Character drawing. Creating a female character

Character- a fictional animate person with a certain character and unique external data. IN fine arts characters are divided into two main categories: animated and static. The fundamental difference between an animated character and a static one is the special construction of the character, thanks to which the work of animators with the hero will be significantly easier.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Finding a character image is the most responsible and interesting stage. When choosing an image, it is necessary to take into account not only the personal qualities of the hero, but also his harmonious combination with the world around him. Also, the character must be expressive and not hackneyed, and have a certain amount of charm.

First, you need to study the introductory materials (TOR, script, literary and director's description of the characters), communicate with the director, who will try to convey his thoughts to the artist as accurately as possible. Familiarize yourself with the stylistic features of the project, which the production designer will tell you about, or the director, if at the stage of creating the characters there is no production designer on the project yet. Based on the results of getting acquainted with the project, it is worth making a number of sketches, noting for yourself some of the most important points, which will be useful in further work with the character.

First of all, you need to present the most striking episodes from the script you read, and try to sketch out simple concepts for the most impressive scenes involving the main character. This is done in order to feel the main characteristics of the future character - his weight, posture, physique.

After you have managed to catch an image that suits your opinion, one that has blurry but more or less clear outlines, you can begin to clarify the style - searching for the shape of a hairstyle, clothes, personal items without going into details. At this stage, you should not cling to some successful image. The artist's task is to draw a lot various options unrelated, from which the most successful one will then be selected.

We should also not forget that the character should be easy to “read” for the viewer. To check the “readability” of a character, just paint it black, after which the character’s silhouette should be recognizable and look quite impressive.

The next stage is “running in” the character.
The chosen, but still crude, option is played out in action. To do this, you will need to draw the character in his characteristic poses. As work progresses, unnecessary parts are eliminated and replaced with new ones that are more suitable for the hero and more convenient to use.

TO final stage In creating a character's image, as a rule, they begin after approval and adjustment of the most suitable option chosen by the director (customer). Now the artist’s task is to work with details and complete the image.

Finishing touch- character painting.
The final version of the character in color is accompanied by comments indicating the color values ​​​​used for each individual element images in RGB or CMYK (depending on the software used on the project). The use of non-traditional style when applying light and shadow to a character implies additional development of the light-shadow scheme.

CHARACTERISTIC POSE OF THE CHARACTER

Characteristic poses of the character complement the description literary image hero. They help visually show the character of the hero, his habits and behavior. The key task of the artist is to convey the director’s idea as accurately as possible, endowing the hero with qualities characteristic of him (according to the script).

The characteristic poses of the character are “Natural” (relaxed), “Habitual” (reflexive) and “Staged” (emotional):

- "Natural poses" - these are the calm states of the character in a standing position with support on one leg. Less often, both legs are supporting, with an evenly distributed center of gravity.

- "Habitual poses" - body positions characteristic of the hero, taken reflexively in accordance with the character’s mood, for example: thoughtfulness, excitement, fatigue.

- "Poses" - deliberately exaggerated poses taken by the hero in the presence of a third person, for example: flirting, delight, surprise, shame.

Regardless of the type, the pose should be quite bright and expressive. The desired effect is achieved through posture*, placement of arms and legs, head position, facial expressions and gestures.

Fun fact:

When creating characters, many artists involuntarily endow their heroes with a crooked, medically speaking, posture. If we consider Various types posture according to F. Staffel, then curvature of the spine is inherent in almost all types:

- "Plano-concave"the back is characteristic of women. This arch of the back emphasizes well female forms in the waist and hips area;

- "Flat back"typical of the military when it is necessary to exaggerately show bearing;

- "Round back", as a rule, belongs to a lanky, insecure young man or a tall, thin old man;

- Monsters with a powerful torso have a “concave-round back.”

The position of the head, combined with facial expressions and gestures, more expressively conveys the character’s mood. The head has five main positions: straight, down, up, up, sideways, to the side.

The position of the character's head is directly related to the hero's mood. For example: a raised head will emphasize confidence, arrogance or daydreaming; omitted - rage and aggression, fatigue or sadness; slightly lowered and tilted to the side - embarrassment and flirting, and in a straight position - surprise, fear or irritation. Despite a certain pattern, there are techniques that violate these principles, but this can already be considered an exception to the rule.

Unlike experienced artists who rely on their experience and intuition, novice artists would do well to read special literature on the psychology of facial expressions and gestures, especially since this topic is quite interesting and helps the artist to identify certain patterns in human behavior independently.

