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I remember a few years ago we had some really fun and useful threads about general character design tips and workshopping (specifically the Draw someone else's character and Character Re-Design threads) So I figured why not start up another one of these. So post some characters you've been designing (whether for animation, comics, advertising, printing onto a body pillow and pretending they're your wife in order to fill that horrible gaping void in your life or simply for fun) and get some feedback on how you can improve things. In general I think it would be a good idea to post a few sentences about the character's general personality and what you're trying to achieve with it.
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Jan 26, 2015 03:22
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I guess I'll break the ice and go first with a sketch! Twin (former) necromancers. The brother is a shrieky peacock and a huge primadonna, the sister is pretty jolly and easy-going but also totally amoral. I know my line quality is poo poo. I'm working on getting back into drawing after a long hiatus due to health reasons.
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Jan 27, 2015 03:56
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Looking good. I feel like you could do a little more to differentiate the two's silhouettes: Maybe a slight change to one of their hairstyles to give it a more distinctly different shape. I greatly enjoy the outfit designs: They're just the right level of ornate and have some nice shapes to them
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Jan 28, 2015 18:15
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I'm not completely sure this counts, but here goes: There was a thread in GBS to design your own Sonic OC. Unfortunately it appeared right before nugbs and therefore got buried under a mountain of crap before it could take off. However, I had just had time to complete the BEST SONIC OC EVER.  There was something freeing in designing a character meant to be a completely stupid mess of other characters. I recommend giving something similar a try, it's fun! Oh also my character couldn't ever get grounded. 
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Feb 1, 2015 23:20
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Figure this might be a better place to post my most recent drawing than the daily sketches thread as it's a little more on topic. The gentleman above was drawn for a friend's RPG campaign. The setting is the roaring 20's with an occult horror vibe. My character is an ex-boxer and prize-fighter so I wanted him to look a little older and give his portrait a celebrity vibe. I started out by looking at a bunch of different portraits of boxers and circus strong-men from the 1920's and 30's, to get a feel for the clothing and hairstyles of the time and to settle on a pose. After I had a rough sketch I played around with having him wear a muscle shirt and bowler hat, but I found that to be a little to comical and went with a rolled up short-sleeve shirt and longer, slicked-back hair instead. I had a ton of fun lighting the character and playing around with shading and gradients to give the image a bit of a washed-out look and I kept the lines fairly sketchy outside of the central area of focus to imitate a bit of camera blur.
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Feb 3, 2015 20:02
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chthonic bell posted:I guess I'll break the ice and go first with a sketch! I don't think I captured the sister very well... I might give it another go! (I was using pencil brushes in GIMP for the first time and frankly, I don't think I like it. Time for me to get a Real Drawing Application.) Edit: Oh.. uh.. this wasn't really a re-draw thread, just a tips and advice thread.. dammit! I agree with the poster above - silhouette change is the biggest thing. Also, she looks more "straight to work" than "happy go lucky"... perhaps change the outfit so it's a bit less function-over-form to give her more of a relaxed feel? .random fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Feb 9, 2015 |
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Feb 9, 2015 22:44
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Started practicing with my new tablet (it's a Wacom Intuos, my first) and as a test drew this quick sketch up in a few minutes: She's a character I've had for a relatively short while now, a few months. Sort of redesigning her each time I draw her. Her name is Lyudmilla, she lives in Spain as a movie critic for the internet. She really does not like 3D films. I've adjusted my pen's pressure settings a bit just after hosting this image on my twitter, so I just want to have a reminder that I'm still kind of learning as I go.
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Feb 10, 2015 04:34
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Captain Sheepy posted:Started practicing with my new tablet (it's a Wacom Intuos, my first) and as a test drew this quick sketch up in a few minutes:  Not sure what colors you chose, but I gave it a shot.
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Feb 10, 2015 07:41
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Captain Sheepy posted:Started practicing with my new tablet (it's a Wacom Intuos, my first) and as a test drew this quick sketch up in a few minutes: If you want feedback on the design, we probably will need to see more of her  If you just want ideas / drawing attempts / etc., though, I'm all for it! I'd totally give it a go if you'd like (but I think John's interpretation is liable to kick the butt of anything I do   )
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Feb 11, 2015 03:48
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I don't know if I can post boobs on SA, so I made a censor. Also I apologize for being anime trash and most of the lines I haven't cleaned up yet: I like the idea of the star in her pupil like that. When I color this, I think of making her eye red, with the star gold. Heh, get it? Yeah.  I'm also pretty happy with the hair style, it was kind of an accident. The other times I drew her, her hair was more symmetrical and curled out. The bangs and hairclip are about the same as I drew that first. Also this was where I started experimenting with my brush settings and used the pencil tool to do the lines. I'm getting a little used to it little by little, so that's always good. Feedback is always welcome though! edit: I wasn't happy with her hair shape, so I changed it a little. Looks a little more closer to her old design, only without the boring symmetry. 
