Character Design Session #1.

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Today we went over another sub-project for Toolkit 2; this being the drawing and character design aspect for the Toolkit project.

Due to Covid, lessons are having to be structured slightly differently, this meaning that one week we will have two lectures in one day and the next week tutorials online to coincide with the Production Bible that we have been asked to curate. Which is basically applying the skills learnt in the lectures to a topic/character setting that was chosen at random for us. I got a Mouse in the style of a World War 2 poster who is courageous/heroic, set in the 1930s/40s who experiences a big disaster of some sort.

Lecture Notes on Brief.

Lecture notes 1 and 2 on Drawing Life/You Are So Conceited.


Applying theory to practical work.

Given random object (clown shoes) and was asked to study its function, different variations of what it could look like when placed on a character.

Was then asked to start characterizing where that object may be used and what sort of character might use them. I went for a 1920s-1930's clown style since it included arrange of costume choices, ruffles and face paint.

Finally we were then asked to consider the types of props the character may use; I thought of balloons, propeller hats and squeaky horn. Other items I could have drawn were; A unicycle, beaten up briefcase, wig cap variations and juggling pins/balls.


Moving on from there we then started to look as Design Conceits; which is basically a fancy word for style of character and its setting. With this I got given the design conceit of Batman - comic book aesthetics - and was asked to create a new character based on the style used to create Batman and to consider how this new character is going to fit in within the design conceit world.

Decided to go with the theme of a Mexican Wrestler type villain and create a sort of backstory and name for me to then work on from.




Was then asked to take the initial character we were given - Batman - and place them in the design conceit for our character that we will design for the Production Bible. Mine being World War 2 Posters; so i was looking at the propaganda type posters and Art Deco styles that were around at the time of the 2nd World War.


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