Character Design Monster Lab
Ideation
Rehearsal
Developing Characters
Thematic Focal Points
Digitizing Your Art
Shapecarving
Color
Extras
It's time to start exploring different pumpkin head variants!
Newest
Alec Hillman
3yr
@Scott Flanders I am having troubles developing my creatures. I have a picture in my mind and I just can't seem to get my hand to follow the picture. Makes me feel like I am drawing like I just picked up a pencil for the first time. I understand the premise of breaking up images into shapes but when I do it I end up making the image still too smooth. How can I develop my skills to make much more clear pictures? My concept I am going for are bestial beings. Would you recommend I hold off on that idea and maybe practice something else?
Alec Hillman
3yr
I think I came up with an idea. Took me sometime but I finally got it on paper.
D S
3yr
Pumpkin patch makes me think about eye patch, pirates, dead pirates with seaweed and octopus spiderweb…
Ted Kalamov
3yr
Hey Scott, I have a question!
When ideating, is it a good idea to research and observe reference beforehand? I am asking as my visual library and knowledge is relatively poor, but I don't want to feel restrained during the ideation phase because I have references at hand.
Thanks! Ted
•
3yr
Hey Ted. Not necessarily a clear answer here. I tend to use reference to push a design once I've already got a piece well under way. But I have also used it in the past when I had no previous experience with a given subject matter. If you're starting from square one then it makes a lot of sense to start with some research. You kinda hit the nail on the head here: "I don't want to feel restrained during the ideation phase because I have references at hand."
That's pretty much my thoughts on this topic as well.
Orion Dyson-Smith
4yr
love hearing your thought process. thanks!
Andre Camargo
4yr
Oh man, that is so unfair. I thought I had something cool going with a Pumpkin DnD kinda group, with characters and classes - and now you bring up Barbarian, Sorcerer, etc! :) You cover quite some ground here.
But I still have some ideas and variations of this "direction" I want to try!
Here a question Scott, you mentioned that you do not allow anything to remain on the board which annoys you or that you are not really satisfied with.
Why is that? Could you not just do another, better version next to it? Is there a downside to have low quality ideas or badly executed sketches on the board?
I have so much stuff in my sketchbooks that people would assume to be from a 5year old (not that I wanna bash 5yo's!), and it took me some time to be loose and less critical so I dont freeze up with the pen in my hand.
I remember from one of the Draftsmen Podcasts (Developing an Illustration) - Stan mentioned, that he puts down his idea to see if it still holds. If not, he tries something else, or another version.
•
4yr
Well there is a difference in the way I treat my sketchbook and the way I treat my big exploration sheets. It's just a personal choice. Sketchbook is where I'm fully vulnerable and I don't really share that with people. I let my son draw in there, I plan my week in there, I plan projects, make lots of trash drawings and scribbles, etc. Sketchbook is just for me. My big sheets are something that I tend to take a little more pride in. And I do attempt to make better versions of the things I have drawn with each new drawing, more or less. I think the "don't leave anything on the page I'm not satisfied with" idea is how I employ my version of 'QA' Quality Assurance on my own work. I know I can feel good about what I have created when I approach things in this way. It helps to insure that I believe in my own work.
Ezra Meador
4yr
Hey Scott,
I got a question. You mentioned "Kitbashing" late in the video, I'm unfamiliar with the term, what exactly is Kitbashing and what are the pros and cons of implementing it into one's own art?
-Ezra M.
Andre Camargo
4yr
Good question, I wanted to ask the same!
•
4yr
Hey Ezra. So kitbashing is a term that is usually used to describe the process of combining parts from different model kits in order to create something new. I use the term in regards to silhouette and shape design to describe a similar technique. Taking different shapes and combining them in various combinations to achieve a new result.
Adrian Potato
4yr
This definitely gave me some ideas about what I can do to keep the ideas coming.
Love it!
•
4yr
Right on Adrian. Thanks and good luck :)
Course by Michael Hampton
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About instructor
Chief Creative Officer at Little Bang Inc.
I'm especially passionate about character design, creature design, and sculpting.
