finding the individual'due south posture. This chemical element can start the ball rolling on the whole feel of the personality. "I try to capture the stance of the character. Are they hunched over, or are they sitting straight and proud?" She besides notes the face is important to become right.
Read more than of Haymoz'due south film character tips here.
10. Consider line quality
The fatigued lines of which your character blueprint is equanimous tin 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 signal to an uneasy and erratic character.
Ørum recommends balancing direct and curved lines. "Straight lines and curves gives your graphic symbol design a rhythm. A direct line (or a uncomplicated line) leads the center quickly, while a curved (or detailed line) slows down the center.'
It's as well worth considering the balance between stretch and compression. "Fifty-fifty a neutral pose can pb the eye past applying these 2 approaches, resulting in an constructive graphic symbol pattern," says Ørum.
eleven. Use a joke construction
Rowan grew a name for himself by sharing humorous clips of his characters on Instagram, and went on to work on projects for Disney, the BBC and MTV, and earned himself a BAFTA award and nomination in the process. However, information technology was his less successful years doing standup comedy that provided inspiration for his trademark graphic symbol animations.
"It's through standup I learned brevity. It's kind of a joke structure," he explains. Knowing how to frame the clip comes from past failures and successes on stage: "You very quickly learn how to hit certain points," he laughs.
12. Keep it simple
As well every bit knowing when to exaggerate, Ørum is also keen to highlight the importance of simplicity. "I ever endeavor to communicate the designs with the fewest lines possible. It doesn't mean that piece of work hasn't been put into creating the book, placement and design of the character, but I attempt to simplify as much as possible and only put downward the lines and colours that conveys the necessary data."
13. Consider all the angles
Depending on what you have planned for your character design, y'all might need to work out what information technology will look similar from all angles. A seemingly flat grapheme tin take on a whole new persona when seen from the side if, for example, it has a massive beer belly.
In the Grapheme Design Crash Course workshop at Pictoplasma 2019, Jurevicius and Rilla Alexander asked attendees to sketch their character in poses held by other attendees, life drawing style.
And if you're going to turn it into a comic strip, a la Luke Pearson'southward Hilda, information technology'll demand to non only brand sense from all angles, only look expert too.
"How to describe Hilda from behind without her hair swallowing her silhouette", how to draw her beret from above; a long and drawn out boxing with how her nose should await… these were all issues Pearson had to bargain with when creating his character. The problems all ultimately led to design solutions.
xiv. Build it in 3D
If your character is going to exist within a 3D world, as an blitheness or even as a toy, working out its height, weight and physical shape is all of import. Alternatively, go i stride further and create a model.
"Fifty-fifty if yous're not someone who works in 3D, you can larn a lot by converting your character into 3 dimensions," says Alexander. It's a key function of the process the students follow at the Pictoplasma Academy.
fifteen. Cull colours carefully
Colours tin aid communicate a grapheme's personality. Typically, dark colours such as black, purples and greys describe baddies with malevolent intentions.
Light colours such equally white, blues, pinks and yellows express innocence and purity. Comic-volume reds, yellows and dejection might go some way to giving hero qualities to a character pattern.
"To choose effective colours, it'south of import to understand the basic rules of color," explains Ørum. "Go familiar with the primary, secondary and tertiary colours, as well every bit monochromatic and complementary colours. One technique for generating an effective colour palette is to chose two complementary colours and work with them in a monochromatic color scheme."
"You'll create balance because complementary colours create dynamism, while monochrome colours invoke feelings of at-home. You lot could too effort a tertiary colour scheme, which adds a 3rd color (for example, violet, orange and dark-green), and and so piece of work with monochromatic versions of those colours, but it demands more planning and skill for information technology to work well. If you're new to colour, effort and keep it simple."
To read more on this, see our post on color theory.
16. Don't forget the pilus
"Some years ago I went from hating drawing hair to loving it," Ørum. "Previously, I used to view working out all the details and directions of the hair as a ho-hum endeavour. Now I recollect of information technology more as a large, organic shape, which like a flag in the wind indicates and emphasises the motion of the graphic symbol or its surroundings.
"Start by creating a big shape and carve up information technology into shorter sections, while thinking most where the hair is parted and where the hairline is. Every line should assist to define the book, shape and direction of the hair."
