Exaggerating can help bring out that personality. Over-decorating a character bogs it down with unnecessary detail and takes away from its personality. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate.Įxaggerating isn’t the same as decorating. You can construct even the most detailed mouth using just an S-curve and a few C-curves and letting shading do the rest. Excessive detail is more likely to distract from your character’s essence than it is to enhance it.Ĭertain styles call for more intricate details, but as you learned in the S- and C-curves section, all details can be broken down into simple curves. You don’t need flourishes to depict emotion. And upward C-curve says joy, a series of connected S-curves can be read as anxiety, and, of course, a downward-facing C makes a frown. With just a single line, you can make that mouth easily display anger, joy, fear, or disgust. One of the most important drawing lessons for beginning designers to learn is never to use two lines where you can just as easily use one.Ĭonsider a mouth. Use as few lines as possible.Ī little bit goes a long way when it comes to showing characters’ emotions. Once you learn how to break down shapes into these basic curves, you’ll be able to apply them to complicated structures, from irregular strands of hair to the flourishes on your character’s sneakers. It’s not quite time to embellish your character, and focusing on S- and C-curves will make you stick to designing its form-your primary concern during the early sketching phase.īut that doesn’t mean that S- and C-curves don’t play into the detailing stage. Translating your design from shapes into simple, curved lines will continue to keep you from rushing into details. But if your character is meant to resemble a breathing product of nature, then it should be made up of curves. If your character is a robot, that works. Drawing only straight lines will make your character appear rigid like a robot. To bring those shapes together, you’ll need to draw connecting lines. Picture your sketch in the form of shapes. Each foot is a mildly curved C, and wavy hair is just a bunch of S-curves tumbling down beside the C-curves of a face. The two sides of a face can be described as two opposite-facing, adjoining C’s. S- and C-curves are two basic strokes most character designers use throughout their work, and they can make up any body part. That’s where S-curves and C-curves come in. Eventually, you’ll want to join those shapes to form a single, cohesive being. Your character can’t remain a collection of shapes forever. Use a square to delineate a hat, or draw a triangle to depict a certain haircut. A big oval can make up a torso, while elongated ovals can come together to form limbs. You may want to avoid drawing details this early on in the sketching process, so starting with simple shapes will force you to keep your design basic. Use simple shapes.Ĭircles and ovals often serve as the foundation of character sketches. Guidelines like “smart boy, age 10,” or “playful mouse, smiling” will keep you on track as you follow your pencil’s movements. To make sure you’re sticking to your original concept, try writing notes that describe your character at the top of the page. Let your pencil lead the way and allow the results to surprise you. Never aim for perfection too early in the character design process. That way, she says, you’ll get all of your “bad circles” out of the way before you set out to create your final sketch. Concept artist and illustrator Sarita Kolhatkar recommends drawing circles to warm up. Instead of getting right to a painstakingly detailed sketch of your character, loosen up. Start loose.Īfter you’ve looked at your reference images, it’s time to wade in slowly. If that’s the case, you can use that artist’s work as a reference point-just make sure you’re using it for inspiration, not a duplication. Other times, you may admire the work of a specific illustrator and want to emulate their style in a new character sketch. Character design by Skillshare Original teacher Denis Zilber
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