Character Concepts

I really love this part of the concept process. Fleshing out shapes and building up hopefully memorable character ideas.

I have until only recently been drawing directly on the ipad using these two awesome apps (Procreate and Adobe ideas).

I recently listened to a Chris Oatley podcast with artist extraordinaire Brett 2-D Bean (here).

Chris asked Brett about his approach to character design. Brett mentioned that he gathered very little reference to begin with. This freed him up to explore ideas and also not become a slave whilst reference gathering.

This is something that I have tried to aim for whilst drawing in the initial concept stage. The biggest reason for this is to find 'my voice'. This doesn't necessarily mean finding 'my style' per say. My voice is what am I trying to communicate. It just so happens that my work is humorous and lighter in content as opposed to darker themes. This is what I am drawn to (no pun intended).

Disclaimer...hehe. Brett did go on to mention that when he first started learning to draw he had to use reference. Couldn't agree more. As you become more confident (which means after drawing hundreds upon hundreds of images) you will not rely as much on drawing (whatever).

As always, thanks for visiting and have a great week ahead.

Tools used: (both on ipad)

• Adobe ideas (app)
• Procreate (app)