CHARACTER BUILDING

When creating an animated character, the artist must not only imagine how the character will move, but also clearly explain this to the animator, who will subsequently work with the character. To do this, the character is disassembled into so-called “blanks”, after which drawing a character diagram.

As we know, any complex object comprises simple shapes(circles, ovals, triangles, rectangles). The artist’s task is to analyze his character in detail into simple forms, show how they are connected on axial lines and clarify the proportions. The character building scheme should be simple, logical, convenient and understandable. The more competently the construction scheme is thought out, the easier it will be further work with the character. It is worth noting that the technique of creating a character is individual for each artist - some immediately build a character when creating it, others draw a character without building, focusing on their experience and intuition. Nevertheless, regardless of the technique for creating a character, you will still have to disassemble it into “blanks”, unless of course we are talking about a special animation style, where only the image is important, and the construction of the character does not play a big role.

This is what the character might look like

There are often times when there is a need to adapt (adapt) a static character from an illustration for an animation project. To do this, it is enough to re-build the character, breaking it into “blanks”, at the same time simplifying the small details.

An example of a static character adapted (adapted) to animation.

The work with animals follows the same pattern as with people.

CHARACTER EMOTIONS

Any character should be able to express their emotions to current events. The brighter and more varied the character’s facial expressions, the more interesting you can play out his reaction to a particular event. The style of the character sets the framework within which emotions are created in an exaggerated form, the degree of which depends on the “cartoonishness” of the character.

Depending on the complexity of the project, the emotion map can vary greatly. Specific emotions and their quantity required for a particular project are usually determined by terms of reference.

CLARIFICATION OF DETAILS

Accessories, clothing items and hairstyle of the character play important role in creating a unique, memorable image. In the process of developing details, it is important not only to visually embody the idea of ​​​​the arrangement of additional elements in the character’s image, but also to clarify how these details “work”. The artist must understand the functional purpose of the elements he has invented, their practical use, interaction with the character, how they will move in the animation, to convey this visually in a set of character development documents.

Additional sheets are created to clarify the details.

COMPARISON TABLE

Comparative table of characters (line) - a lined sheet on which all the characters are placed animated film in such a way that, using comparative lines or a scale grid, it is possible to clearly demonstrate the proportional relationship of the characters (primarily their height).

Episodic characters, as a rule, are not included in comparison table. A separate sheet is created for them, linked to the “ruler” using a scale grid. Or a comparison is made with the hero from the table (with whom the episodic character interacts).

Popular artist Aaron Blaise explains how to draw dynamic characters in Photoshop using traditional thinking.

In this tutorial, Aaron Blaise will explain how he creates realistic characters and how he uses various references in the process.

1. Create a sketch

Uploading the document gray, which will allow you to more accurately place light and dark accents. Create a new layer on top gray background and call it Rough Sketch. At this stage, we draw freely, without focusing on the details. We indicate the main proportions and features of the character.

2. Detailing the sketch

Lower the sketch's Opacity to about 30% and create a new layer called Enhanced Sketch. Now we draw the details - for example, wrinkles, folds, nose.

This stage is very important, since the resulting sketch will serve as a sample (template) for the further drawing process.

3. Apply primary colors

The main color is the one that our character initially has, without the influence of light or shadow on him. Create a new layer under the drawing layers and call it Primary Color. At this stage, the author uses a large brush that resembles a natural brush. The author starts with green as it is the dominant color. Carelessly apply green color per character.

Next, add other colors for variety. At this stage you can also work quickly, clearly and without thinking about the details. Time to experiment! The resulting drawing will be the basis for further coloring.

4. Create the first layer with shadows

Create a new layer on top of all the others, call it Shadows. Set the blending mode to Multiply. This will allow the base color to be visible through the shadow layer. We begin to sketch out the shadows with the selected cool mid-tone color.

At this stage you can also do everything quickly, but be careful.

5. Draw direct lighting

Next, create a new layer on top of the others and call it Direct Lighting. At this stage it is very important to remember the temperature of the flowers. The author uses cold neutral color for depicting shadows, but for highlights - warmer and purer colors.

We begin to paint in the lighter areas where the light falls on the character. We use warm green and yellow shades. We see that our character is already starting to take shape!

6. Designate reflected light

Create a new layer below the Direct Light layer and call it Reflected Light, then choose a color that is slightly warmer and brighter than the shadow color surrounding it.

The key factor here is caution and subtlety: draw carefully.

