Quick Character CRASH course!
Hello, friends! I apologize for not posting in a LONG time, but things have been quite busy at The Little Sisters Studio. I am currently working on a character for a logo brand, and have some more things lined up as soon as this is finished, and-- Ok, I'll stop there!
Anyway, I would like to take a few minutes to share with you the steps I take to design a character. Whenever I design a "something;" whether for animation or logos, I always follow these steps:
Research (gathering pictures is ALWAYS a great way to start!)
Sketch (...and sketch some more!)
Draw (what I think will shape into the final design)
Create Final Line Art
Color
STEP 1: Research:
It is important to KNOW what you are sketching, and to understand how that "thing" operates. For example, when the artists at DreamWorks were working on their film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, they extensively studied horses to understand their movement, and personalities. For the character that I am currently working on, I researched bees. Gather pictures of your subject at different angles, too. This will help you to "see" your subject in 3-D:
***Picture from National Geographic
STEP 2: Sketch:
Once you have your reference material, sketch, sketch, SKETCH! Here are SOME of the sketches I created for my bee character:
While I liked where No. 2 was heading, my client liked No. 5. So, on to the next step!
STEP 3: Draw:
This is where you will "tighten" up any loose lines, and make any corrections to make the character more appealing. For Bartlebee, I took the sketch, scanned it, turned the lines RED in Photoshop, then printed it out on card-stock. The red lines will make clean-up easier. I then took a paintbrush with Speedball Ink and painted on the lines-- think old school comic book! You can see that I painted the wings a few different ways:
STEP 4: Create the Final Line Art
Ok, scan your drawing back into Photoshop, and get rid of those red lines. Use your Photoshop brush to make any last adjustments (if necessary):
STEP 5: Color
Now your character is ready for come good, old-fashioned color! You can add this how ever you would like. For Bartlebee, I used Photoshop. I am currently finishing up this step, so I will be sure to POST is as soon as it is finished.
If you have any questions about any of these steps, please let me know! I am happy to help. I know that this tutorial is very stream-lined, but this was just to give some quick instruction. THANKS AS ALWAYS, and stay tuned for the painted Bartlebee... Arrivederci!
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