Character Design Secrets Everyone Should Know

Summary

Concept artist Evgeniy Evstratiy shares tools and techniques for creating emotionally evocative designs. He discusses starting with an idea, exploring inspiration, and using methods like visual mix, reverse approach, and genre fusion. He emphasizes the importance of silhouette, proportions, and scale in character design, and how outfit and equipment can convey character identity and personality.

Takeaways

• 🎨 A good design effectively fulfills its function and solves the problem, whether set by a project team or the artist's personal goal.
• 🌟 For personal design projects, inspiration can come from other artists' work, games, movies, or creating your own unique project like 'Gold Rush'.
• 🤔 To generate ideas, explore methods like visual mix, 'what if' scenarios, reverse approach, scale experiments, influence of environment, genre fusion, and anachronisms.
• 📚 Gathering references is crucial, categorized into mood boards for inspiration, general references for starting points, and supportive references for understanding constructions or specific objects.
• 👤 The design process typically starts with silhouette, proportions, and scale, which are the first things viewers notice and interpret.
• 🧩 Silhouette is the character's contour influenced by proportions, outfit, equipment, hairstyle, and posture.
• 🔍 Proportions are the relationship of sizes and shapes of different parts of an object, and scale is the ratio of a character's size to a normal human.
• 👀 Facial features and emotions are the most direct indicators of a character's emotional state and intentions, making them top priority in character design.
• 👗 Outfit and equipment help define a character's social status, profession, hobbies, and cultural or subgroup belonging.
• 💼 Iconography in character design involves using visual symbols and stereotypes to convey character traits and roles, such as turning a simple figure into a cowboy or a pirate with a few key attributes.
• 👢 Footwear can also contribute to a character's archetype, subculture, or profession, and can affect the character's overall dynamic or heaviness.

Q & A

What is the primary role of a concept artist in the gaming industry?

A concept artist in the gaming industry is responsible for creating visual designs that effectively evoke emotions and fulfill the project's requirements or the artist's personal goals.

How does one determine if a design is good according to the script?

A good design is one that effectively fulfills its function and solves the problem set by the project team or the personal goal of the artist.

What can be a starting point for creating a personal design project without a predefined task?

One can start by drawing inspiration from another artist's work, a game, or a movie, or even create their own unique project like the fictional 'Gold Rush' world.

What are some methods to generate ideas for a design?

Some methods include visual mix, exploring unconventional scenarios by asking 'what if?', reverse approach, scale experiments, influence of environment, genre fusion, and anachronisms.

What is the significance of gathering references in the design process?

Gathering references is crucial as it helps in understanding the theme and setting of the design, and it provides inspiration, sets a style, and aids in drawing constructions or specific objects, clothing elements, or mechanisms.

How are references categorized in the design process?

References are categorized into mood boards for inspiration and style, general references for starting points on characters, and supportive references for understanding and drawing specific details.

What are the key elements that viewers notice and interpret first in a character design?

The key elements that viewers notice first in a character design are the silhouette, proportions, and scale.

What is the importance of silhouette, proportions, and scale in character design?

Silhouette, proportions, and scale are important as they form the foundation of a character's design, influencing the character's contour, general shape, and the relationship of sizes and shapes of different parts.

How can the design elements like shape language, gears, weapons, clothing, and armor contribute to a character's design?

These design elements contribute to a character's design by adding depth and detail, enhancing the character's personality, and providing visual cues about their role or background.

What role does color, texture, and pattern play in the design process?

Color, texture, and pattern play a significant role in the design process as they can carry emotional load, suggest psychological states, or indicate belonging to certain groups or ideologies.

How can the principles of iconography be applied in character design?

The principles of iconography can be applied in character design by using visual stereotypes and cultural symbols to convey information about the character's identity, profession, or cultural background.

What is the difference between grounded and entertainment designs?