7. Designate highlights

Create a new layer and name it Light glare. Open the Color Picker and select one light color and significantly increase its brightness. Then we draw directly the highlights where they are needed. The author also adds glow around the edges and deeper shadows.

8. Create an autumn background

Next, create a new layer under all other layers and call it Background. Using a natural brush, we very quickly begin to sketch the background“autumn” colors that contrast favorably with the green character.

We paint the background with darker shades to make the character stand out better. Then click Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) and set the blur to 25 pixels.

9. Use photo references

The elephant skin texture will help create cool skin for our character! Select a small section using the Lasso tool, drag it onto our illustration and lower the Opacity level to 30%. Then click Image – Correction – Exposure (Image> Adjustments> Exposure), increase the Gamma value and adjust the Exposure value to increase contrast. So we adjust these settings along with the Opacity level until the texture fits perfectly into our drawing.

10. Set the texture for our character

Next, go to Editing – Free Transform (Edit>Free Transform), change the size of the texture and then select Editing – Transformation – Warp (Edit> Transform>Warp). Now we can shape the texture so that it fits the shape of our character.

11. Adding highlights to textures

At the end of this stage, the texture should look like part of the character, that is, completely merge with it. Create a new layer on top of all the others and call it Light highlights on textures. Then we select a graceful thin brush and begin to paint highlights on top of the textures, where the light falls.

12. Draw spots on the character’s skin

Create a layer below the “Light highlights on textures” layer and call it “Spots”. Set this layer to the blending mode Multiply.

Now, using mid-tones of green and red, we carefully begin to draw spots and stripes on the character’s skin. This will make it more interesting and also help define the shape of the body.

13. Draw elements in the foreground

Create a new layer on top of the others and start freely drawing leaves and branches on foreground. And since all this will be blurry, there is no need to carefully draw all the details. However, the author carefully creates these elements using multiple layers.

When we have drawn everything, connect all the layers and go to Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur. Set the blur to 35 pixels. This will give the image a nice depth.

14. Final touches

Copy all layers with the character and combine them into one layer. Then we make all the original individual layers invisible. Select the Blur tool and the Airbrush setting. Set it to about 300 pixels and 50%.

Now we begin to blur those areas on the character layers that we want to make out of focus. This is done in order to attract the viewer to the main part of the drawing - in this case, the character's face. This will also give the drawing a certain photographic look. Finally, we straighten the image and adjust the exposure and saturation to make the drawing look bright and beautiful.

Children are the main audience for watching various kinds of cartoons. A good cartoonist is one who can extract the main features of an object or person and simplify them to attract a child's attention. Masters such as Walt Disney, Hanna and Barbera, Chuck Jones, Jim Henson, Walter Lantz and many others, by studying children's opinions and perceptions, achieved the charm of the whole world with their magical and timeless characters. IN this lesson we will look at how to draw easily and correctly cartoon characters, from which both children and adults will be delighted.

The final version will look like this:

Lesson details:

• Complexity: Average
• Estimated completion time: 2 hours

Understanding Human Perception

Man is a creature who has very interesting feature- we can transform parts that form a very complex structure or object into a fairly simple form.

Can you tell that the two images below represent the same object?

It may seem strange that you can look at an image and say it's a car.

What happens to most people, except artists, who cannot retrieve from their memory all the details of a car, the appearance of a dog, or the facial features of a child? They begin to associate very simple and primitive forms with specific features of each object. So, for example, how many children came home from school with a piece of paper like that in their hand and said, “This is Mom and Dad!”?

You don't want to draw like that, do you? If you don't want to, let's pick up a pencil and start drawing!

1. Creating your first character

The basic shape of a cartoon shape will be a circle. A circle is all it takes. From the circle you can determine the basic proportions of the character's head.

Swipe vertically and horizontal line, which intersect in the center of the circle, as in the picture below:

Step 1

We draw oval-shaped eyes with a slight slope on the sides. Necessaryleave a gap between the eyes about the same size as the eye.

Step 2

At the top of the eye ovals, lightly mark the character’s eyelashes. Draw above the eyelasheseyebrows that convey a kind of surprise. Draw the shape of the eyebrows that you get, in the future you will adapt to your own style.

Draw the pupils so that they are centered (this is a very effective tactic used by cartoonists to make characters look more likable).

Advice: To give more life eyes, you can draw a small line under them to imitate wrinkles.This is another very interesting tactic that gives a special flavor to the character’s facial expressions.

