@maddox_myers's post on Artfol
Soo, this is kind of a personal post but I need suggestions.
Right now I'm unemployed and really want to take my character design to the next level. I was wondering if there is any advice that anyone could give me to make character design my job. I have no college degree and little experience but my body has taken a toll from the years of manual labor. Any advice would be nice (no hate please). Thank you in advance.Jan 7, 2022
Right now I'm unemployed and really want to take my character design to the next level. I was wondering if there is any advice that anyone could give me to make character design my job. I have no college degree and little experience but my body has taken a toll from the years of manual labor. Any advice would be nice (no hate please). Thank you in advance.Jan 7, 2022
#help
#question
#advice
#suggestions
#answers
Comments
Uhm, I don't know what to say cause I'm suprise I found someone who is on the same boat as me... I need the whatever advice you'll get
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•All the advice here is great! I'll just add/emphasize that networking is everything. No matter where you go to learn more, meet other people who are also taking those classes or watching those tutorials and if you can, get to know the teachers. As noted in a previous comment, don't be pushy or a suck up to them, but good teachers (and fellow learners) are usually happy to share answers/advice more than in class but often won't unless prompted, so don't be afraid to ask. I wish you good luck on your journey!
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I've only taken one class of character design, so I won't have too much advice. I also haven't had a job, so I can't give advice on that.
One of the first things we did in class was to experiment with shapes. Pick some shapes at random and try to make a character out of them. Play around with a character's expression. Drawing them expressing happiness, anger, and sadness can really help give life to 'em. Color is really important, too. I can't give advice on color because I'm still struggling with it. Try drawing the character multiple times, but don't try to draw exactly the same as the original design. Once you've drawn the character a number of times, go through all of them and pick the elements you liked best. Add those to the design and see how you like it.
Good luck on getting a job for character design. You can also check out videos on the internet.
One of the first things we did in class was to experiment with shapes. Pick some shapes at random and try to make a character out of them. Play around with a character's expression. Drawing them expressing happiness, anger, and sadness can really help give life to 'em. Color is really important, too. I can't give advice on color because I'm still struggling with it. Try drawing the character multiple times, but don't try to draw exactly the same as the original design. Once you've drawn the character a number of times, go through all of them and pick the elements you liked best. Add those to the design and see how you like it.
Good luck on getting a job for character design. You can also check out videos on the internet.
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So here’s the funny thing about getting into an art related job- you necessarily don’t need a degree. What employers look at is your skills and a lot of job opportunities are based around luck and networking. That being said, with college not being an option, your best choice is to take online courses offered by professionals in the field if you want to improve skills specific to character design. These are short and will typically last you a few weeks HOWEVER it is ultimately up to you to learn and direct yourself on what skills you need to learn since many of these classes are intermediate level. So without an understanding of basic art principles you’ll ultimately be frustrated with the art you want to produce vs the art you’re making.
In my strongest opinion, the main skills of a character designer are shape and body language, color coordination and being able to create multiple designs based on a single idea. Aside from taking online courses there are literally of HUNDREDS of other resources you can look to; YouTube videos, zines, and even professional artists. I live by this truth and that’s look at artists who are in the industry already (buy art books of your favorite stories aka Pixar, video games, etc,) and follow working individuals in the field you want to enter on social media. BUT FOR THE SWEET LOVE OF GOD DO NOT IN ANYWAY ATTEMPT TO PURSUE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF THESE PEOPLE. This just means don’t call or message them because this is a site way you’ll be labeled as a creep. Just sending them a simple message on their social media and if you can follow up through email is the best approach. Regardless of all this, take my advice with a grain of salt because people who work in the art field come from ALL backgrounds (both experienced and non) so through what I’ve been told and taught, this is my approach to obtaining the goals I want.
In my strongest opinion, the main skills of a character designer are shape and body language, color coordination and being able to create multiple designs based on a single idea. Aside from taking online courses there are literally of HUNDREDS of other resources you can look to; YouTube videos, zines, and even professional artists. I live by this truth and that’s look at artists who are in the industry already (buy art books of your favorite stories aka Pixar, video games, etc,) and follow working individuals in the field you want to enter on social media. BUT FOR THE SWEET LOVE OF GOD DO NOT IN ANYWAY ATTEMPT TO PURSUE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF THESE PEOPLE. This just means don’t call or message them because this is a site way you’ll be labeled as a creep. Just sending them a simple message on their social media and if you can follow up through email is the best approach. Regardless of all this, take my advice with a grain of salt because people who work in the art field come from ALL backgrounds (both experienced and non) so through what I’ve been told and taught, this is my approach to obtaining the goals I want.
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I got this from a Pixar animator I talked to. Design a character, it looks good right? Try designing it badly a few times. If it looks too close to the original your design isn't as good as you thought it was. Sometimes bad designs have some good ideas to them. Try using aspects from them. As a future character designer myself that has issues being able to work properly, I feel you. Good luck, and stay safe ^.^
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•I found videos about character design to be helpful! So looking up stuff about that should be a good start!
I’d say that colors are important in a design, & the character’s outfit is potentially more important than the colors; the outfit can tell you how much money a character has, what their personality is, what time period they live in, what part of the world they live in, just all sorts of things! Shapes can be important too; like rounder shapes tend to bring comfort, & sharper points seem more dangerous & energetic!
You don’t need a college degree for (at least) animation type jobs. I heard from several professionals in the field, they just look at your work & see if you’re not a horrible person. If you can do what they want & you seem pretty nice, you’ll probably be hired!
Definitely look into learning the elements of design as a whole. I learned them in an Interior Design class in high school during my freshman year & it honestly helps me design my characters!
I hope this helps!
I’d say that colors are important in a design, & the character’s outfit is potentially more important than the colors; the outfit can tell you how much money a character has, what their personality is, what time period they live in, what part of the world they live in, just all sorts of things! Shapes can be important too; like rounder shapes tend to bring comfort, & sharper points seem more dangerous & energetic!
You don’t need a college degree for (at least) animation type jobs. I heard from several professionals in the field, they just look at your work & see if you’re not a horrible person. If you can do what they want & you seem pretty nice, you’ll probably be hired!
Definitely look into learning the elements of design as a whole. I learned them in an Interior Design class in high school during my freshman year & it honestly helps me design my characters!
I hope this helps!
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•The animators survival guide is an amazing book that is essential for anything animation-related (duh) but it also features a lot of thought oh how differently formed characters move and pose destinctively, and if you're serious about character design this is important. For technical skill - If you know someone with a skill share subscription, look if you can piggyback and work through some coursed there.
And last but not least try and fill a spread in a sketchbook every day with random character designs, anything goes, from a eloquent space princess to a toaster with a face. Here is quantity over quality, just come up with as many ideas as you can and put them on paper. That way you expand your creative horizon.
Good luck!
And last but not least try and fill a spread in a sketchbook every day with random character designs, anything goes, from a eloquent space princess to a toaster with a face. Here is quantity over quality, just come up with as many ideas as you can and put them on paper. That way you expand your creative horizon.
Good luck!
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•Nope. Get a job at a college, get discounts for school. Or parking garage, you can sit there and do what ever you want all day. I used to do college work and drawing.
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