Grounded designs focus on realism and practicality, often seen in the film industry, while entertainment designs, common in games, prioritize engagement and stylization, often embracing exaggeration.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Concept Art Tools and Design Principles

Evgeniy Evstratiy, a professional concept artist, shares insights on creating impactful designs. He emphasizes that a good design fulfills its function and solves a problem, whether set by a project team or as a personal goal. For those lacking ideas, he suggests drawing inspiration from other artists, games, or movies. He also introduces his own project, 'Gold Rush,' inspired by games like Bloodborne. He outlines various techniques to generate ideas, such as visual mix, exploring unconventional scenarios, the reverse approach, scale experiments, environmental influence, genre fusion, and anachronisms. The importance of gathering references, categorized into mood boards, general references, and supportive materials, is also highlighted.

05:02

🌟 Importance of Silhouette, Proportions, and Scale

This paragraph delves into the foundational aspects of character design: silhouette, proportions, and scale. Silhouette refers to the character's overall shape, influenced by various elements like outfit and posture. Proportions are the relationships between the sizes and shapes of different parts of an object. Scale is the ratio of a character's size to a normal human. Evgeniy uses iconic designs like the AK-47 and Vespa Scooters to illustrate how these elements contribute to recognizability. He also discusses the role of silhouettes in fashion and hair design, and how playing with proportions and silhouette can yield diverse designs. The paragraph concludes with examples of how these principles apply to real-life athletes and characters from games like Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch.

10:03

👕 Outfit and Equipment in Character Design

The focus shifts to the role of outfit and equipment in character design, particularly in shaping the silhouette and expressing a character's identity. Outfit and equipment are considered as a 'silhouette within silhouette.' Two key aspects are discussed: body exposure, which can serve both aesthetic and practical functions, and iconography, which involves using cultural symbols and visual stereotypes to convey character traits. Examples are given to demonstrate how minor changes in clothing can drastically alter a character's perceived role, from a gangster to a mercenary or a security guard. The importance of understanding these principles to create characters whose appearance accurately reflects their personality is emphasized.

15:07

🎬 Design Distinctions in Entertainment and Film

In the final paragraph, Evgeniy discusses the differences between grounded and entertainment designs. Entertainment design, common in games, tends to prioritize engagement and often employs stylization and exaggeration. In contrast, the film industry leans towards realism, favoring more conservative and functional designs due to the physical realities of film production. He acknowledges that there are overlaps, such as realistic projects in gaming and animation in films. The paragraph concludes with an invitation to follow him on social media for more art and a mention of a new timer tool on proko.com for practicing art, which is free to use with sample packs and compatible with any model pack owned on Proko.

Keywords

💡Concept Artist

A concept artist is a professional who creates visual concepts and designs, often for games, movies, or other media. In the video, Evgeniy Evstratiy introduces himself as a professional concept artist who has worked with major companies like Riot, Valve, and Marvel. This role is central to the video's theme as it sets the stage for discussing the tools and techniques used in creating compelling designs.

💡Design

Design in the context of the video refers to the process of creating visual elements that fulfill a specific function or solve a problem. It is a central theme as the video discusses how to create effective designs, whether for personal projects or professional assignments. The script emphasizes that a good design must effectively fulfill its function and solve the problem set by the project team or the artist's personal goal.

💡Inspiration

Inspiration in the video is discussed as a source of ideas for creating designs. Evgeniy mentions using inspiration from other artists' work, games, or movies to create similar designs or to develop unique characters. This concept is crucial as it helps artists overcome the challenge of starting a design project without a clear idea, illustrating the importance of external influences in the creative process.

💡Gold Rush

Gold Rush is a project created by Evgeniy that serves as an example in the video. It is a fictional Wild West world set during a gold rush era, where gold causes mutations. This project is used to illustrate how inspiration from games like Bloodborne and The Evil Within can lead to the creation of a unique and compelling design concept.