Captain Sheepy fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Feb 12, 2015 |
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Feb 11, 2015 06:13
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Captain Sheepy posted:I don't know if I can post boobs on SA, so I made a censor. Also I apologize for being anime trash and most of the lines I haven't cleaned up yet: i hope you don't mind but i drew a boyfriend for your OC. 
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Feb 12, 2015 19:03
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oh wow me too, small world
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Feb 13, 2015 03:26
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I've got one: She's an incredibly nervous praying mantis woman who's an archaeologist and researcher who keeps getting caught up in the midst of pulp action adventures against her will. I am having a great deal of difficulty coming up with a good outfit for her to wear when she's out in the field, any ideas?
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Feb 13, 2015 03:34
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given her little back-story blurb it sounds like she would be the kind of person who would load up on stuff that doesn't necessarily correlate to action and adventure. Being a professional I would imagine it would be something like the pulp archeologists wear. Shorts, wellies, pith hat, etc. Add in some accessories that are more for personal comfort like large umbrellas or simple decorative things that could get in the way like scarves or pins. I dunno like anything at all about the setting, since dressage usually comes from culture first and necessity second, but eh.
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Feb 13, 2015 03:43
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KingKalamari posted:She's an incredibly nervous praying mantis woman who's an archaeologist and researcher who keeps getting caught up in the midst of pulp action adventures against her will. I am having a great deal of difficulty coming up with a good outfit for her to wear when she's out in the field, any ideas? I imagine she's a bit precise and maybe not especially comfortable with the dirt and bugs (OH IRONY) part of fieldwork and prefers her academic studies where things are much more sensible, really. As opposed to Babe Magnet, I think she might underpack necessary things rather than overpack with the abstruse. But I agree the attire is going to have to be in the general sense "traditional."
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Feb 13, 2015 04:47
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Also think about how her clothing would actually get on her in the first place; those elbow ridges and arm spikes would make getting her top off utterly impossible, so how would they be modified to suit her? Would she want her abdomen constricted by a skirt like that, wouldn't it screw with her balance? How would a pair of trousers stay up with your waist restricted by an abdomen? Study the type of clothing you want, but make something that suits her anatomy to make her feel more unique, less 'human with animal bits'. Even if she's living among humans and is trying to fit in, she won't be able to throw on a blouse in quite the same way. How personal factors like persona and physique affect things like fashion, housing, fighting style, tools, transport and the like is really interesting to me, but I appreciate it's broadly irrelevant most of the time, so please take this as nitpicking for the sake of fleshing things out rather than a serious critique; the character looks cool either way. 
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Feb 13, 2015 11:43
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Doctor_Fruitbat posted:Also think about how her clothing would actually get on her in the first place; those elbow ridges and arm spikes would make getting her top off utterly impossible, so how would they be modified to suit her? Obviously zippers around the back of the sleeves and lots of pleating. IMPORTANT: NEVER DRAW HER FROM THE BACK
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Feb 13, 2015 16:39
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Took a break from my other stuff to revisit a creature concept sketch I drew six years ago and practice my line drawing in photoshop. original:  New Illustration:  With value and texture added:  Description: An elemental creature with a white-hot, fiery core. The original concept was bipedal and ape-like while the new version moves on all fours like a monkey. Propitious Jerk fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 21, 2015 06:03
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I have an o-cee-donotsteal too: She's a no-nonsense witch who is also a sports commentator. Of sorts. Excellent poker face. Terrible sleep schedule. (is it obvious I have no idea how to draw cloaks, capes, or any kind of drapery whatsoever?)
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Feb 22, 2015 08:12
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SexyBlindfold posted:I have an o-cee-donotsteal too: Cloak seems alright; fits the character and drawing style. On close inspection the way it drapes over her arms doesn't make sense unless there's a slit for her arm on one side (The one with the mic) and none on the other. As it is, it's part robe with sleeves and part cape. Propitious Jerk fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 22, 2015 11:41
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Yeah I get what you were going for on the cape but the part hanging from her arm on the outside is too long for there not to be some sort of notch or cut.
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Feb 22, 2015 14:08
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From the advice of the thread I think I might have hit on a costume design I like. Here's a quick, crappy sketch of it: I ended up using the zippered sleeves idea and going for sort of a 1920s working-class aesthetic. Thanks everyone!
