How To Draw Character Looking Condescending

Review: 21-Draw Graphic symbol Design Grade by Kenneth Anderson

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Grapheme design is a specialization in illustration used in everything from TV shows to video games. But it requires a far more complex process than merely drawing a absurd looking character.

A character needs to be brought to life and given human being qualities in order to appear convincing to an audition. So every little item needs to be carefully considered in society to mankind out a lifelike persona.

Jobs in this area are highly sought after so it's a skillset worth learning as well.

A professional approach is crucial in order to become an edge over the competition and break into the industry. That'south where this new course comes into play.

Kenneth Anderson is the creator of the Character Blueprint grade which is bachelor on the 21Draw platform, and he has freelanced for Disney and the BBC among other clients. He'southward got the groundwork and the chops to know what he's talking almost.

And he's put together this grade which promises to reveal the entire process he goes through as a working professional in the industry.

Bank check Out 21-Draw Character Design Course

In this review I will go through each step of the course and give my feelings on whether it succeeds in its goal, plus my thoughts on whether the 4+ hours of video content is worth your time and hard-earned cash.

So without further ado let'due south get started!

Character Design: An Overview

The course is divided into viii sections which intend to replicate the professional process of creating a character from start to stop.

Tasks are given at the end of each affiliate which are voluntary, and then you tin can follow the blueprint procedure while creating their own unique graphic symbol if you'd like to.

Or if you're like me you can just follow along and accept lots of notes, then follow upwardly with the exercise lessons afterwards.

The videos vary greatly in length with the final half of the course making up the bulk of the runtime.

Yous start off with a realistic cursory and some information on how to approach the grapheme research attribute, then follow the process through all of its stages until you have completed the terminal character.

Kenneth provides narration throughout while showing you his drawing process at 3x speed.

This gives him ample opportunity to explain each little design choice while providing insights on unlike aspects of the job.

I institute the pace of the videos very comfy to follow and was easily able to make out what was existence done on screen without getting lost at any signal.

If it were whatever slower it may have dragged a little and so the speed was merely right in my opinion. If you're brand new it may go a teensy flake too fast, but this shouldn't be a problem since y'all can ever pause and rewind.

At first I institute his tone of voice and delivery a little monotone to be honest.

But as the course progressed I soon warmed to his personality. Kenneth comes across as very down to earth and passionate about his craft, and the fact that he is non constantly cracking jokes for entertainment value means rewatching the videos should non exist hard.

It's simply straight down to business organization.

For me, seeing the working procedure of a successful character designer who has Disney on his resume held a lot of weight.

And although my style and gustation differs from this cartoon-based style, I was fascinated to encounter his artistic process and the insights he had to offer from a working standpoint.

There is certainly a lot to learn hither for any creative who's interested in entertainment art working to a brief.

Form Layout

If nosotros take a closer look at the layout it'south easy to see the general outline.

The viii sections are structured equally follows:

Introduction
The Brief
The Story
Research
Thumbnails
Refining
Refining Part two
Final Image

Every bit mentioned above, the majority of the activity comes in the latter half of the course which is the where the actual drawing office comes in.

In reality y'all would spend a lot more than time planning and researching but for the purposes of this class what I really want to see is the artist in his element: in this case it'd exist the nitty-gritty of designing itself.

There is a very short introduction before we motility straight onto a professional person-style brief, presumably mirroring the style of brief Ken himself encounters in his working life.

But in this particular case it is for an undead pirate graphic symbol for usage in a children'south Television set show.

The story section and then details ways in which we should mankind out the graphic symbol and add depth by imagining it as a existent living entity.

There is a lot of idea that goes into this because the character y'all are creating may one day cease upwardly having its ain action effigy or plushie(if the serial gets big enough!). This is why every little accompaniment needs to be aligned to the character'southward personality.

And so moving frontwards we are then given some useful tips in the Research section on how Ken sources his visual materials and forms his mood boards, forth with some possible pitfalls to avoid when formulating the character.

I won't give too much away only at that place is a lot of extremely skilful advice here.

And rightfully so, as this is the stage where you lot fan the initial flames of your inspiration.

The real action though begins in the Thumbnail section where we are treated to the fascinating procedure of developing a serial of unlike character concepts that are constantly adapted, chopped up, re-sized, and shuffled around as ideas evolve.

This is where we get a sense of the mode a professional person freelance character designer apace iterates through thumbnails to find exactly what they want.

Aught is left to mystery so it is like shooting fish in a barrel to pick autonomously the author's process and incorporate information technology into i's own methodology.

I imagine other professional person grapheme designers would likewise find this part useful to see and compare how a beau creative person goes nigh his work.

In the Refine section we learn exactly what the name implies.

Information technology shows the process of refining those initial ideas from the Thumbnail section by adding color and details.

Initially at that place were about 6 concepts, only through a procedure of elimination I meet them narrowed down to the designs that both await the coolest and fit best with the brief.

Ii sections are dedicated to this role showing how the bulk of the decision making comes here before we move into the Terminal Design section.

In this function of the course, all of the elements that take been whittled down are combined into one character.

It is only when all the crucial pattern decisions have long been finalized that you actually bring the grapheme to life with painstaking attention to detail.

Technical Aspects

I found the Hard disk video quality seamless on my retina screen.

The experience was non hampered in whatsoever style by unwanted glitches or artifacts and so you should be able to see with clarity every single pen stroke.

Sound is also pristine so yous tin hear every utterance from the creator who incidentally hails from Scotland.

Fortunately his accent was not stiff so his Scottish brogue needn't be an impediment to those who may otherwise struggle to catch potent dialects.

The work is washed entirely in Photoshop so if you desire to follow along in exactly the aforementioned format, only be aware of what software you're using.

Although the betoken of the video is non about how to apply the software and I tin admittedly adapt a similar workflow in other software.

The dashboard is very minimalistic with the video prepare to the left of the main menu while the creator's profile and grade clarification sit underneath.

Each video is naturally made available for download then you can work offline.

At that place are no downloadable templates because the indicate of the grade is not to copy the technique, just to produce your own work based on the principles y'all are presented with.

And then basically what you meet with this course is what you go.

And What Do You Go From This Course?

21-Draw'due south Character Design form sets out to requite you a feel for professional quality character pattern.

And having sat through the process I tin happily report that it does indeed achieve that.

Rather than get besides preachy and condescending, it is presented in a pragmatic, effective, and informative way.

You get to watch the entire process from formulation to finalization and yous're talked through each thought along the way.

You are introduced to the realities of working for a customer and the level of detail and idea that goes into creating a character.

You lot're besides given fantastic tips on how to find inspiration and avoid becoming also clichéd in our output.

Most chiefly for me, Ken is a talented and dedicated craftsman and y'all are provided with valuable insights into his process.

With this course you get to see him play with ideas, composition, and colour without e'er losing sight of the initial cursory.

Pricing & Target Audience

This course on its own sells for $49.99.

But if you go for the 21-Draw bundle you tin become all half dozen courses on their platform all at one time, for life, for $99.99.

I can't annotate on every form but if the residual are as detailed equally this 1 then I'd argue it'southward far amend to drop the $100 to get everything they offering.

Equally with everything these days, in that location is a lot of complimentary content available both online and on YouTube. If you are just dabbling in character design and then perhaps gratuitous content is acceptable merely to get your feet wet.

But for those with serious aspirations I would certainly recommend investing in this course as a useful tool to set up you for work equally a graphic symbol designer.

It won't take you all the way but it is targeted towards people who actually want to specialize in characters.

Putting into exercise the knowledge and techniques being taught here will bear witness priceless.

Final Thoughts

If y'all are specifically interested in grapheme design or drawing-style animation so I think this grade will be exceptionally useful for you.

I can absolutely recommend it for hobbyists, and likely for career-oriented artists too.

I went into this review with a healthy amount of skepticism and immediately started to nitpick at the slightly monotonous narration.

But fairly presently into the grade it became articulate that the information was being delivered with assurance and conviction, and that this was a talented grapheme designer passing his thoughts and approach in a logical way.

He also seems to burnish up at points when he gets into his groove.

I think all levels of artists could do good in some way from diving into the course.

From a beginner's point of view it is essential viewing(in my opinion).

Post-obit the advice within will provide a neat foundation and requite you lot good habits from the start.

I would say the same for those with a piddling more than experience who want some tips on how to take their character skills to the adjacent level.

Even for more experienced designers, I think this course offers a take chances to analyze the working procedure of one of a successful peer up shut.

We all develop bad work habits or fall into a rut every then often. Information technology'southward expert to stride back and see what our contemporaries are up to now so, just to glean new tips/tricks/habits and to analyze our own processes.

Rough illustrations sketches of pirate character

In terms of layout, the course is extremely simple and easy to follow.

The working procedure is very ordered and clean which actually helps for anyone new who might be overwhelmed by everything.

I personally did not partake in the tasks as much as a full educatee, just I tin run across how it would be fun and even more engaging to practise this many times over just for practice.

My final conclusion is this: if you are simply interested in learning how to be more professional in your work menstruation as a professional illustrator/character artist then it is worth nabbing this class(or even the full 21-Draw bundle).

It is definitely worth the fourth dimension and cost if you are serious about making grapheme design your vocation.

If you have a little skill at this point, along with perseverance, and if y'all carefully follow the steps in this video serial you should be pumping out fully-fleshed professional quality characters in no time.

Check Out 21-Draw Character Design

Author: John Battalgazi

John is a freelance illustrator/creative person and educator. He used to dabble in photorealistic portraiture while these days you're more than likely to observe him honing his digital illustration techniques. Check out his work at https://www.behance.net/Johnkun