Frederator Blogs - Latest Comments in Frederator Studios Blogs | Channel Frederator Blog | Character Design

Re: Frederator Studios Blogs | Channel Frederator Blog | Character Design

ElliotCowan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:42:53 -0000

Indeed they are.
I am suggesting that artists (particularly young, impressionable artists) who pay close attention to this run the risk of creating exactly the kind of characters they are trying to avoid.

Re: Frederator Studios Blogs | Channel Frederator Blog | Character Design

floydbishop — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:56:31 -0000

I totally agree, but what these articles try to do is to put into words the thought process that character designers are already doing out of instinct, talent, and training.

Re: Frederator Studios Blogs | Channel Frederator Blog | Character Design

ElliotCowan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:23:50 -0000

"I think that sometimes the needs of the production helped to dictate the design of the characters"

Agreed entirely - but I still think the artists response to the brief was instinctive and not technical.

Re: Frederator Studios Blogs | Channel Frederator Blog | Character Design

floydbishop — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:40:41 -0000

You are right on about the evolution of a character over time, though I don't know that I would say they didn't think about the design that much at the time they were created. I think that sometimes the needs of the production helped to dictate the design of the characters. For example, Fred Flintstone lends himself very well to the kind of animation used for the show he was in. Mickey Mouse as we know him would not work as well if animated in that style.

I think the articles help give people a broader base of things to keep in mind when designing a character.

Re: Frederator Studios Blogs | Channel Frederator Blog | Character Design

ElliotCowan — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:26:24 -0000

Personally, I think breaking down the essence of character design into categories (functionality, aesthetics, distinctness, personality, originality) is a twofold problem:
1) I think it's a great way to come up with sluggish, uninteresting designs.
2) It gives young people a whole new set of words to throw around instead of getting down with the business of actually doing something useful.

Don't get me wrong - I think the academic examination of character design is possibly an interesting pursuit, but I doubt there are many designers of classic characters (which were never designed really - they evolved) who thought much about it at the time.
Mostly they could just draw really, really well and knew when it felt right.