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Feb 22, 2015 19:29
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e: in retrospect, let's take it down for further review!
Harime Nui fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Mar 18, 2015 |
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Mar 18, 2015 09:17
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i didnt know barnacle jim cosplayed as a girl long faces may be your "style" but it really looks like a man and the eyes are too high it looks like they're on the forehead instead of in the center
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Mar 18, 2015 17:44
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I was assuming it was a trans* character, in which case 'looks like a man' is not a helpful crit
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Mar 18, 2015 17:48
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Hey cool! A character design thread! I'll be going back to school and taking a character design class this fall. I'm really looking forward to it. Here's some characters from my comic.  It's a magical girl story and Heather is the primary protagonist at the moment. This costume went through so many iterations before I finally settled on this one. She'll eventually be using a katana as a weapon, so I wanted her look to be kimono inspired. She uses wind and lightning magic, so I made a bit of a cloud pattern on the belt, wings on her boots and the yellow trim on her dress is supposed to be reminiscent of a lightning bolt.  Remy is the small magical creature that helps guide the characters on their journey. I was going for kind of a cross between Cardcaptor Sakura's Keroberos and an Espeon. I made the neck long so that the long ears wouldn't collide with the wings. I've had some people say he looks just like Kyubey from Madoka Magica, but I designed him before I had seen the show. His eyes were originally small and round, but I made them large and alien looking specifically to differentiate him more from Kyubey.  This is a quick sketch I did of Maia, who has not yet appeared in this outfit. This design has changed the least of all the character designs for this story. I'm open to any suggestions, since I have about 5 more pages to draw before this outfit appears. She's a somewhat shy and sensitive character who is very empathetic towards others. She will be the youngest of the group and practices ballet (hence the shoes). She uses the equivalent of Holy magic and will primarily be in a healing role.
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Mar 22, 2015 08:12
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Awesome idea for a thread. I'll definitely be popping in once in a while here when I actually have something to show/say. But yo! I figure this might be relevant since it's character design related and all but for any of ya'll interested, I recently wrote a little article that got some front page space recently on Gamasutra about what goes into "iconic" character designs. It's got a heavier focus on the video game side of things naturally, and it's a pretty basic overview but maybe someone here might get something out of it? http://gamasutra.com/blogs/NicholasLives/20150311/238452/Whats_in_an_quotIconquot.php And for content: 
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Mar 22, 2015 08:56
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Nessa, since Maia practices ballet it might be neat to make her dress kind of tutu inspired, and it'd be a good way to differentiate the silhouettes of the two main girls. Have you seen princess tutu before? They do ballet magical girl type outfits real well. I'd also think about making her color scheme not be pink since that's what Heather's is. In magical girl stuff the girls often have different colors that kind of correspond with their powers- since she's a healer I think white or yellow might work. Hope this helps!!
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Mar 22, 2015 11:48
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Troposphere posted:Nessa, since Maia practices ballet it might be neat to make her dress kind of tutu inspired, and it'd be a good way to differentiate the silhouettes of the two main girls. Have you seen princess tutu before? They do ballet magical girl type outfits real well. Thanks Trop! I've never actually seen Princess Tutu before, but I'll see about changing up the silhouette on the skirt a bit! quote:I'd also think about making her color scheme not be pink since that's what Heather's is. In magical girl stuff the girls often have different colors that kind of correspond with their powers- since she's a healer I think white or yellow might work. Hope this helps!! Well, technically, her "element" is Spirit, which is why she has the heart motif, and I've already established her as wearing pink hair ties, pink bows and pink vests. I figured her being a much lighter shade of pink would be enough. Her secondary colour is white, so maybe I could emphasize the white more, with pink being more secondary? Edit: Something more like this? 
Nessa fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Mar 22, 2015 |
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Mar 22, 2015 17:45
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Yeah the white being primary works a lot better especially since heather kinda has the same thing going on with yellow in her dress! I think you'll enjoy princess tutu, it's right up your alley
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Mar 22, 2015 19:28
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Troposphere posted:Yeah the white being primary works a lot better especially since heather kinda has the same thing going on with yellow in her dress! Yeah, I'll check it out sometime! I'm actually really liking the colour swap, as I think it gives more of an angelic vibe.
