CHARACTER DESIGN

FRUIT WITH FEELINGS! WITH JOHANNA FORSTER - a Character Design Quarterly Art-ickle : Episode 256 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

256 • FRUIT WITH FEELINGS! WITH JOHANNA FORSTER : A CDQ ART-ICKLE

In this one lilDENNiS and I look at a juicy lil article, or Art-ickle, entitled ‘Fruit with Feelings! with Johanna Forster’, from issue 20 of the Character Design Quarterly magazine, by 3dtotal publishing.

Some of the topics covered on this one include:

The Language of Lines,
How Emotions Are Everything,
Johanna Forster’s Lovely Shapes,
Staying in the Sketching Phase,
Body Language,
Capturing Contrasting Emotions,
The Grunlings Characters by Johanna Forster,
Drawing Beans,
Asking What Does and Doesn’t Need To Be In Your Drawing,
Being Playful,
and Ways To Overcome the Mind While Drawing.

Hope you find this one as tasty as I did :)

A MOTION MASTERCLASS WITH JOAKIM RIEDINGER - a Character Design Quarterly Art-ickle : Episode 253 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

253 • A MOTION MASTERCLASS WITH JOAKIM RIEDINGER : A CDQ ART-ICKLE

In this one I look at a lil article, or Art-ickle, entitled ‘A Motion Masterclass with Joakim Riedinger’, from issue 22 of the Character Design Quarterly magazine, by 3dtotal publishing.

Some of the topics covered on this one include:

Capturing Motion,
Thumbnailing,
Action and Reaction,
Entanglement,
Awareness While Drawing,
Learning Rules,
Action Lines,
Thinking and Feeling,
Asking Questions,
Symmetrical Poses,
and How Creating Art is All About The Mind!

Thumbnail for this episode shows the Dancer from the art-ickle, drawn by Joakim Riedinger.

Hope you had fun with this one too :)

OPEN AND CLOSED POSES WITH VICTORIA KOSHELEVA - a Character Design Quarterly Art-ickle : Episode 203 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

203 • OPEN AND CLOSED POSES WITH VICTORIA KOSHELEVA : A CDQ ART-ICKLE

In this one I look at an article entitled ‘Open and Closed Poses with Victoria Kosheleva’, from issue 6 of the Character Design Quarterly magazine, by 3dtotal publishing.

Some of the topics covered during this beautiful article include:

The Importance of Pose,
Balancing Opposites,
Body Language,
Open and Closed Poses,
Asking Questions,
Facial Features,
The Power of Props,
Lines, Shapes, and Colours,
and Victoria Kosheleva’s Fun Character Designs.

Thumbnail for this episode shows the fox character, by Victoria Kosheleva.

Co-host lilDENNiS enjoyed this one, hope you do too :)

THE PERSONALITY TEST WITH ILSE HARTING - a Character Design Quarterly Art-ickle : Episode 191 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

191 • THE PERSONALITY TEST WITH ILSE HARTING : A CDQ ART-ICKLE

In this one I look at an article entitled ‘The Personality Test with Ilse Harting’, from issue 18 of the Character Design Quarterly magazine, by 3dtotal publishing.

Some of the topics covered on this one include:

The Importance of Lines and Shapes,
Planning Your Colours,
Limiting Being Overwhelmed,
Seeing Your Characters as Actors,
Asking Questions,
The Circular Relationship Between Writing and Drawing,
Using Online Clothes Shops for Reference,
How Static Poses can still have Energy and Personality,
The Power of Props,
and How It Always Comes Back to Drawing.

Thumbnail for this episode shows the first gamer girl character, by Ilse Harting.

I love Ilse’s characters, they’re so full of fun … hope you had fun with this one too :)

CRAFTING ADORABLE CHARACTERS WITH FABIOLA COLAVECCHIO - a Character Design Quarterly Art-ickle : Episode 179 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

179 • CRAFTING ADORABLE CHARACTERS WITH FABIOLA COLAVECCHIO : A CDQ ART-ICKLE

In this one I take a look at an article entitled ‘Crafting Adorable Characters with Fabiola Colavecchio’, from issue 12 of the Character Design Quarterly magazine, by 3dtotal publishing.

