Now that I have my story down, it was time to design my character. As I've pointed out before, it is important that I keep the character as simple as possible, as this will make it easier for an audience to merge with and project onto the character.
I started with a few sketches based on the simpler characters I had pointed out in my mood board, however I found that the characters looked too much like some of the characters on the board and I didn't want my work to be too heavily influenced by an already existing character.
So I focused on the aspects that I liked of each character I had placed within my mood board and began to sketch based on those elements. I felt that characters from animations such as Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away were too complex for what I wanted to achieve but I really liked the simple eye shape and small features, so I applied them to my own sketch. In terms of body shape, I am a huge fan of the simple shape-based bodies that are used in Song of the Sea and Secret of Kells as they are very simple yet really effective, so I created a body based on simple shapes.
I started with a few sketches based on the simpler characters I had pointed out in my mood board, however I found that the characters looked too much like some of the characters on the board and I didn't want my work to be too heavily influenced by an already existing character.
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| Initial Sketches |
So I focused on the aspects that I liked of each character I had placed within my mood board and began to sketch based on those elements. I felt that characters from animations such as Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away were too complex for what I wanted to achieve but I really liked the simple eye shape and small features, so I applied them to my own sketch. In terms of body shape, I am a huge fan of the simple shape-based bodies that are used in Song of the Sea and Secret of Kells as they are very simple yet really effective, so I created a body based on simple shapes.
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| Final Sketch |
I feel that this character will work really well within my story, as it is simple, yet appealing. From here I went on to conduct a few colour tests, as I was unsure what colour scheme I should go with. I needed the character to stand out against the background, and since this would predominantly be forest, I tried my best to steer away from dull colours and went with more vibrant colours to reduce the risk of him blending in.
However, with so much choice to choose from, I really struggled with which character to use, so I posted the sheet onto Instagram and asked for other people's opinions. the majority of people preferred the 3rd and 6th characters along, which I agreed with. Using this, I combined the two characters together, as I preferred the red jumper and blue jeans, but the skin tone and hair colour of the other character.
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| Colour Tests |
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| Final Character |
Overall, I'm really happy with my character and I feel that he will work really well within my animation. Character design ins't one of my strong points within animation and I am really pleased that I have managed to do so and quickly. I feel that I have learnt about how to keep my characters simple, which I am confident I will be able to take forward into future projects.
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