Character Design
We’ve touched on the rigours of character creation before but today I want to discuss the actual design of a character. For this, I’m going to assume that you already know what rôle (yes, I’m using obscure accents in English. There’s one in my name, so I’m allowed.) the character is going to play in your comic, so today’s discussion will focus instead on what the character looks like.
Making A Good First Impression
This is not about the Fluffy Bunnies of Happyland
There’s a general assumption that we can tell a lot about a person by the way they look; which is why in comedy it’s always great fun to subvert this. The big, tough rottweiler in Pixar’s Up is funny because he speaks with a high-pitched voice. Nevertheless, before we can subvert the reader’s impressions, we have to be aware of what impression we are intending to create.
Let’s start with our long-suffering Captain Jawbone. He’s a grizzled veteran of the multidimensional Eldritch Wars, which should already be giving us ideas about what he looks like. He’s male, rough around the edges, and probably wearing a military uniform. Chances are he’s muscular, too. But how muscular? What is his uniform like? Is he scarred? Let’s find out.
Now we know the basics, we can start working on the character design proper. Because we know he’s a military man, some designs will fall into place very easily. The chances are he has short hair, possibly cropped on the back and sides, with a flat top. If the style of the comic is more cartoony, he may have a square cut instead, because this gives a more comic feel than the more standardised militaristic appearance.
Get The Look
Who's betting this guy is the physical type?
Facial features will also depend on the style of the comic. If the comic has a cartoony look in general, the uniform will be less detailed – showing only what it absolutely needs to in order to keep the image from being crowded – and the character’s features will be emphasised, too: big, heroic chin; big muscles; large upper body, with comparatively spindly legs (think Garfield here). These are generalisations but overall, it says: this comic is a cartoon comic. Expect hilarity and wacky hijinks.
Alternatively, the Captain could be rendered in a realistic manner, with a detailed military uniform; well-proportioned physique (but probably still muscular – he is a kind of space marine, after all); and probably a hint of stubble on his scarred face. He’ll look grim and determined, because he’s a grim and determined kind of guy. Again, these are generalisations but when you look at a photorealistic comic of a grim, battle-scarred space marine, what do you think? I’m betting it’s not “Hey, this will be funny!”
Will He Fit In?
It’s worth noting that everything we’ve talked about above will fall flat on its face if the rest of the comic isn’t built to accommodate it. Dropping a cute, low-detail, overtly saccarine character into the middle of The Call of Cthulhu would make the character stand out like a sore thumb. Similarly, the more detailed incarnation of Captain Jawbone is not going to look right if he rolls up in Sinfest. Above everything else, the character must fit the setting.
In the end, what a character looks like comes down to two things: what the setting requires (in terms of detail level, proportionality, etc), and what message you’re trying to convey to your readers. If you’re going for a happy-go-lucky, comedy character who will have lots of fun adventures, drawing them as if they just stepped out of the pages of Tales from the Crypt will be a bad idea.
Unless that’s the joke, of course.
I just got an abso-freaking-lutely awesome book on character creation for my birthday that came highly recommended, even by professionals: “Creating Characters With Personality” by Tom Bancroft (who’s done character design and animation for Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, and a host of others). Covers TONS of information in several styles. You can get it from Amazon for under $20.
Oooh! Now that sounds interesting. There’s are many bad things that can be said about the modern Disney but they do excel at characterisation. I’ll have to look that book up.
Also:
1. Character design sheets: You want to catch on early to the fact that a character looks cool from one angle but impossible to render from another. Most important: Does it look as good from a side profile as from the front/3-quarter? Also, flip the design (mirror) and check for design flaws. This really helps.
2. Feasability: Time yourself. How fast can you recreate the same character again and again and again? Because comicking requires this… a lot. If the design is too complicated, it’ll be tedious work and might strain your ability to quickly build up a buffer/work on backgrounds/do promotional work.
3. Colours: Try every possible colour combination you can think of. The right colours really make a difference. Unless you’re doing b&w.
4. Evolution: Even if you think you like a design, why not take a step back, look for flaws, hunt around for different ideas, then come back and try to ‘evolve’ the design? You might be surprised at how much better the end result could turn out. People are often satisfied with a character after the initial design phase and stop there. However, the initial design process usually involves building the character from scratch and this means your brain is working on the meat of the design, like the overall shape, height and gender. You’re looking at the bigger picture and chances are, tiny but significant details are glossed over by your brain. It can improve consistency if you evolve the design before the comic even starts, instead of along the way.
5. Animate: If your design is good, animating the character will be really easy. Make it walk, run, sit down, jump. Make it smile, laugh, cry, look bored, frown. if you can handle all these poses and expressions without too much trouble, you’re usually good to go. Else it’s back to the drawing board.