Constructing a character from scratch
One of the workshops I did that I found to be one of the most helpful was the Character Design Workshops. The lessons provided insight on the fundamentals of designing a character both for animation and film but for general purpose as well.
Personally, I believe one of the most fundamental concepts when it comes to designing characters is the initial brainstorming and research into what type of character you plan to create; what are their themes, history, inspiration, motivation and more. All of these play a role into the core ideas of the character, and being able to understand the character makes it easier to figure out the looks, but also get the creator to feel a sense of purpose for the character within the main narrative in which they will be inhabiting.
After answering the questionnaire about the idea for the character, I was able to get an idea brewing about what I wanted the character to generally look based on the time-period, their motivation or problems/limitations, and themes. In my case, it was a female character who is mute due to a curse from their previous negligence during a period in their past as a guardian. The theming was set around the 1500’s Japan with fantastical and mythological interpretations intertwined with the characters outfits and history. With this, I started with designing the initial concept features of the character through silhouettes and shapes. I was aiming for the concept to be simple yet eye-catching and interesting that would be able to instantly be recognisable as well as easy to understand the themes/motivation of the character.
The silhouette had to portray the character as a wanderer/traveller that is also athletic and somewhat intelligent and motivated to their cause. This being shown through the idea of a cape/poncho and a hat while also including some Asian inspired fantastical outfits like the trousers and shirt.
After being able to double down on the silhouette and deciding on what I’m looking for in the character, I finally stared designing the outfit and appearance after doing some research and moodboards on Pinterest.
To finish up the workshop, I was provided a task of creating a reference sheet for the character. Providing a turnaround is really important for animators and/or illustrators to get a full idea of what the character looks like from all angles for consistency and continuity within a production. Being able to practice making turnarounds and reference sheets will prove massively helpful later on in a career as it gives you the passive knowledge to be thinking about a character from every angle.
I was very pleased with how the character turned out during the workshop that I would likely make some changes and adjustments for the character to be used in future projects, be it an animation or just illustrations.