DESIGN A LOVABLE COVER CHARACTER

Brian Weisz reveals his process for creating our sparkling cover star and shares valuable insights into working with your clients

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Working as a freelance character designer requires a solid understanding of one’s own creative process and the ability to deliver artwork in a fast-moving pipeline.

As an artist, it’s your job to come up with creative ideas quickly by putting pen to paper and visualising briefs for various clients. Every project will have its complexities depending on the assignment, the deadline, and the art director who will help guide the work. Being reliable and maintaining good communication is key to building positive working relationships.

I’ll be sharing my process for creating a character for ImagineFX’s special 250th issue cover – a nod to the magazine being given the working title Project Unicorn before it was first published back in 2006.

It’s important to be adaptable and to know how to apply a client’s feedback without compromising your voice as an artist. The client’s assignment or prompt may be out of your comfort zone, but could help you overcome design challenges.

You’ll grow quickly when learning how to work under pressure. Staying loose and experimenting with colour and lighting scenarios will help to determine your direction. I’ll also cover principles of character design such as lines of action, adjustments, and the benefits of drawing form.

1 Make a loose concept sketch

1 When you begin sketching, it’s important to have a general idea of who the character will be. Starting with storytelling elements will help you nail the look and feel of the character. Is it a big brooding character or are they small and shy? Maybe they’re a small but confident character with a larger-than-life personality. In the early stages, focus on the shapes and take note of what they communicate.