Introduction to Design of Characters for Animation and Video Games

Start the course by getting to know Jean Fraisse, who tells you about how he taught himself to design characters and create stunning concept art. He also gives you some background information about his professional career and biggest influences.

Begin with the basics of human anatomy and learn how to draw different body parts (head, torso, arms, hands, hips, legs, and feet) in a simplified way by studying proportions and shapes as well as bones and muscle groups.

Analyze different characters from well-known animations to understand why they work and keep these features in mind for your final project.

Discover how to build engaging characters who convey a range of emotions to your audience and see how to position them in different poses while adhering to the principles of weight, movement, and body dynamics. Then, find out how to create striking facial expressions and apply everything you've learned to design your first character.

Once you're done, Jean explains the main differences between animation and video game characters so you know what to focus on, and what to avoid, when creating each kind.

Finally, choose your favorite characters and put them together in a lineup for your final project. Now you know how to design characters using Jean's step-by-step approach.