💡Visual Mix

Visual mix is a technique mentioned in the video that involves combining different objects, creatures, or elements to create new and unique designs. It is an example of a creative method for generating ideas, as demonstrated by combining a motorcycle suit, a German helmet, and a skull to create Darth Vader. This technique is part of the broader discussion on how to generate ideas for designs.

💡Silhouette

Silhouette in the video refers to the character's contour or general shape, influenced by proportions, outfit, and equipment. It is a key element in design as it is often the first thing viewers notice and interpret. The video emphasizes the importance of silhouette in creating recognizable and memorable character designs, using examples like the AK-47 and Vespa Scooters.

💡Proportions

Proportions in the video are defined as the relationship of sizes and shapes of different parts of an object to one another. They are crucial in character design as they determine how different parts of a character relate to each other. The video uses examples of how changing proportions can lead to different designs, highlighting the role of proportions in shaping the overall look of a character.

💡Scale

Scale in the context of the video refers to the ratio of a character's size to a normal human, or how size is expressed in design. It is discussed as a way to convey information about a character, such as their size relative to others or their importance in a scene. The video suggests using known real-life objects or the size of the head to express scale, which is important in creating a sense of realism or fantasy in designs.

💡Mood Board

A mood board is a collection of materials that serve as inspiration, convey a certain mood, or set a style. In the video, mood boards are mentioned as a type of reference that artists gather to help inform their design process. They are essential in establishing the overall feel and direction of a design project, helping artists to visualize and communicate their ideas.

💡Iconography

Iconography in the video is discussed in relation to character design, referring to the use of visual symbols and images that evoke specific cultural or historical associations. It is used to convey information about a character's background, profession, or personality. The video explains how adding key attributes can transform a character's perception, such as turning a simple figure into a cowboy or a pirate.

💡Outfit and Equipment

Outfit and equipment in the video are discussed as elements that help define a character's social status, profession, hobbies, and cultural or subgroup affiliations. They are crucial in shaping the silhouette and expressing who the character is. The video emphasizes the importance of considering body exposure and iconography when designing outfits and equipment, as these elements can significantly influence a character's perceived identity.

Highlights

A good design effectively fulfills its function and solves the problem, whether set by the project team or the artist's personal goal.

Design ideas can be inspired by other artists' work, games, movies, or creating your own unique project like 'Gold Rush'.

Visual mix technique combines different objects, creatures, or elements to create new and unique designs.

Explore unconventional scenarios by asking 'what if?' to generate ideas, such as the Wild West in space.

The reverse approach in design involves removing elements to see what changes, affecting the design's outcome.

Scale experiments involve changing the scale of everyday objects or creatures to create unique scenarios.

Influence of environment on a character or setting is a crucial aspect to consider in design.

Genre fusion combines two genres, styles, or settings to create a unique design.

Anachronisms involve adding elements to a historical period that do not belong there, or imagining alternative technological paths.

Gathering references is crucial, categorized into mood boards, general references, and supportive materials.

Character design starts with a silhouette, which is the character's contour influenced by proportions, outfit, and equipment.

Proportions and scale are key in character design, often being the first things viewers notice and interpret.

Silhouette and proportions can be recognized even in solid colors, as seen in iconic designs like the AK-47 and Vespa Scooters.

Facial features and emotions are the most direct indicators of a character's emotional state and intentions.

Pose and body language can convey a character's personality, mood, and backstory.

Outfit and equipment help define a character's social status, profession, hobbies, and cultural belonging.

Hair and facial vegetation can say a lot about a character's personality and lifestyle.

Feature traits like scars, tattoos, prosthetics can tell a character's unique story and past.

Color palettes carry emotional loads and suggest psychological states or group affiliations.

Prioritizing design elements based on their influence on a character's personality is crucial for effective character design.

Outfit and equipment play a key role in expressing who the character is, shaping the silhouette within the silhouette.

Iconography in character design activates cultural symbols and stereotypes, influencing how a character is perceived.

Footwear can change the character's dynamic, making them appear more heavy or light, and is associated with different archetypes.

