Drawing from life and observing people is something that drives me to create. I love capturing with pencil the nuances individuals have, seeing their journey, their passions, their likes and dislikes, their disappointments, their achievements.
All of this life experience shows through how they greet someone, how they sit while they drink a cup of tea. It’s every ounce of their being condensed into everything they express – or don’t express, because they may be choosing not to show their true self. All of this is what makes us who we are, whether we realise it or not. This variety in human nature is what I believe is the root of character design.
Character design infamously has a superficial side. Something we see for how it simply reads on paper. We’re more concerned with the size of the eyes in relation to the nose for the limits of appeal, than what it actually communicates about the character. While it’s important to be conscious of proportions, shape and colour, it should be used as a tool to communicate ideas rather than live on its own without a reason for being. Design must be purposeful. It should tell a clear story.
RELATING TO THE AUDIENCE
When I design a character, I want the viewer, director or production designer to feel something. To relate with this character, to feel like it’s an old friend, someone they want to know. Ultimately, I want the audience to empathise with this character as much as I do. And the only way to communicate that is to feel it yourself. If we as designers can’t care about this character, then the audience won’t, either.
Denne historien er fra Christmas 2020-utgaven av ImagineFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Christmas 2020-utgaven av ImagineFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Raquel M. Varela
Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"
Estrela Lourenço
Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.
Daria Widermanska
Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.
Allen Douglas
Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.
Thaddeus Robeck
Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.
DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK
Learn how JULIÁN DE LA MOTA creates a composition from his imagination with a focus on crafting figures, volumetric modelling, and light and shadow
First Impressions
The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world
CREATIVE STRENGTH IN COMMUNITY
Co-founder and creative force André Luís talks about the ethos and evolution of Trojan Horse Was A Unicorn
Gigi Murakami
Shock and terror! Step into the world of the American horror manga artist, where her tastes are on full display
The path to the top at a video games company
No cheat codes required Tanya Combrinck finds out exactly what it takes to make the leap from burgeoning student to game-shaping art director