Project 4: Character Finale

Ian Chachere's Scouts

Follow him on the Tumblr, fools!!!

OMFG, it's Jesse Dewyer!!!

An excellent set of demo videos by Daarken for those interested in a painterly approach.

 Uh oh, Spaaace Zombies! Courtesy of the masterly Alex Munn

PROJECT 4: Character Finale
Pick at least five of your characters and create finished concepts for them. Here are the guidelines.

1. Create a finished full-color image of each of your characters. Consider the final format your character is to end up in. For a film, stage, or 3D game character, you'll be making a color image for another artist to model or construct. See Alex Munn, Daarken or other production artists for their approach to a final concept. If your characters are designed for 2D animation, or comics, create some "beauty shots" showing what these characters will look like in action. Focus on clarifying your approach to line and color. Regardless of your approach, emphasize clarity. These images are meant to answer questions, not raise them. If you don't know how to draw the gun/sword/purse your character needs to be carrying, now is the time to figure out how to draw that gun/sword/purse!!!

2. Create a set of character schematics for each character. Each schematic should show front, side, and back views and should keep consistent scale. The height of the character in both views should be the same. Again clarity is key in these images. Be careful not to lose your silhouette and dynamic proportions in these images. Keep the drawings alive! If a top view would be useful, you can include that too, but it is not required.

3. Make sure your images are a minimum of 3000 pixels along their longest dimensions. That will give you a decent 8 x 10 print. Feel free to work bigger, but after a certain point there's a trade-off between resolution and computer performance. Don't cause yourself unnecessary pain.

4. Write a brief character biography. Live it up. Be creative. Write in a style conducive to your project. An objective 3rd person approach is 100% fine, but you could also write in first person, in the style of your book or comic, stream of consciousness etc.

5. Organize your work into a clear set of presentation sheets. Include additional sketches or earlier concept work to supplement your primary images.

All components of the project are due before the beginning of class WEDNESDAY, February 5. Schedule your time and keep yourself on deadline. Do not neglect to complete any part of the project. No late work. This is also the drop-dead date for all projects you have been assigned to date. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5.

READING
Concept Artist Interview with Thomas Jung
Concept Artist Interview with Daren Horley

REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Did the article help your approach or give you insight into the process? After the reading the article, do you actually want to be a concept artist? If so, what areas do you need to work on? I find that my conception of a character tends to change the more I draw it. Was this true for you? If so, how has your character evolved over the past few weeks? Did you have any rough patches while doing your finished work? Were there elements of your character you found that you had no idea how to draw from certain angles? How did you address these blind spots? I've found there is often a point where a character goes from having "a" sword to needing to have a very specific sword, and this need drives my visual research. Did you do additional visual research to clear up weak spots in your design? Did you end up simplifying or streamlining your character the more you drew it? Did you focus on visual clarity and readability of the character? Man, I hope so!

T'is in fact, clobbering time: Ben Grimm evolves!

GRADING

Click here to download the .doc file with grading criteria.

Project 3: Character Studies

Character studies by Jamie Noguchi from his sketch blog Angry Art Monkey

David Hockney's costume designs for Mozart's The Magic Flute (click for larger view)

Kiwi studies from Jennifer Harlow

Herodotus Studies by Miles

PROJECT 3: Character Exploration
1. Pick five of your silhouette studies and re-do them based on the feedback you got in critique. Post your before-and-after silhouettes to the blog with a brief write-up on the revisions. Did the work improve? How? Was it easier to see your work with more "gestalt" after you had some time away from it?

2. Create 5 characters and do a minimum of 10 studies of each character for a grand total of 50 drawings. You may use any medium or combination of media you wish. If you are doing characters with a recognizable gender, do a mix of males and females. Don't draw the character in the exact same pose each time; try a variety of views/angles/actions.

3. For each character you create, find at least one visual reference (minimum 10 total). This can be for any aspect of a character - pose, hair-style, dress, hat, wings, paws, eyebrows, weapons, vague inspiration, mood, color, visual approach pointers - anything. Post your visual references on the blog.

