The Character Design course delves into the principles of drawing and design applied to the creation of characters for audiovisual productions (video games, series, films, etc.). The subject focuses on the development of coherent, attractive and functional characters, taking into account aspects such as anatomy, silhouette, expressiveness and visual narrative.
Students will develop their creativity and visual communication skills, learning to convey personality, emotions and story through design. In addition, it reinforces knowledge of anatomy and proportion, as well as the use of dynamic poses and body language to enrich the quality of characters within the 3D pipeline.
Fundaments of Photoshop and drawing skills.
The main objective of the course is to provide students with the skills and techniques necessary to design high-quality characters:
- Strengthening the aesthetic sense: Assimilation of anatomical canons, proportions, silhouette and color theory applied to character design.
- Expressivity: Developing characters capable of transmitting emotions, personality and narrative through facial expression, gestures and dynamic poses.
- Visual and stylistic coherence: Guaranteeing stylistic consistency between different characters within the same project, maintaining a clear and cohesive visual identity.
1. Review of the basics of character design.
2. Anatomy Study: Basic proportions, muscle groups, simplification and stylization.
3. Poses and gesture study: Body language, lines of movement and silhouette for the creation of interesting poses.
4. Creation of turnarounds depending on the style and purpose of the design.
5. Facial expressions study. Cranial structure, analysis of expressions.
6. Theory of tonal values ??and lighting. Black and white rendering.
7. Color theory and textures.
The course methodology will combine theoretical sessions, practical demonstrations, analysis of reference works and supervised practical exercises that can be adapted to the different levels of the students in the course. Teamwork and feedback between colleagues will be encouraged to enrich the creative process. Each class will include practical exercises so that students can apply the knowledge and techniques acquired. Small independent, practical exercises will also be carried out during the class.
In order to assess whether students have achieved the objectives of the subject, continuous assessment activities are carried out based on practical exercises and progressive submissions of the character design project. The goal is to promote a constant work process, with individualized tutoring and progressive improvement of their work.
Submissions must comply with the established rules and deadlines.
Students have the right to a review.
The highest grade possible during the Extraordinary Assessment is 5.
The assessment board will apply the regulations, evaluating the student's progress and academic performance.
S. Robertson, M. Yamada, K. Le. The Skillful Huntsman: Visual Development of a Grimm Tale
M. Mateu-Mestre. Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers
A. Amidi. The Art of Pixar: 25th Anniversary
T. Bancroft. Creating Characters With Personality
B. Hogarth. Dynamic Figure Drawing
M. Mattesi. Force: Dynamic Life Drawing
M. Mateu-Mestre. Framed Ink 2
S. Silver. The Silver Way
U. Zarins, S. Kondrats. Anatomy for sculptors
M. Lauricella. Anatomia Artistica
Any additional sources will be given during lessons.