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Design Essentials

Lesson 1 of 4 Designing Better Characters

This first lesson will cover a lot of ground. Wouter will help you come up with your initial idea, then take you through some of the pieces of software he uses throughout the course. There will be separate sections showing his preferred techniques in Photoshop, Daz 3D, Blender and Fusion 360. Afterwards, you will learn the principles of design, including proportions, shape theory, detail placement, color and value. Finally, you will use everything you learned to create preliminary sketches of your character in Photoshop.

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Lesson 1 Assignments0 of 7 Assignments Completed
  • Dear Mr. Fantasy

    Come up with your own unique character and prop idea for this course. Take some time to shamelessly fantasize about what life is like for that character, and how their prop fits into their daily life. 

  • Macro vs Micro

    Add details to your previously created shapes. Think about the form, scale and functionality of each detail and why it would be there. 

  • Nice to Meet Hue

    Add some color to your previously drawn shapes. Keep in mind the values of the colors you're using. 

  • I Understood That Reference

    Put together a reference sheet for your character and prop. 

  • A Character is Born

    Create some exploration sketches for your character and prop. These drawings are for you, and don't need to look particularly pretty. If you feel comfortable sharing your designs at this stage, post them on the Learn Squared site. If not, you can do so with future lessons instead. 

  • Get in Shape

    Create your own custom shapes by combining multiple simple shapes together. 

    For extra credit in this exercise, try turning the shapes around in your head and drawing them from different angles. 

  • Extra Credit

    Create a few more sketches, this time focusing specifically on the interaction between your character and prop.

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