Saturday, August 27, 2011
Master Yi
Another character for my friend. He's some sort of asian swordsman dude who uses three swords. I feel like I want to take a different approach to these next time. I feel like I spend a lot of time with general poses to get a feel for the character. But at the same time it kind of limits my design from the beginning. Posing to me seems like something I'd rather use to make a poster or some shit. What do you guys think? More graphic and line studies in the beginning?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think the pose you choose for your character should be simple enough that it doesn't distract from the overall design of the character. At the same time it should describe the personality of the character. As a rule fo thumb, I like to use the "contra-posto" pose and I focus on the face and hands of the character. From what I've experienced, people tend to learn the most about a character by first looking at the face and then the hands.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of studies you do really depends on what you're most comfortable with. Personally, I like to start off with line-gesture sketches and going straight to quick color comps. I'm not a big fan of graphic silhouettes, but that's just me.
Just a few pointers on designing characters. It's worth the effort to focus on the little things, such as tattoos, bags, weapons, eyewear,etc. And it's even more important to make sure that those little elements relate to the character and are not just random. Those little things really add to the persnality of your character. For example. your top character looks like he has some sort of war paint on his face. Stuff like that is cool! But now you have to give the "why?" Maybe he's half-indian, and so maybe he has like an indian style handbag, or some more indian body art. Maybe he was adopted by Indians, so he proably carries around an emblem that was an heirloom from his real parents. You get the idea. that's essentially how you design characters, by adding those third-read elements to add depth to your character. And be careful not to go over-kill, because theyr'e essentially "third-read" elements, and should over-shadow the overal character.
Otherwise, I think your characters are getting better. I think you're starting to get better at delineating volume and form. Although, I think the characters are still looking a little flat. And that has alot to do with your lighting and edge control. Things like "Bounced Light" and softer edges really helps to describe form. I would spend time paying attention to those particular elements when studying other character-art or when doing your own.
Is your friend trying to design a game or something? Or are these just for fun?
*...should not over-shadow the overal character."
ReplyDelete- my wack typing skills
okay yea. I think I'll use that more in the beginning. Something more neutral that lets me explore the design and shape more. what's weird is I usually focus on the face and hands last. That could be a nice thing to start first. get in a few sketches of expressions and stuff. Good idea.
ReplyDeleteBut yea the third read elements aren't random. They're based on the story that's provided. Like the scar is something from his childhood that he deals with. So in one design I let it look like he embraces it. and in the other it looks like he's ashamed of it and tries to hide it.
This is for a game. But it's not official... yet. So as of now it's just for fun.
I wouldn't spend too much time on expressions too early. When I said focus on head and hands, I meant more on the overall head and hand gestures, even the body (arms, legs, spine, neck). I would focus on expressions and other third read details till the very end.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was just throwing out a random tip I've picked up from working on characers, I'm sure your third-read elements weren't random. Generally, I hear studios like to see it when you have a call-out page, explaining all the little third read elements like materials, tatoos, scars, etc. very much like a detail page for products.