Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

TUTORIAL // my character design process - subtitled (Patreon)

Published:
2024-03-07 09:40:49
Edited:
2024-08-26 10:15:35
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Here's the subtitled version of my tutorial on my character design process. Be sure to read the description of the first video post for more information about the tutorial, as well as a cheat sheet that summarizes a lot of the info from the video. Hope you enjoy it ❤

Files

Comments

SilentEve

Oh my, I couldn't be more thankful to you for this tutorial!!! I work as a character/concept artist, and I had so many doubts about showing 'too much'—but your words really helped with that! I don't usually get feedback on whether it's good or bad or helpful; it's mostly 'hmm,' so you help me to understand why it's important, and I'll stick to it! x) I also have a few questions on that matter; let me know if you'd prefer me to add them to the Q&A: 1. I hear a lot about generic design or cliché, as you've mentioned, and sometimes I don't really understand what they mean. What does 'generic' mean? I know it's akin to 'common sense,' but how do you break away from it if, for example, the brief describes something like: an ordinary girl living an ordinary life, with no special talents or hobbies. This description is incredibly vague, but they want her to shine like a diamond. Then what? I could ask for something interesting in her personality or a hobby, but what if there are none? I'm taking an extreme example because I once faced a situation where I was asked to design an ordinary character, but all the options I could think of were too generic for the client. 2. What if the client thinks that your sketch is 'too sketchy' and asks for perfect line art every time you do a sketch? There can be a bunch, so it takes time. Also, I think it's a bit unreasonable to ask for something like that. What if I do research? Then, for clear line art, I need to solve all the problems and be very decisive about what looks how, in which style, shapes, etc.—and that's a lot for a starting point. 3. And the last one, what if the feedback you receive is something like 'your design looks undecided, like you're unsure about the shape of what you did? Let's take, for example, the flame lady-lava you did, and the feedback is about how it all works and how the flame becomes her body, and whether the lines you've made are final? Stuff like that. I'm not sure I explained it well; let me know if you need more info on that. Thank you again for the amazing tutorial!

Walt McNally

I haven’t even watched this yet and I’m excited. As someone who’s trying to get into character design/vis dev this is gonna be right up my alley. Thanks 😊

Phelorena

This is so helpful, I always struggle with this part. I know the theory for the most parts but in my head theres always this big "okay but HOW" and this really took me a big step further!! Thank you so much!

Loish
>>131703784

i'm so happy to hear that! Sometimes it's just way more helpful to watch someone else's process, than it is to hear a bunch of technical tips and advice. That's often the case for me!

Loish
>>131693123

hey Eve! Thank you so much for your incredibly kind words! I'm really glad you enjoyed this tutorial - and I'm glad that you have some answers on whether you are showing too much or too little! I think in the end each artist has to decide for themselves what's helpful to show, but I think it's important to prioritize showing your thought process over showing your best art. As for your questions : 1. Generic means a non-specific, non-distinctive design - just basic and not really standing out. I think if you were asked to design an ordinary character, it's fine to just stick with something that is very basic or generic. sometimes people are really looking for a more simple and accessible design. Sometimes clients are looking for something unique and interesting that stands out from the rest. and in that case I think it's fine to start with the most cliché idea that you have, even if the client is expecting something more unique. it gets your thought process going and it gets the most straightforward ideas out of the way so that you can work towards something more distinctive and unique. I think in the case of the specific job that you were talking about, it might help just start with a plain character and then think about ways to add features to them or develop a kind of look that would be more interesting and eye catching. if the client feels that some of the initial sketches are just not interesting enough, that can help you to figure out what they don't want to move more closely towards what they do want! 2. I personally think that it's unrealistic to expect perfect line art in a concept art process. It's very time-consuming and very draining on the artist to be making very neat artwork when they have not yet finalized the idea. I personally would not go along with that, and would rather explain that my initial sketches are going to be rough and the final artwork is going to be more clean. But if you want to adapt to a project like that and meet the needs of the client, that's a choice you can make! I just personally would not make that one because I know that I wouldn't be able to tolerate it. And I know that it would get in the way of being able to really develop an idea. Not every client is a great fit for every artist and that's OK too - although I know that sometimes we don't have a luxury of saying no to a project! It's a tough balance to strike. 3. If my feedback was that the shapes look too undecided and rough, I would definitely take that as a cue to further define them in a next round! Some clients are looking for more detail and definition than others. Most of the time they do understand that the first sketches are just an initial step and that there is room to further develop and finalize the things that they would like to see - that's something I discuss beforehand so that they know what to expect. I hope this answers your questions! And thank you for the kind words on the tutorial, I'm so glad you liked it!

Sophie Meyer

Thanks for this tutorial! Really helpful! It reminded me what the basic and most important parts of character design are and how to keep the process fun! I sometimes start and overcomplicate things very early.

Loish
>>132081827

i think that's a really common struggle ^^; it always helps to remind myself that it's important to just keep moving forward!

Juleah Sheridan

This was wonderful Loish! You truly had me thinking out of the box here, I deeply loved this exercise and found this very interesting and beautiful. Thank you for always inspiring us and being such an incredible art master and teacher 💓 I feel honored to have the privilege of studying your art and have seen tremendous growth in a short amount of time from my art. You taught me how to let go and be loose, and not to worry about every precise thing which has really helped me let go and enjoy the process of art and grow. Very grateful for this and would love to see more character design things, it’s so motivating. I love the characters and concept you made for this video so much 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️

Klara Rose

I just finished watching! Thank you so much for making that I just signed up to your Patreon 45 minutes ago and I am already getting inspired❤️

Loish
>>133723334

i'm so glad you enjoyed it! and thanks so much for supporting me here on patreon :)

Loish
>>133571922

I'm so happy to hear this! thank you so much for your kind comment :) I'm always so overjoyed to hear that this is the effect my videos have, because I feel it's so important for artists to feel more free and spontaneous in the work they make. I really appreciate that you took the time to write this out :)