Step 3

Now the most interesting point lesson. It is at this stage that we will determine what our character will be: thin, fat, young, old. Our character will be young.

Drawing the jaw:

Step 4

The nose will be from the front. In order not to use a lot of details, let's draw it in general outline. Quite often the nose is drawn in detailon one side of the face due to the fact that the light falls on only one side.

Step 5

Our character is a child. Making a mouth - something simple and with an expression of innocence.

Please note that in cartoon style Children, regardless of gender, have a fairly simple mouth shape without lips.

Step 6

The shape of the ears is quite simple.

Step 7

Finishing the boy's haircut.

I don't know how to draw hair. Help!

In order to draw perfect hair, you don't need to be a designer or stylist. No the right way draw hair, so you should try until you get the right one for this case. Just remember that hair shape can convey certain personal qualities character. Oddly enough, hair can express age, rebellion, conservatism. Incredible, right? What's your hairstyle?

Accurate and quick way Drawing hair for cartoons is all about finding the appropriate photo on the Internet! Once you've found the perfect style, place an example image next to your tablet or piece of paper and start designing a simplified version of it.

First character completed successfully! Congratulations!

Now let's work on a different character using the same template as for the boy.

2. Creating an older character

Step 1

Let's start with the eyes. This time we will draw faster, adding wrinkles, eyebrows and eye pupils. Please note that we didn't change much, but we just widened the eyebrows a little. Older people have thicker eyebrows, which take up more space on the forehead. We draw eyelashes in the same way as in the previous version.

Step 2

The chin will be slightly larger than the previous character.

Step 3

Create the nose. The shape is completely different. Please note that the nostrils are located very close to the bottom of the eyes. The idea is to get good result, slightly exaggerating the body parts.

Step 4

Instead of a mouth, draw a large mustache.

Step 5

Add the same ears as the boy. However, the hair will be of a different shape - we will add a little on the sides, and leave a bald patch on top.

Our character is like a mad scientist.

3. Creating a female character

Creating a sister for a boy:

How did it happen so quickly? Very simple... Women have a thinner facial structure. Consider some features:

• thin eyebrows;
• larger and more expressive eyelashes;
• thinner chin;
• small nose with fewer details;
• long hair.

That's all! Once you start to feel more confident, you can draw a few more characters with different details.

4. Facial expressions

Let's draw a girl after receiving the news that the school holidays have come to an end.

Now let's go back to the boy and ask his opinion on this matter:

It feels like he's up to something!

Notice the changes in the boy's face:

• one eyebrow lower than the other;
• eyes half closed;
• added a smile (one side is higher than the other, in line with the eyebrows);
• the pupils moved under the eyelashes.

That's all! Everything is as simple as shelling pears!

5. Draw in profile

Let's draw two circles.

We will create a boy and a girl in profile:

The ear remained in the center of the circle.

Pay attention to these details when composing male and female characters:

• the boy has thicker eyebrows;
• the girl's chin moves forward a little;
• the girl's nose is thinner and sharper;
• A boy has no eyelashes, while a girl has large and thick ones.

6. Playing with angles

Eyes, nose, mouth, ears - all these details make the face change its shape if you look at them from different angles. You can often observe this in cartoon characters.

Notice how real eyes are simplified when converted to cartoon.

The actual shape of the nose is made up of several cartilages. His form is radically simplified in the cartoon.

Understanding how the mouth behaves from different angles has important. Remove excess details and try to maintain only the basic shape of the lips. The ears are also greatly simplified.

Now we will put into practice everything we have learned. Below are circles with arrows that show the direction of view. We can practice our drawing skills in different positions:

Let's mark the eyes for each of the circles:

Now let's add various shapes jaws:

You can complete the drawings yourself, based on the knowledge that was provided to you in this lesson. Remember:

• the face needs to be simplified and rounded;
• exaggerate certain parts of the face and its expression.

Once you have managed to mark the direction of the eyes and select the corresponding chins, try using your creative potential and finish the drawing. If you draw for at least 10 minutes a day using the rules presented here, you will be able to draw cartoon faces as easily as breathing.

Let's summarize the drawing of characters:

1. Draw a circle for the skull;
2. We set the direction in which the character will look;
3. Make an oval eye contour;
4. Draw the pupils of the eyes that look at the nose if you want to create a cute character. Don't forget the eyelashes;
5. Choosing the right eyebrows depending on age and gender;
6. Create the corresponding jaws;
7. Add simple ears without unnecessary details;
8. We search for the required hairstyle on Google and use it in our sketch;
9. Let's celebrate!

