Lesson 04

BASIC

LESSON 4 Creating Characters In this lesson, I want you to begin thinking about a character that you want to bring to life.

Or, do just the opposite — make your character outgoing and wild! In other words, your character can also reflect the personality that is hiding within you!

"This lesson include:

1. Character design check list 2. Sample of character designs 3. Self-evaluation

Character Design Checklist "

! Before

you begin:

Suppose I said to the room full of student artists, “Everyone, draw a picture of an apple for me.” Some of you would draw red apples. Others would draw green ones. Some of the apples would be big, some would be small. Most would probably be ripe (I hope!), but some might be rotten. Only if I said, “Everyone, draw a picture of a large, red, fresh apple for me,” would the pictures probably look the same. Well, the same thing is true when we draw characters. If we have a specific idea of what our character is like before we draw it, then drawing it will be easy! So, when you prepare to draw a character, think first about the character’s traits. It really helps if you put some of your own personality into your character's personality. If, for instance, you are shy, then it might be easy for you to make your character shy.

• Name • Age and gender • Height • Species / Nationality • Personality • Status • Likes • Dislikes • Abilities • Family • Clothes • Special features • Background Check the next page for more explanations!

I want you to decide on a personality for your character, and then begin drawing that character for me to critique.

Copyright © 2005-2016 Japanime Japanime Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved Manga University University is a registered registered trademark trademark of Japanime Japanime Co. Ltd. Ltd. Lessons are for personal personal use only

BASIC

LESSON 4 Character Design Form !

Design form:

Completing this form will help you get an idea of what your character will look like. Make sure to be as detailed as possible:

Name

The name of your character. Include nicknames or secret code names!

Age and gender

How old are they? Are they male or female?

Height

How tall are they? 5’? 6’11”? This will help you decide how many “heads” they should be drawn (as we studied in Lesson 2)

Species / Nationality

Are they human? Half-animal? Robot? Elf? Monster? Where are they f rom? Somewhere in the human realm? Perhaps a nation in a fantasy world?

Personality

This is important! Are they aggressive or passive? Loud or quiet? Calm and collected, or nervous and erratic? Be as detailed as possible!

Status

Are they a student. If so, what are they studying? Are they working? If yes, what is their job?

Likes

What do they like to do? What is their favorite food? What traits do they admire in other characters? Are the animal-lovers?

Dislikes

Are there any foods or drinks that they dislike? Any activities they wouldn’t join? Certain personalities that rub them the wrong way?

Abilities

Do they have any special abilities? Are they good at doing something in particular? Cooking? Sports? Secret powers?

Family

Do they live with their parents? Do they have siblings? How are they like their relatives, and what sets them apart from others in their family?

Clothes

What do they like to wear? Do they have a cert ain style? Do they only were speciﬁc colors? If so, why?

Special features

Do they have scars? Wings? Horns? Tattoos? Moles? Or maybe even animal ears and tails?

Background

This is important, too! The background of the character can strongly inﬂuence your character’s personalities as well as their design.

Copyright © 2005-2016 Japanime Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved Manga University is a registered trademark of Japanime Co. Ltd. Lessons are for personal use only

BASIC

LESSON 4 Creating Characters Examples Here are some examples of the types of characters you might create based on their personality and back story.

My clothes, hair and pose show I’m a rough-andtumble fighter!

I’m friendly and energetic! You can see that I also love music.

I’m a strong and active but shy girl … who carries a secret!

We Ninja may be tough, but speed and stealth is most crucial. Notice HoW I’m drawn thin but muscular to refleCt that.

If your character is more the brawny type, don’t be afraid to go a little overboard and really pump him up!


BASIC

LESSON 4 Creating Characters Continued Novice artists often say that hands and feet are the hardest to draw. Others have trouble with hairstyles. Some say they can never get the eyes quite right. And a few artists have trouble with all these things. But that’s OK, we’re here to help!

"Self-Evaluation: Focusing on yourself is as important as studying other artists’ works. In order to improve and develop your own style, you need to know: 1. Strengths - What are you good at? 2. Weaknesses - What needs improvement? 3. Interests - What do you like to draw most?

!

Overcoming Weaknesses:

1.Redraw the same character over and over. 2. Each time, adjust only the parts that give you the most trouble. For example, hairstyles: • Draw a bald version of your character, and then photocopy that drawing several times. • Give the bald character several different hairstyles. Curly hair; straight hair; long hair; short hair; a mohawk; a mullet.

look. However, always remember that manga characters are (most of the time, anyway) simplified and stylized depictions of humans (or animals). 4. Draw it over and over until you begin to feel more comfortable with that feature of the character. 5. Don’t worry about parts that you are not confident of drawing. Try to draw them again and again, and you will improve in no time. Good luck, and have fun!

This is a great drawing, but conspicuously hiding the character’s hands behind their body not only suggests that you didn’t want to draw them, but that you won’t get any better at drawing them either! Don’t be afraid to try!

You can use this same approach for anything — eyes, noses, mouths, ears, hands, feet, arms, legs, clothes, shoes, etc. 3. Study photographs of real people to get a sense of how different body parts should


BASIC

LESSON 4 Heads Above the Rest: Troubleshooting All right, it’s time to send in your homework! So I have enough time to critique your drawing, please submit it to me within two weeks of completing this lesson. Draw up your best character and send it to [email protected]. Please put “Manga University Homework” in the subject line of the message. The drawing should be scanned at no less than 150 dpi and no more than 300 dpi, and saved as a jpeg. If you have any trouble sending it, please let us know by sending us an email to the same address as above. I will then send you my critique of your drawing and your diploma within a month of your completion of this six-week course

Good luck and have fun!!

Your Feedback We want to know what you think of the job we’re doing! Each week we invite you to rate our lesson and, if you wish, comment on what we can do to improve and provide you with what you want to learn. This lesson was: a) ¡Excellente! b) Good c) Just so-so d) Lousy (>~<) Please e-mail your rating (and any additional comments) to [email protected] with the subject header “Home Study.”

See you during the next lesson!

An MU staffer hard at work responding to your questions and comments.


Lesson 04

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