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Mar 23, 2015 06:50
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Bert of the Forest posted:http://gamasutra.com/blogs/NicholasLives/20150311/238452/Whats_in_an_quotIconquot.php This is interesting, but I think I might disagree on the "Context" bit.. It's an interesting thought, but to be truly "iconic," mustn't something be instantly recognizable even outside of its context? That is, after all, the point - a logo is iconic because you see it out of any context at all, but you instantly know it is Apple/McDonald's/Coke. I do agree you have more leeway in the self-limiting context of video game characters, but at the same time, if you draw (generic fairy) Tinklebrainz (truly iconic within the context of zombie games, thanks to ZombFaerie 2: Rise of the Ghoulxies) without a band of zombies encircling her, she looks like... Generic fairy. Part of iconography is transcending genre.. and, arguably, even media. But I could be wrong v vI like it better this way in general, too! A lot more character separation. Some minor points:
.random fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Mar 23, 2015 |
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Mar 23, 2015 22:47
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.random posted:This is interesting, but I think I might disagree on the "Context" bit.. It's an interesting thought, but to be truly "iconic," mustn't something be instantly recognizable even outside of its context? You do make a good point there; but I still believe context holds a place in the designer's mind when designing a character for games. The other example I neglected to mention was Pikachu, who arguably - transcends - his context as a little electric mouse monster in a video game, but when I was a kid, I had recognized the character of Pikachu to be a shoe mascot because that was the first context I had ever experienced him in, and it stuck with me since. To this day I can't quite shake the notion that Pikachu simply looks like he was engineered to be a mascot devoid of context, and while that doesn't take away from the fact that he is an iconic character, it can take away from the game experience in a weird way, which is why I stressed at the end that engineering a character purely for iconography's sake isn't always the best reason when you have a game/movie/whatever to think about as a whole, and why Fame is listed as the final puzzle piece for anything to become "iconic," essentially rendering the term meaningless, simply meaning "fairly well designed character who is also part of a famous property." I have a love/hate relationship with iconography as an art form for these reasons, because a lot of it has to do with good design and artistic merit, but the other half can feel like cynically engineering something so it can be sold on t-shirts, mugs, etc. It's why every Disney film always has to have at least one useless character who is designed from the ground up to be cute and "iconic" so that it can be shoved into merchandise for the kiddie winks.
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Mar 23, 2015 23:27
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.random posted:I like it better this way in general, too! A lot more character separation. Some minor points: I don't really consider looking like a cupcake to be a negative for this character, as she does like baking, particularly baking cupcakes. I see what you mean, though.Pink eyes aren't really uncommon in the magical girl genre. I suppose I could gradually shift her eyes towards brown though. It's not actually a gap, there's just a different fabric there with the criss crossing strings over top. Bert of the Forest posted:You do make a good point there; but I still believe context holds a place in the designer's mind when designing a character for games. The other example I neglected to mention was Pikachu, who arguably - transcends - his context as a little electric mouse monster in a video game, but when I was a kid, I had recognized the character of Pikachu to be a shoe mascot because that was the first context I had ever experienced him in, and it stuck with me since. To this day I can't quite shake the notion that Pikachu simply looks like he was engineered to be a mascot devoid of context, and while that doesn't take away from the fact that he is an iconic character, it can take away from the game experience in a weird way, which is why I stressed at the end that engineering a character purely for iconography's sake isn't always the best reason when you have a game/movie/whatever to think about as a whole, and why Fame is listed as the final puzzle piece for anything to become "iconic," essentially rendering the term meaningless, simply meaning "fairly well designed character who is also part of a famous property." I don't think you can create an iconic design. A good design becomes iconic only after years of that design being in the public eye. Batman's costume is iconic because everyone in English speaking countries can recognize it immediately. Iconic designs do tend to have something in common though. They all have recognizable silhouettes. Batman, Mickey Mouse, Pikachu, Bugs Bunny, Sailor Moon. You can recognize them by their outlines alone and could never confuse them with any other character. If you want your characters to be recognizable, it's something important to keep in mind.
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Mar 24, 2015 06:02
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Look, I know you're wanting to create a specific thing in a specific genre- (I love magical girl shows, too! I grew up watching Sailor Moon.)- but you have to also step back and look at your designs from an objective standpoint. Right now, the thing I see most is that Maia looks really really close to Madoka. I don't know if that's what you were going for, as you mentioned that you based the creature off of both Kerebos and Pokemon, but it reads as really derivative. Part of what makes magical girl shows cute and entertaining is that they have their own unique qualities to draw you in. Perhaps instead of basing your characters off of other pre-existing characters, you could try to build them entirely from scratch? I don't know if that comes off harsh, but I think it's what's causing you the most problems with your designs.