17. Add accessories
Props and wearable tin can assistance to emphasise graphic symbol traits and their background. For example, scruffy wearing apparel can exist used for poor characters, and lots of diamonds and bling for tasteless rich ones. Accessories tin also exist more than literal extensions of your character's personality, such as a parrot on a pirate'southward shoulder or a maggot in a ghoul'southward skull.
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Adjacent page: More top character design tips...
18. Focus on facial expression
Expressions showing a character's range of emotions and depicting its ups and downs will further flesh out your grapheme. Depending on its personality, a figure'south emotions might be muted and wry or explosive and wildly exaggerated.
"When y'all know the nuts of drawing a face, play with the expression of the character," says Ørum. "Apply a mirror to read your own face and observe the subtle changes. Push and pull the eyebrows to show emotion. Avert giving the confront symmetry. The oral fissure will always favours a side and it gives life to the drawing. And give the caput a tilt to add nuance."
Classic examples of exaggerated expressions can exist establish in the work of the legendary Tex Avery: the optics of his Wild Wolf character oftentimes pop out of its caput when information technology's excited. Another example of how expressions communicate motions is deadpan Droopy, who barely registers any sort of emotion at all.
nineteen. Give your character goals
The driving force backside a character's personality is what it wants to accomplish. This missing 'something' – be it riches, a girlfriend or solving a mystery – can help to create the dramatic thrust behind the stories and adventures your character gets upwards to. Ofttimes the incompleteness or flaws in a graphic symbol design are what make it interesting.
20. Build up a back story
If y'all're planning for your character blueprint to exist inside comics and animations, then developing its back story is important. Where it comes from, how it came to exist and whatever life-changing events it has experienced are going to help back upwards the solidity of, and subsequent conventionalities in, your grapheme. Sometimes the telling of a grapheme's back story tin can be more interesting than the character's nowadays adventures.
"If you're experiencing problems when attempting to nail the essence of a character, try thinking of them in a sure situation," Ørum advises. "Utilise the story to recollect about your character's emotions before tackling the design, and add the details afterwards. Setting the scene is the best help when staring at a blank slice of newspaper, and it makes the process more than fun, too!"
21. Retrieve it's not all near the face
Yukai Du (opens in new tab) is not what you'd call a typical grapheme designer: none of her work features faces. Instead, her torso function of choice is the hands. Having found she wasn't skilful at capturing specific emotions within a facial expression, she turned to a different body part: the hands. "Hands are very expressive. Yous tin can tell a lot of stories with hands, and exercise it in a very subtle way," she says. Easily became her mode of telling stories.
22. Make your character pattern flexible
Having decent software and materials to work with is useful, but not essential, when it comes to bringing your character to life. A lot of amazing characters were successfully designed years agone when no one had personal computers and Photoshop CC was but a dream.
If you lot character is really strong, you should be able to capture it with but a pen and newspaper. Or, as Sune Ehlers (opens in new tab) puts it: "The grapheme should yet be able to work with a stick dipped in mud and fatigued on asphalt."
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23. Get feedback from others
Show people your creations and ask them what they recall. Don't simply enquire whether they like them or non. Instead, run into if they tin pick upward the personalities and traits of your characters. Discover who y'all think is the suitable or platonic audience for your work and get feedback specifically from them about information technology.
24. Make it honest
"A lot of my commercial projection come up out of my personal piece of work. That'due south why I effort to make my personal piece of work and so honest to what I like. I think information technology comes through to the viewer that I'm not but ticking boxes," says John Bond. The illustrator recently launched his debut pic book, Non LOST, based on his Mini Rabbit character design.
25. Create the right environs
In the aforementioned way that yous create a history for your character, you need to create an environment for information technology to help further cement believability in your creation. The world in which the graphic symbol lives and interacts should in some manner brand sense to who the character is and what information technology gets up to.
26. Fine-tune your figure
Question each element of your creation, especially things such as its facial features. The slightest alteration tin can take a great consequence on how your grapheme is perceived.
Illustrator Neil McFarland (opens in new tab) advises: "Think about the pregnant of the discussion 'character'. You're supposed to exhale life into these things, make them highly-seasoned and requite them the magic that will allow people to imagine what they're like to meet and how they might motility."
27. Don't be afraid to make changes
Hilda has changed over the years, from book to book, just Pearson explains that no one has pulled him up on it. "I like to think it means the design is strong enough to withstand being pulled in all these different directions," he says.
This commodity contains content that was originally published in Computer Arts and ImagineFX magazine. Subscribe to IFX here (opens in new tab) .
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Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/character-design/tips-5132643
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