Design principles discussed are universal, applicable to both grounded and entertainment designs, with differences in focus.

Transcripts

Here I want to share with you the tools of concept artists that will help you to

create your dream design.

One that truly evokes emotions.

I'm Evgeniy Evstratiy and I'm a professional concept artist in the gaming

industry and I've worked with Riot, Valve and Marvel.

All right, any design begins with an idea.

And you ask: how do you know if a design is good?

Well, a good design is one that effectively fulfills its function and

solves the problem, whether it is set by the project team or the personal goal of

the artist.

If you are creating a design for a project, you probably already have a task

with a description.

But what to do if you want to make design for yourself and you have no ideas?

In this case, you can do what I sometimes do.

Which is to make an inspiration from another artist's work and draw something

similar.

Or get inspired by a game or a movie and make your own character for that project.

Or even better make your own.

So I created a project called Gold Rush.

A fictional Wild West world during a Gold Rush era where gold spreads like a mold

causing various mutations.

My inspirations were games like Bloodborne and The Evil Within.

I would also like to mention other ways to generate ideas that might help you.

Let's explore several methods.

Visual mix.

This technique involves combining different objects, creatures or elements

to create new and unique designs.

For example, what happens if you combine a motorcycle suit, a German helmet and a

skull?

That's right, you get Darth Vader.

And what if you combine a spider and a tank?

That's right, a spider tank.

Or a sports car and knight's armor.

You get that right.

What if?

Explore unconventional scenarios and assumptions by asking yourself "what if?"

For example, what if the Wild West was in space?

Cowboy Bebop and Firefly.

What if cordyceps would infect people?

That's right, The Last of Us.

Reverse approach.

Instead of adding elements or combining them, ask yourself: what would change if

something were removed?

What would happen if humanity's reproductive capacity was taken away?

Scale experiments.

Changing the scale of everyday objects or creatures.

What would happen if humanity had to survive among giant people who want to

eat them?

Or if it were possible to shrink to the size of an ant?

You get the idea.

Influence of environment.

Consider how the environment can affect a character or setting.

Genre fusion.

Choose two genres, styles or setting and combine them.

For example, combine steampunk and fantasy.

Or combining post-apocalyptic and dark fantasy.

Anachronisms.

Take a historical period and add elements to it that clearly do not belong there.

Or imagine what would happen if technology took an alternative path of

development.

These are good examples.

Great, now we have an assignment.

What's next?

Basically, you can start sketching, especially if you are already familiar

with the theme and setting of your design.

However, the theme and setting are new to you or you don't have a very good memory.

Important stage will be gathering references.

I categorize references into three types.

Mood board.

These are the materials that can serve you as inspiration, convey a certain mood

or set a style.

General.

These materials that can serve as your starting point when working specifically

on a character.

From historical photos to existing designs by other artists or from games

and movies.

Supportive.

These are the ones that help you in understanding and drawing the

constructions or specific objects, clothing elements or mechanisms.

All right, Mr. Smartypants, how can we achieve good design?

Well, after we defined what good design is, we have come up with an idea, found

the references, we move directly to the design.

In most cases, the design of a character not only starts with a silhouette,

proportions and scale.

This is where all magic happens and where most challenges arise.

When ranked by importance in the design, these elements are usually the first

things viewers notice and interpret.

Next comes the upper body, especially the head and face.

Then the design elements like shape language, gears, weapons, clothing,

armor, etc.

Lastly, color, textures and patterns come into play.

Again, keep in mind that while this is generally the case, there are exceptions.

The good example here is the Stormtroopers from Star Wars.

I guess in their case the order would probably be this.

Now let's understand what we mean by silhouette, proportions and scale.

And how to work with them.

Here is a breakdown.

Silhouette.

This is the character's contour or general shape, influenced by proportions,

outfit and equipment, any tools or weapons they use, their hairstyle or head

covering and, of course, posture.

the relationship of sizes and shapes of different parts of an object one to

another.