Here's what happened:

An example of how to use the same template to create different emotions. Notice that only the eyelashes and eyebrows have been changed. Nothing more!

7. Nationality Research

We are approaching the end of the lesson. I would like to encourage you to continue to experiment with facial expressions and, if possible, explore more of the face. Learn how the eyes and mouth behave in different situations. Take a look at different nationalities and learn their key characteristics.

For example, African Americans have a slightly flattened nose and rounder cheekbones.

Whenever possible, try to draw your characters more realistically. Watch on people's behavior in real life. Look at photographs, study the style of your favorite artist, or look online for inspiration. TOWhen we look at real life, we can extract quality information for our sketches.But remember: observations real world does not mean copying it!You want your character to be unique and not a copy of the real thing, right?

Great job!

Now you know the basic methods that are used by the best animators around the world. Good luck!

We hope you enjoyed the lesson.

Explore other techniques for drawing cartoon characters' heads.

The sky is the limit!

Translation - Duty room.

The character is the main figure of any animation, so he should be given a lot of attention. a large number of attention. In this article, you'll find tips from the pros to help you create vibrant, believable characters, and you'll also get a look at how Pixar creates cartoon characters.

1. Focus on facial expressions

Tex Avery, the creator of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and other beloved characters, never neglected facial expressions when developing his characters, and this made them popular.

Depending on the nature of the character, his emotions can be either pronounced or slightly hidden, therefore, when developing your hero, think about his personal qualities and, based on this, work on his facial expressions. A great example of the work of the legendary Tex Avery was a wolf whose eyes popped out of his skull when he was agitated. On the other hand you can put Droopy, who seems to have no emotions at all.

2. Make your characters special

When Matt Groening created The Simpsons, he knew that he had to offer viewers something special, something that would be different from other TV shows. Therefore, he decided that when the viewer was flipping through the channels and came across a cartoon with yellow-skinned characters, he could not help but become interested in them.

Whoever your character is, try to make him as little similar as possible to all the heroes who preceded him. It should have interesting visual qualities that will be unusual to the viewer. Like yellow skin and four fingers instead of five, for example.

3. Experiment

Rules are made to be broken. At least that's what Yuck thinks. When he creates his characters, he doesn't know who he's drawing. “I listen to music and draw the result, which depends on my mood: strange or cute characters. I always want to draw what interests me. Later I finalize the character,” he says.

4. Understand who you are drawing for

Think about your audience. For adults and children you need to choose completely different instruments interactions, colors, and characters.

“A custom character usually means there’s more space within which I need to fit it, but that doesn’t mean there’s less creativity involved. Clients have specific needs, but they also want me to do my thing. I usually start with the main characteristics and personality of the character. For example, if the eyes are important, then I will build the design around the face so that the main detail stands out,” says Nathan Jurevicius.

5. Explore

“Never work without materials, always look for something to build on. Take photographs of people that can be a good basis for your work. For example, their clothes, hairstyle, face. Even if your character is not human, think about where he got his DNA and go from there. Once you start working with examples, your work will become clearer and more engaging.” – Gal Shkedi.

6. Start simple

“Always start with simple shapes. Squares are good for strong and tough characters, while triangles are ideal if you want to make the character intimidating. Well, if you want a friendly character, then use smooth lines.” – Jorfe

It is worth remembering that no matter how complex a character is, he consists of simple elements. Starting simple, you will gradually layer elements and eventually get a complete image.

7. Technique is not the most important thing

Sketching skills will help you a lot if you want to represent a character in different poses and from different angles. And this skill requires practice. But to create a credible and atmospheric character, these skills are not so important.

“I try to get into the character, highlighting his quirks, combining them and working on them. I draw a lot different options one character until I'm happy with one of them.” – Nick Sheehy

8. Make up a story

“If you want your character to exist in more than just a cartoon or comic book, then you should take the time to come up with a story for him. Where he came from, how he appeared, what happened in his life - all this will help create integrity. Sometimes a character’s history is more interesting than his current adventures.” – Pixar

9. Hone your character

Interesting appearance doesn't always make the character interesting. His character is the key, the character must be consistent in his emotions and actions. Pixar believes that character should be strong unless you're deliberately making your character boring.

10. Environment

Another Pixar rule is to work on the character's environment.

“If you want your character to be believable, then make the world around him believable. Think through your environment and make it work to your advantage.”

And in this video you can follow the process of creating the characters of Karl and Ellie: