Divya Manian

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Character Design Workshop

  • Character Design is communication of the aspects of a character
  • Starting Point: Words to describe the character.
  • Interpret the words as what most people will percieve: For e.g.: a fat person has a round body which is wobbly and fleshy all over.
  • There are two types of Character Development:
    • Surface Characterisation:
      • Exactly who he/she claims to be.
      • Mostly physical characteristics without any thought to his/her mental state or being
    • Complex Characterisation
      • Whether the character’s actions are right or wrong?
      • Most critical to show the mental state or being of the character
      • E.g. Dr. Otto Octavius in Spiderman. Darth Vader in Star Wars
    • To create a character, look at
      • Background
      • Personality
      • Status
      • Physical Appearance
      • Basic Principles:
        • Simplicity and clarity: engage the audience in a particular aspect of the character
        • Staging: Pose the character such that it shows personality
        • Color: Bold colors with a limited pallete.
        • Less details the better!: Check how the character looks in a shilloute and see if it is distint and distinguishable
      • Look beyond the picture to see what the character is all about
    • Becoming a Character Designer:
      • Observe: shape, height, sex, race, attractiveness, clothing, cleanliness, facial hair, age, weight, stance, language, movements
      • Remember what you see: The visual clues. Create exaggerated sketches out of the unique characteristics
    • Stereotypes:
      • Hero:
        • Square jaq/chin
        • Slender
        • Great mobility
        • Muscular
        • Strong Chin
        • Muscular
      • Gaunt:
        • Resembles a skull
        • High cheek bones!
      • Beefy:
        • Broad Shoulders

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