Scale.

The ratio of a character's size to a normal human.

Sometimes you can express scale through the size of the head or known real-life

objects.

Let's look at some iconic and recognizable designs.

Among those I can recall the most famous and memorable for their silhouette and

proportions are the AK-47 and Vespa Scooters.

Even if we fill them with a solid color, their designs remain identifiable.

When it comes to the characters, most of us can easily recognize who is behind

each silhouette.

I believe these guys no need introduction.

And here are some great examples from games.

We simply can't overlook the iconic designs from Team Fortress 2 and, of

course, the equally important examples from Overwatch.

Of course, in real life, silhouette and proportions can't have such wide variety.

Or can they?

This is a famous shoot by photographer Howard Schatz featuring athletes from

various sports.

As you can see, even in real life people vary greatly in size and proportions.

And do you know where in real life silhouettes play a crucial role and

sometimes receive a special attention?

In fashion design.

Sometimes it's purely for aesthetic purposes and sometimes for functionality.

Moreover, silhouettes play an almost primary role in hair design.

But how does all this work in practice?

Let's break it down with a simple example.

Almost any object can be divided into logical parts.

And as we know, proportions are the relationship between the sizes and shapes

of different parts of an object.

And just by playing with them, we can already get completely different designs.

The magic is that even within the same proportions, by changing the silhouette,

we can also achieve completely different designs.

Now imagine the variety we can create by working with both proportions and

When we are talking about characters, this is very important to realize that

they can have pronounced or, on the contrary, less pronounced personality.

And going back to the same Stormtroopers, they have almost completely no

personality, but, on contrary, you know who has a lot of it?

That's right, Han Solo.

So, just as with silhouette and proportion, it depends on the specific

goal you have for the character.

The ranking of importance looks like this: Facial features and emotions.

These attributes are the most direct indicators of a character's emotional

state and intentions, so they are at the top of the ranking.

In general, the face is a quite powerful tool.

Not for nothing, they say, the eyes are the windows to the soul.

And even if you want to give a personality to a robot, just give it a

face.

Next up are pose and body language, which can tell you about character's

personality, mood and even the backstory.

For example, a specific grip on a gun, glasses pulled down on the nose.

In general, when creating a character, it is recommended to think about his

animation, how he will live in the frame and how he moves.

Outfit and equipment.

These elements help you to define the social status, profession, hobbies and

belonging to a culture or a subgroup.

Also, the absence of certain elements of clothing can also tell a story.

Hair and facial vegetation.

It is simple here.

They can say a lot about a character's personality and lifestyle and can also be

used to express their individuality.

Feature traits: scars, tattoos, prosthetics, etc.

These elements can tell a character's unique story, their past or even their

accomplishments and losses.

I would also include bandages, Band-aids, patches, sicks and other signs of

interaction with the world and character's conditions.

Color palette:

The use of certain colors can carry an emotional load and suggest a

psychological state or belonging to a certain group or ideology.

Well, or simply about presence or absence of a taste.

And what's truly fascinating is how we can play with attributes and shift their

priorities making one trait or several more dominant.

Here we are talking about priorities in terms of their influence on their

personality.

Let's look at some examples to see how it works.

Here we see a strong dominance of the face and emotions, followed by clothing

and color.

In this case, I think that the pose is responsible for the personality, then

clothes and accessories, then vegetation on the head and then everything else.

Here the loudest narrator is, of course, outfit and equipment.

The only thing that will tell us about these characters is probably their

hairstyles, followed by clothing and pose.

Obviously, these examples are dominated by features such as prosthetics and

tattoos.

Colors, of course.

Then there is clothing and accessories, and then there is someone's face and

someone's pose.

And you probably already want to ask: how to understand how to prioritize?

This takes us back to the topic of the idea and description.

To truly understand what you need, your character's backstory and personality

must be clearly defined.

