1. Mark Cullen Lecturer in Design and Creative Technologies
Design for Creative Practice
Character Development Overview
Mark Cullen Lecturer in Design and Creative Technologies

2. Character Design – A very brief introduction

3. Character Design Process Simplified
Read the brief and outcomes
Research research Research
Steal Ideas
Whittle
Sketch Sketch Sketch
Concept drawings
Final Design sheets

4. Character Design Silhouettes
Best characters have instantly recognisable silhouettes
Mickey Mouse example
If the silhouette is recognisable the character will be recognisable from any distance
Sometimes a strong starting point for creating a new character

5. Character Design Construction Sheets
Character should have a sheet outlining how they are made up
Used as a template so other artists can work with character
Ensures uniformity across teams
Makes redrawing of the character easier for animators, comic artists etc
The anatomy of a character

6. Character Design Turnarounds
Shows characters from all angles
Enables other artists to work with the character without having to guess what he/she/it will look like from different angles
Must maintain proportion at all angles Will often contain colour and texture information Difficult to get right- You must think in 3d and bring the character to life in your head

7. Character Design Model Sheets
Shows Character in Standing pose front, left and back
Used as reference for modellers in games and 3d animation
Any details need to be highlighted and often added separately to the image
Will contain colour and texture information for the texture artists too
Must contain enough information for the modeller to recreate the character in 3d without the need of the artist

8. Character Design Animation Sheets
Shows Character in Vaiour states of movement
Allows animators/artist to visualise the charatacer, how it moves and even what his facial expressions look like
Main poses and movements shown
Main faical expressions shown
Construction often shown (suqash and stretch etc.

9. Character Design Action Poses
Character in action
Used for mag covers, product covers etc
Should get the personality and look of the character across in one image
Usually in the character’s usuall surroundings
Very high quality finish

10. Complete Character Design Sheets
Contains all information about character
Main character traits, a brief history, personality etc
Often has some or all of the aforementioned documents attached
If this is the case it becomes the bible for the character

11. Character Design
Q&A