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Mar 24, 2015 22:46
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Sociopastry posted:Look, I know you're wanting to create a specific thing in a specific genre- (I love magical girl shows, too! I grew up watching Sailor Moon.)- but you have to also step back and look at your designs from an objective standpoint. Right now, the thing I see most is that Maia looks really really close to Madoka. I don't know if that's what you were going for, as you mentioned that you based the creature off of both Kerebos and Pokemon, but it reads as really derivative. Part of what makes magical girl shows cute and entertaining is that they have their own unique qualities to draw you in. Perhaps instead of basing your characters off of other pre-existing characters, you could try to build them entirely from scratch? I don't know if that comes off harsh, but I think it's what's causing you the most problems with your designs. You're not the first one to say that. :/ I had Maia's costume fleshed out nearly a year before I had even seen Madoka, so I certainly did not base it off of her. After looking it at it, the current look seems way to close to one of Sakura's outfits.  I swear I wasn't trying to do it on purpose. What can I do to fix this? I'd like to think that my future designs are less derivative.  Purple hair girl's outfit will probably not show up until chapter 3 (I just started chapter 2) and it could well be years before the other one shows up.
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Mar 24, 2015 23:41
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The boots look awkward (they wouldn't be able to move their feet independent of their lower legs, which would lead to a bit of a tottering gait) but I like the costume of the one on the left a lot other than that. The design of the right one looks rather heavily weighted towards the bottom and could perhaps use stronger/more elements on her upper half.
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Mar 24, 2015 23:48
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a hole-y ghost posted:The boots look awkward (they wouldn't be able to move their feet independent of their lower legs, which would lead to a bit of a tottering gait) but I like the costume of the one on the left a lot other than that. The design of the right one looks rather heavily weighted towards the bottom and could perhaps use stronger/more elements on her upper half. They're supposed to be more normal, foot-shaped boots. That's an old doodle where I drew them with weird hoof-like feet. (I'm a bit better at drawing feet now.) And thanks! I'll think about what I could add to the other outfit. I've got plenty of time before I'd have to draw it.
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Mar 25, 2015 00:08
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Nessa posted:You're not the first one to say that. :/ I had Maia's costume fleshed out nearly a year before I had even seen Madoka, so I certainly did not base it off of her. After looking it at it, the current look seems way to close to one of Sakura's outfits. Well, if you'd like to fix Maia's outfit, I'd suggest looking at fashion blogs. It's a great way to get ideas for your own things- and since you like the cutesy style, I'd suggest searching for Lolita type clothes. There's a lot of lolita style blogs on Tumblr, for interest. Think of it less like a costume, and more like clothing for a person. Think about her personality- what are her favorite colors? Does she lean more towards comfortable clothing, or towards cute stuff, or something in between? Does she have a favorite style? Not only will this help you create clothing for future designs, it'll also help you flesh out your characters when it comes to personality. Edit: Here's a fashion blog of lolita-style dresses and such to get you started. http://fyeahlolita.blogspot.com/ FluxFaun fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Mar 25, 2015 |
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Mar 25, 2015 01:45
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Sociopastry posted:Well, if you'd like to fix Maia's outfit, I'd suggest looking at fashion blogs. It's a great way to get ideas for your own things- and since you like the cutesy style, I'd suggest searching for Lolita type clothes. There's a lot of lolita style blogs on Tumblr, for interest. Lolita's a good place to look! Thanks! I've actually done a lot of thinking about the kinds of clothes and colours that all the characters will wear. Maia trends towards soft, feminine shades of pink, white and warm browns, with occasional accents in burgundy or pale yellow. Frilly, youthful clothes with bows, no necklines deeper than a square or semi-sweetheart. Always skirts and dresses, never pants. Hemlines generally never higher than a few inches above the knee. Winter wear would include cozy turtlenecks and sweater dresses with cutesey patterns of bunnies, hearts, and sweets. She's very much a sweet lolita type. She doesn't wear a lot of accessories beyond hair ties and a simple necklace. Heather is lazy and prefers comfort over all else, but still tries to stay fashionable. Her colours are various pinks, purples, yellows and greys, with occasional orange or red. She goes for boat necks and off the shoulder styles. Comfy, but fitted t-shirts and leggings paired with short skirts or shorts, ditching the leggings in summer. Simple, lace up sneakers are her footwear of choice. She wears a lot of her clothing in layers and wears over sized sweaters and slouchy boots in winter. She'd kind of a put-together slob with the odd paint splatter stained into her clothes. I've actually even taken some photos of mannequins in the mall if they're wearing an outfit in the right style. I like having trendy clothes to base the looks on.
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Mar 25, 2015 02:59
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