And if we go back to the Stormtroopers and Han Solo again, we realize that this

is a faceless enemy, a soldier, one of many.

And this is a famous smuggler with charisma and charm.

Well, it is time to talk about outfit and equipment.

As we know from silhouette and proportions topic, outfit and equipment

are important for shaping the silhouette, which is the foundation of a character

design.

While they serve a common purpose, proportion and pose mainly determine the

physical parameters of a character.

At the same time, outfit and equipment play a key role in expressing who the

character is.

And that is why I try to categorize them and think of it as a silhouette within

silhouette.

When working with outfit and equipment, I focus on two things: body exposure and

iconography.

Body exposure.

Let's go in order with this one.

It is simple.

Body exposure is not only how much of the character is open or closed, but also

what parts of the body are exposed.

An exposed body can serve both an aesthetic and practical function.

And in different contexts, the same exposed parts of the body can give us

different information about the character.

For instance, a naked person in a locker room is normal, but a naked person in the

street, let's say there is definitely something about that character.

Iconography.

Now, here is where it gets a little more complicated.

Generally speaking, iconography is primarily related to history and culture

in art.

But the principles of iconography are also useful when working with character

design.

Let's break down what it is.

You've probably seen images like this.

Notice how easy it is to read well-known characters into these figures, although

there are no details, shapes or even faces.

Thus, iconography activates in our consciousness ready-made symbols and

images from the cultural code.

Even an ordinary guy in simple clothes can turn into a cowboy with the addition

of a couple of key attributes and into a pirate with the addition of others.

Or a girl from a socialite lady can turn into a special agent.

Types of clothes and their cut are also closely connected with visual stereotypes

and cultural symbols that we unconsciously attribute to certain types,

subcultures or professions.

And we can and should capitalize on that.

For example, a simple guy in a street clothes with a gun becomes a gangster.

But adding a bulletproof vest makes him a mercenary.

And by adding a few minor changes he turns into a PMC contractor.

Literally changing his hair and shirt he becomes a security guard or a soldier.

Going back to this guy and changing a couple elements, we can make him a war

correspondent or a police officer.

Or from a bodyguard to a robber.

How about that, huh?

In addition, we can change the personality or even essence of the

character.

For example, it's just some special agent.

Let's try to make him cool or mysterious.

These examples are, of course, simplified for clarity.

There may not always be a need or opportunity to act directly.

However, understanding this opens up more subtle ways to create characters whose

appearance accurately reflects who they are.

And the best part is that this principle applies as much to real causes as it does

to fictional ones.

An example of my work, where the girl's outfit is basically a black suit, which

is responsible for sci-fi, a leather jacket, belts and collars, which are

responsible for punk and rock'n'roll, and from elements it's bags and weapons that

are responsible for robbery.

The rest is just design elements and details.

Just like clothing, different types of shoes are associated with different

archetypes, subcultures or professions.

Notice how different the characters and plasticity of each type of shoe is.

In addition to the social and functional role, footwear can also make the

character more heavy and squat.

Or, on the contrary, dynamic and light.

Also, on the example of fonts, we can see how apparently insignificant details can

change the overall feeling of design, making the letter more refined.

By the way, it doesn't only work with shoes.

Okay, in the conclusion I would like to say that the principles we discussed are

universal regardless of style or setting.

The primary distinction I would highlight is between grounded and entertainment

designs.

Entertainment design, common in games, usually focuses on being engaging rather

than practical, often embracing stylization and exaggeration.

The film industry, on the other hand, gravitates towards realism, favoring more

conservative and functional designs due to the physical realities of film

production.

Of course, there are intersections, like animation in films and realistic projects

in gaming.

If you want to follow my art or have any questions, you can follow me on social

media.

And thanks for watching!

Bye, guys!

Hey, if you enjoyed this demo, there's now a way for you to practice thanks to

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Just go to proko.com/timer, select a model pack, adjust the settings and start

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Happy drawing and see you in the next one.