Learning Character Development and Design

The heart of most narrative art lies in the characters in the story. This course will reveal the "secret sauce" that makes a character memorable, beloved, villainous, funny, or celebrated. Mary Jane Begin—illustrator, author, and Rhode Island School of Design professor—explores character design from all corners of the illustration universe, including cartoons, comics, feature animation, gaming, kid's books, and advertising.

Mary Jane explains how the components of good character design can be broken down into concrete elements. She shows how body shape, posture, anatomy, facial expression, costume, color, movement, and abstract aspects like archetypes and environment bring a character to life. The lessons are illustrated with examples from Mary Jane's books, as well as famous, heart-warming characters created by a group of extraordinary character designers.

Learning objectives
Capturing the heart and soul of a character
Using the right tools
Relying on archetypes
Adding motion
Painting shapes and silhouettes
Understanding anatomy and proportion
Creating easy-to-read facial expressions
Coloring your character
Designing a cast of characters
Making fantasy creatures believable
Going from 2D to 3D