CHARACTER DESIGN! For my own children’s book.
What’s most important? Traits, characteristics, and shape.
Traits
I make a trait list for my ghost based on the story i wrote. That includes:
-Character
-Personality
-Description
-Abilities
What are characteristics?
What would make my character unique and different? For example my ghost is a child. So i make note or sketch ghost and toddler characteristics. To make it more unique i added head trauma and autopsy scar. Once i gathered all the info i need, i start drawing my ghost child.
Shape
The importance of shape, it helps define the character visually! When you look at the ghost kid, you’ll notice how odd it looks right away.
Besides looking odd, the ghost had to look cute too. So i drew angular shapes as much as possible. It makes the ghost look unhealthy. As oppose to circular shapes. Which makes a character healthy.
What makes the ghost cute is the giant head proportional to the body. Big head, small body. If you look at toddlers, they have those shapes.
In the end, you have to think about you character in terms of shape. It REALLY makes a difference in your art and makes characters stand out.
Check out the examples. You can see how i think about how the ghost child looks. A series of rough sketches that lead to the final drawing!
If you got any questions, let me know. I hope you learn and appreciate the character design process.
Creating Children's Books! 