-
Perma
2018-08-22 17:21:40 UTC OK.
I recently was talking with @speruu about character design and criticism on a post made by @deananims showing off his honestly not-that-good RHG.
In this conversation and the multiple conversations I’ve had with Dean, Esperuu, @ramoxfire1 , and @epitaph200 , I think good character design is the first thing you should worry about when making your character
“Write your character” -Solar Sands, You should really check em’ out.
Now I quickly whipped up these three GIFs, containing characters I’m not that proud of, and are pretty mediocre, but that’s not the point OK EPITAPH?!
It’s to show how character design can be EZ PZ.
Look at the Red ninja, You can tell he’s a ninja just by his black outfit and iconic eye slot.
Look he even has a scarf, which is there to add color. COLOR. Something that is taken forgranted in most designs. Colors can say alot about your character, I chose red to be his highlight because red means blood, it means sex, it means seriousness, it means violence, which perfectly tells you this guy is serious, the point of which is reinforced by his posture and expression, an expression of coldness, and readyiness, prepared to strike at anytime.Then look at Blue ninja
You already know he’s a ninja blah blah blah.
This ninja is made to contrast with Red Ninja, not only because he’s blue but because he’s not serious.
You can tell by his wide eyes, stupid-cliche movie pose, and blue scarf, because blue means chill, it means relax, it means take it slow, which perfectly describes his attitude.
And then you put them together, and you can see what kind of dynamic is going on there, THAT IS GOOD CHARACTER DESIGN. Sure it isn’t the most memorable design, but it’s a good design non the less!
I just wanted to make this post so people understand what good character design is.
And I’m probably not gonna use these much.
Stick Nodes®
A stickfigure animation app created for mobile devices!
Create your own stickman animations on your Android or iOS device!
Interesting
However I don’t think you will get through to epitaph with a scarf figure
User Banned
you make good points but your examples are not good.
you forget the other parts of character design, namely avoiding 1 dimensional characters. while you can definitely tell he’s a ninja, that’s it. if i were to say one of these ninja’s was a timid farmer and the other a rebel soldier, you’d never be able to tell. that’s why you develop your design, it makes them deeper and more interesting rather than some cardboard cutout like most Scarf User’s RHGs.
you also completely miss the point about generic and overused ideas. the character’s designs are VERY over done and will lead to confusion and to your work never standing out, your work will be for nothing, it’s why Apple phones look different to Samsung phones, they’re trying to stand out.
nice nice
User Banned
this is my point.
contrary to popular belief, i like simple designs, take this one for example
the thing is is that i like simple but not bland like your examples. this kid’s from RiME and is a perfect example of simple yet detailed. he’s simply this kid with a rag, scarf/cape and a bag, nothing much else. however, these few things tell you a lot about the character.
the rag is not in good condition, his clothes are low quality, his skin colour is brown, he’s quite young, it can all point to different character qualities.
the ninjas on the other hand have a scarf, eye slit and a katana.
the eye slit shows it’s a ninja, the scarf shows it’s a ninja and the katana is pretty much the only good symbol as it shows the region, the east.
do you understand now?
YES, but I wasn’t really trying to show brilliant design, more like mediocre at best surface design to show how design isn’t this hard thing that a lot of people think it is, great to have your opinion!
User Banned
your example was below mediocre, that’s the problem.
User Banned
i understand character design is complicated but if you aren’t willing to listen, you’ll never learn it.
to those who have listened, they’ve succeeded massively, take TheGamerX for example
YES I do understand character design, I’m just making a quick and easy example with little thought put behind it, yes I probably could come up with better examples, but I just wanted to get this down.