Fabiola Colavecchio’s characters are full of so much fun, as is this article :)

Some of the topics include:

Big Eyes,
The Power of Props,
Mischievous Looking Fur Balls,
Baby Dragons,
Sketches Vs Finished Drawings,
The Feeling of Colours,
Subtle Details,
Finding Inspiration,
Diminishing Returns,
and How The Meaning of Life is About Finding Balance.

Thumbnail for this episode shows the Mischievous Fur Ball illustration entitled Caveman, by Fabiola Colavecchio.

Hope you have fun with this one.

CHARACTERIZE THIS: ANGRY CLOUD WITH EMMA CORMARIE - a Character Design Quarterly Art-ickle : Episode 174 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

174 • ANGRY CLOUD WITH EMMA CORMARIE : A CDQ ART-ICKLE

A look at a lickle ickle article entitled ‘Characterize This: Angry Cloud with Emma Cormarie’, from issue 15 of the Character Design Quarterly magazine, by 3dtotal publishing.

This was such a cool article to study from, leaving me super inspired to give it a go myself!

Some of the topics include:

Textures and Shapes,
Being Mindful of Your Keywords,
Drawing Exercises,
What Makes a Character Angry?,
Unity in your Design,
The Relationship between Background and Character,
Using Yourself as Reference,
and lilDENNiS sees his reflection for the first time.

Thumbnail for this episode shows the Angry Cloud illustration by Emma Cormarie.

Hope you love this one as much as I did.

STORYTELLING AND ATMOSPHERE WITH RAQUEL VILLANUEVA - a Character Design Quarterly Art-ickle : Episode 171 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

171 • STORYTELLING AND ATMOSPHERE WITH RAQUEL VILLANUEVA : A CDQ ART-ICKLE

A look at an ickle article entitled ‘Storytelling and Atmosphere with Raquel Villanueva’, from issue 16 of the Character Design Quarterly magazine, by 3dtotal publishing.

This was a brilliant article to study, I came away from it with a greater appreciation of the power of Colour in telling a Story.

Some of the topics include:

How Everything has Story,
The Power of Exploration,
Ways to Keep it Simple,
Pushing Yourself without Taking Too Many Risks,
How the Initial Idea is Key,
The Connection between Artist, Character, and Viewer,
Exploring Designs, Colours, Inspiration,
Keeping the Feelings Flowing,
Being Mindful of the Story You Want To Tell,
Shape Language,
Using Reference,
and we look at Raquel Villanueva’s cute lil nose.

Thumbnail for this episode shows the articles finished illustration by Raquel Villanueva.

Hope you love this one.

15 TIPS FOR BETTER CHARACTER DESIGN WITH DAVID MELLING - an imagineFX Art-ickle : Episode 170 of the So Free Art Podcast, with Artist Sophie Lawson

170 • 15 TIPS FOR BETTER CHARACTER DESIGN WITH DAVID MELLING : AN IMAGINEFX ART-ICKLE

A look at an ickle article entitled ’15 Tips for Better Character Design with David Melling’, from issue 201 of the art magazine ImagineFX.

This was such a cool article to study from; not only is it full of cute characters, and beautiful images, but it’s bursting with character design wisdom bombs too!

Some of the topics include:

Character Connection and Relationships,
Gesture Drawing,
Character Sheets,
Character Design Body Language,
How Everything has Story,
A new Fun Drawing Exercise called Sequential Drawing,
Anthropomorphic Design,
Exaggeration,
Expressive Silhouettes,
Being Open Minded,
How Keywords are Key,
Mickey Mouse’s Ears,
Silent Narrative,
and we have some Kitty Kisses :)

The thumbnail for this episode shows the character Ruffles by David Melling.

Hope you enjoy this one.