Let's get serious: the Wonderful World of Character Design
summary
Character design is presented as a practical pipeline: define the Venn diagram: heart, function, style, brainstorm roles and archetypes, do research and animal/gesture studies, iterate thumbnails and shapes, then produce turnarounds, expression sheets and model sheets for production. Examples include a five-week Maid With Love cast, Crossy Road dinosaur update and a MeowFinders prototype; constraints noted are limited animation frames, mobile-friendly silhouette simplification and marketing art tradeoffs. A community challenge requires 10-image submission: moodboard to turnarounds by a set deadline.
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chapters (22)
- 0:00Start
- 2:40Takeaways
- 6:34Deep Affective Believable Design
- 9:07The Heart and Essence of the Character
- 9:39Stereotypes
- 13:09Npcs
- 13:34Non Playable Characters
- 15:36Art Types
- 19:30Caroline Process
- 25:10Inspiration
- 32:30Shape Exploration
- 33:39Proportion
- 38:15Construction
- 39:14Accessory Design
- 39:31Clothing Design
- 40:33Prop Design
- 41:10Expression and Facial Design
- 43:22Core Design
- 44:58Karen's Lying Club
- 48:50Questions
- 50:59Visual Upgrades
- 56:55Critique Feedback
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