In any storytelling medium, characters are the most important part of the project. This holds true for comic books, animations and even films. Creating a unique and compelling character often begins with a look. The shadowy black robe and ominous helmet of Darth Vader are a great examples of the importance of character design as part of a compelling story. Designing a character is an incredibly creative act, so let your imagination run wild as you breathe life into a character that never existed before.
Initial Sketches
When you are designing a new character, you may find it useful to do several loose sketches first. Work on keeping your hand limber so that you are free to having different shapes happen as you draw. Accidents can end up becoming interesting facets of your character's design.
You can look over your page and note which aspects of the character's design you would like to keep and which you can ignore. You will want your character to look as unique as possible.
Body Design and Poses
Now that you have decided on a basic design for your character, practice drawing his or her final body and several poses. Personality is directly expressed through posture and movement. For example, a character that is naturally lazy may slouch in almost any position. This character may also fling his arms and legs in sloppy ways when running or walking. An uptight character, on the other hand, will remain in strict posture during almost any movement. You can use these exaggerated traits for comedic effect. For instance, an uptight salesman in pursuit of a thief may appear ridiculously neat and proper even while running through the street.
Facial Expressions
A character's face is extremely important to his or her design. Like the posture of a character, the way a face makes displays emotion can speak volumes. Think of a slimy villain grinning with pleasure and how this differs from the smile of a friendly and portly barkeep.
It is a good idea to draw out a range of emotions of each character on a single sheet. This will help you to see how one emotion can change into another. Work on developing the basic emotions such as anger, sadness, joy, jealousy, fear and contentment. These expressions can double for a range of emotions if put in the correct context.
Tags: character design, your character, character face, character that, range emotions
