Creative Character Design 2e

Bryan Tillman

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781351261661
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

Create compelling, original characters using archetypes and design elements such as shadows and line with the tips and techniques found in this image-packed book. Bryan Tillman bridges the gap between the technique of drawing characters and the theory of good character design by using case studies, examples of professional art, and literary and pop culture references to teach you how to develop a character, not just draw one. The book also features Character Model Sheets that will guide you through the creation of new and unique characters. Finally, Bryan will break down established character archetypes to show you why and how the different aspects of good character design work.

Key Features:

• Learn what makes a character unique and powerful through tools like character model sheets and case studies from established artists.
• Develop your abolity to use story and archetypes to create compelling new characters.
• See artwork by professional artists as examples of the techniques shown in the book
• Bridges the gap between the technique of drawing characters and the theory of good character design in a practical, hands-on way - learn how to use story and archetypes to develop compelling, new characters
• Based on a standing-room only presentation at Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego.

CHAPTER 1

What Makes for Good Character Design?

Hello everyone and welcome to Creative Character Design. Before we get started, there are two things that you need to know about this book.

ONE: This is and forever will be an introductory book to character design. I want to make sure that you know that going in so that you won’t be disappointed by the end of this book. There are always nuggets of information that can be gleaned from any book, so no matter what skill level you are at with character design, there will be some information in this book that can help you with your future character design needs.

TWO: This is not a how-to-draw book. Creative Character Design is a book about the theory of character design and what elements and aspects need to be thought about before and during the drawing process. I try and pull back the curtain a little bit to give beginning designers a look at what makes some characters great and some characters meh.

Now that that is out of the way, and if you are still with me, why don’t we jump right in to answering some questions that you might have.

At this point you might be thinking to yourself:

Well, I hate to have to tell you, but you are just going to have to read the whole book to find that out. Sorry. One thing I have learned in my years as a teacher is that the quick answer won’t teach you anything in the long run. It is like cramming for a test. You know everything you need to know for the test, but then you forget everything the very next day. So, I’m not going to do you that disservice, but what I will do if you are in such a hurry is give you a brief overview of what this book is all about. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this fast-paced, high-octane summary of creative character design. Are you all strapped in and have your helmet on? Great! Here we go!

When most people think about characters or character design, there are a few things that jump into their mind. From my experience, what most people think about is either the characters that captured their imagination as a child or one of the most recent characters that they have seen, played, or read. The main reason why we as humans will gravitate to a character that we remember from our childhood or from a more recent experience is because we either were on some level able to relate to the character or wanted to see ourselves in one of those character roles. Speaking of character roles, there are a few that most people instantly think of when talking about characters. Most people will say:

There needs to be a hero.

There needs to be a bad guy.

There needs to be a beautiful woman.

This is pretty much standard, but I know some of you are now yelling at the book:

“Hey, my hero is a ninja!”

or “My bad guy is a situation, not an actual person!”

or “My villain is a woman!”

Yes, you are allowed to have these variations; it is actually encouraged to think outside of the norm and create characters that are different. By adding variations, the world of character design will never grow stagnant.

PRO TIP!

Stay modern, stay fresh, constantly be paying attention to what is going on around you. Character designs are very “in the moment”; stale designs equal no work.

—Bun Leung

With that said, it has been my experience that, when given the task of creating characters, the first three are the most common. As you continue reading the book, we will get into variations of the initial thought process of character design. However, for the sake of this introduction, we are going to stick with these core principles.

The first step in good character design is these core principles, known as archetypes. Archetypes represent the personality and character traits that we as humans identify with. There are many different archetypes, but there are a common few that keep reoccurring in all types of stories. They are needed in order to propel a story forward, and it is the personal story of each character that makes for good character development.

Story is the second step to good character design. Even though it is the second thing mentioned, it is the most important. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to develop each character—their backstory and personality traits—before you start drawing, you will have a stronger and more well-rounded character design, which will in turn strengthen the aesthetic of your character in the future. The thing that you as the character designer must remember is that the characters are always in service to the story—not now, nor will it ever be, the other way around.

I am sure that your blood is starting to boil, and you are asking:

“Wait a minute! I’ve created characters without a story before.”

Yes, it is possible to draw a character without a story, and people do it all the time. The problem is, when you do that, and you want to keep the character, you always have to go back and create the story for that character. I don’t know about you, but whenever I created the design of a character without writing his or her backstory first, the design of the character always changed once I wrote it. Has that ever happened to you? If you answered yes (which all of you should have), what you were subject to was:

The Character is Always in Service to the Story

The third step we are going to talk about is the idea of being original. When you are writing your backstory, it will be impossible to ignore the things around you. Whether you want to be or not, every day you are influenced by the things you see, hear, and do. That is why it is so hard to come up with an original idea. I’m not saying that it is impossible, but it is really, really hard to do. Have you ever heard this before?

“Oh, that story sounds great. It reminds me of the other story.”

If that has happened to you, don’t get discouraged. It’s perfectly okay. The only thing you need to remember is that you bring some form of originality to the table.

Well, you are just going to have to read the chapter on originality to find that one out.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Credits
• Chapter 1 What Makes for Good Character Design?
• Chapter 2 Why Archetypes Are Important
• Chapter 3 The Most Important Part of Character Design
• Chapter 4 Can You Still Be Original Anymore?
• Chapter 5 Shapes and Silhouettes
• Chapter 6 Reference, Reference, and Reference—Oh My!
• Chapter 7 Aesthetics—Just What You’ve Been Waiting For
• Chapter 8 The WOW Factor
• Chapter 9 Putting It All Together
• Interviews
• Gallery
• Helpful Websites
• Character Design Template
• Index