Preview of next week's focus. Advanced Character Studies!
Steve Hammond - SOU Alum and texture artist for Rhythm & Hues. Check out his flatbook.
Alex Munn - Lead background artist for Diablo II - general super star.
Daarken - Photoshop character design painting demo by  - Character artist for Warhammer

REFLECTIVE ESSAY:
Work habits. Keep track of your studio time. Write about the process of making the drawings. How did you deal with the challenge of making so much work? Was it difficult to draw the character in different poses? How did you solve this? Did the character evolve/change as you drew?


DUE DATE:
We'll take a look at all this goodness on Monday, January 27. PRINT 'EM, PEOPLE.

GRADING
I'll be using the following rubric to assess the project. 5 categories, maximum of 5 points per category. Click the image for a larger view or click here for the .docx file.

Project 2: Character Silhouettes

 

image courtesy of Creative Juices

 Uh oh, it's a BIG SISTER!!! Concept art by Colin Fix for Bioshock 2

PROJECT 2: SILHOUETTE
This project has two parts:
 1. As the folks at Creative Juices did in the image above, draw 5 silhouette studies of characters you did not create. Yes, you may color over an image in Photoshop to make these studies.

2. Create a minimum of 30 original character silhouettes and post them to your blog. You may use any medium or combination of media you wish. You may put several silhouettes on one "page." See the two examples above.

Your silhouettes must be posted and PRINTED before the beginning of class Wednesday, January 22. Yes, things just got real! We'll put 'em up and critique 'em.


PHOTO
Take a photo of your self and post it in the "about me" section of your blog by Wednesday, January 22.

READING

Here are your readings for the first week:
Reflective Essay Writing Tips For College Students
Cartoon Silhouettes

Additional resources you may wish to consult:
Art of Bioshock .pdf
conceptart.org
Jen Harlow Silhouettes
Destructoid links to more Bioshock 2 concepts

REFLECTIVE ESSAY:
Reflect on the process of creating your silhouettes. In two or three clear, precise paragraphs, try to answer at least three of the following questions: How much did you know (or think you knew) about working with silhouettes before today? Did you start with a plan and stick to it, or were there some unexpected discoveries along the way? What approaches did you take to creating your silhouettes and why? Which do you think is your best final image? How did you decide a silhouette was 'finished'? Did you return to your work to edit it? Did the essay on silhouettes and the accompanying visual help clarify your approach? Did you work with a character you had designed before? If so, what did the silhouette process reveal? Did your design change as a result? Might silhouette work become a part of your creative process?

GRADING
I'll be using the following rubric to assess the project. 5 categories, maximum of 5 points per category. Click the image for a larger view or click here for the .docx file.

Project 1: Storyboards

Storyboards from an unknown t.v. show. . .

Storyboard from Rambo III by David Negron

Ridley Scott Storyboard from Blade Runner

Akira Kurosawa Storyboards for Tora! Tora! Tora!

PROJECT 1: Storyboards

1. Storyboard out one of your favorite movie or t.v. sequences. Make sure you depict each shot/edit. Make a note of how long each shot takes up in the sequence (roughly). Use the ol' pause button. 10-20 drawings.

2. Storyboard a 10-20 shot sequence based on a well-known story in the public domain - an opera, Shakespeare play, fairy tale. These could be for a book, a movie, a game, etc.

3. Storyboard a 10-20 image original story sequence using your characters and sets.

These could also be for a book, a movie, a game, interpretive dance, etc.


4. Put these on yer blogue or web sitte...

In-progress critique on Monday, January 13. Bring your work for small group critiques.

Due on Wednesday, January 15. All work must be printed before class. We will pin these sukahs up on the wall and see how they play.

Notes on storyboarding...

• Use a consistent height to width ratio depending on the format... 4:3, 16:9, etc.
• Do each storyboard on a separate piece of paper, so they can be rearranged, eliminated, replaced.
• Don't worry about details (how many eyelashes do we see in this close up?) that are not essential to the key story elements. Instead, focus on narrative clarity and sequence. 
• Think about visual BASICS. Foreground, mid-ground, background. Relative scale of elements. Dark and light.
• What kind of a shot is it? Close-up? Over-the-shoulder? Wide-angle? Establishing?

Miles' storyboards for the animation, Legends From Camp