5 Ways to Improve an Original Character

hello there Internet this is Ando's art-tips and I am of course Ando before we kick everything off I have a quick announcement I recently started a Ko-fi account and I'm currently having a promotion where any donations of two or more Ko-fi's to me will get you a free five by seven inch art print of your choice from a list of over 40 options oh I would really appreciate the support but even if you can't donate please check out my social media where I post all of my personal art and updates on things and nobody gives a crap about like whether or not my sandwich was any good anyways onto the show well it has been a while since I made my by far most popular video which is all about what to avoid when creating an original character so how about we flip that concept on its head this is my top 5 things that can save an OC in no particular order let's go number one shaped language when designing a character one thing that tends to get overlooked by the general audience is their structure what parts make up the whole so to speak to the untrained eye a viewer might look at a character without context and come up with an opinion about what the character is like but if you press them farther and asked why they thought that they might say things like they look nice or tired or angry but not really quite lay their finger on it however there's a lot to unpack in character design especially if it's done well one of the best ways to get the audience to associate certain characteristics to a character is to use shape language in the process of structuring them but what exactly is shape language well to grossly simplify it it really boils down to three basic shapes circles squares and triangles it's normally rare to find a character that is made up of only one of these shapes but using a majority of one type in a character design can help get certain reactions from the audience they used mostly circles for example they can give off a soft and unthreatening vibe characters that utilize circles are and cute friendly or young protagonists often exhibit round shapes because the audience is drawn to this shape and in return will be drawn to the character squares are sturdy they give off strong large and immovable vibes and often muscular and heavy characters will show square traits that also gives the impression of a stable level-headed and reliable character as well finally we have triangles these are sharp and uninviting they may give threatening active or untouchable vibes from a character they are often used in antagonists rivals and cunning characters use shape language to your advantage when designing a character and you can help give the audience visual cues to help lead them to a good first impression on what the character is like however there are also plenty of ways you can use shape language to subvert the audience's expectations for some really fun effects speaking of which number two subverting expectations characters that subvert expectation can be really compelling and depending on how their subversion is built up they can create a strong impression when the audience has the proverbial rug pulled out from under them Eduardo's appearance is not at all reflective of his friendly and childlike personality he has large pointy teeth and horns yet he is also easily scared and a bit of a crybaby that subversion of expectation makes him a really unique and interesting character another example is Salim Bradley from Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood his character is built up and portrayed is a small excitable child however when it is revealed that he himself is actually one of the shows of villains it is a genuinely shocking moment for the audience the subversion of expectations for Salim is not only an aspect of his character but is also a huge reveal one that impacts the story greatly this is definitely something to keep in mind when developing your story and also a great way to create a memorable twist for your narrative or create interesting characters that do not fit into a normal archetype the audience has come to expect you can also point out how a character or character do not fall into what is expected of their demographic but still have a character design that reflects their personalities things like a cutesy villain kind monsters or dogs that can read can all be visually represented but still subvert certain expectations that the audience may be used to sometimes all it takes to push a normal character into a truly memorable one is to add that unexpected twist number three strong silhouettes I brought this point up in my posing video but it's also a really helpful point to keep in mind for character design as well if you're looking to give your character a memorable look one thing that can help is using silhouettes in your cast of characters it should be easy to differentiate each of them in a lineup quickly if you have too many characters that look the same or similar it will result in similar silhouettes as well this will make picking them out of a crowd harder or may end up hindering the audience from remembering who is who or confusing characters for each other from scene to scene or panel to panel having distinct and interesting silhouettes really help the audience pick out a character in a crowd and tell at a glance who is doing what ways you can change up the silhouettes from character to character is to mess with height weight body structure posture clothing accessories and hairstyles to name a few even if you're going for a more realistic style of anatomy there's plenty of ways to change up a silhouette and make a character stand out number 4 keeping the story and their story in mind so what's your story about is it a high fantasy adventure a comedic steampunk Western is it slice-of-life all about little moments and big emotions then let the audience know all about it just from your design work alone your characters should reflect the story and enhance the viewers understanding about what kind of experience they're in for if you have a lot of harsh edges and drastic shadows on your characters chances are it's not going to be a light-hearted rom-com but rather something like a horror or psychological drama instead I mean you could definitely try to make it work the wallflower does just that and uses the contrasting style for really great comedic effect so keep that in mind when deciding how you want your story to look and feel it's the story about something that you can apply some aspect of to the style like the ocean or graffiti another aspect of story to keep in mind is what your characters personal story is these are all the private notes on your character that I talked about in the first video your Wisconsin French frys stories if you will but rather than writing them out in a bio you're going to apply them straight to the character what makes them who they are what were they doing before the main story what will they be doing during it and where we leave them at the end know them inside and out take all that you learn and apply it to their design maybe they have a scar from some incident before the story that helps show off a part of their past trauma or dangerous lifestyle or maybe they get it during the story by being injured for someone else's sake is it in line with their character or is it something that came about because of some important change within them what's their backgrounds were they royalty and now they're on the streets would they still have some memento from their past or still retain their regal demeanour you should also consider their story arcs as well do they start out as a brat and become more mature and reliable do they start out cocky and lose their nerve how would any of these changes affect the characters design does the change shift their style of clothing did they lose a limb just time pass and they grow up finally how do they tres are they a member of a specific culture or practice a specific religion that they would showcase in their dress or mannerisms are they modest or do they like showing some skin do they dress their age do they have a uniform and how do they change it up from everyone else's how does the world they live in affect how the people dress is whether a factor are they tied to a specific time period understanding costuming is very important in character design and visual storytelling so important that it's getting its own video for now just consider it an honorary number six and number five interaction so you have a character unless they live in an absolute void or get cast away status stranded they will need to interact with other characters throughout the story at some point these interactions can really make or break a character and even influence the audience's reaction to the story as a whole there are some characters that are a tonic together some that are best when they share the screen and some that just don't work without the other some character interactions are the driving force of the story and some create unforgettable moments that stick with the audience character interaction is integral to the story understanding how a character can change and grow throughout interaction can not only improve the writing of the story but also make your character is much more compelling and interesting overall so really think about what makes a character interaction important and interesting to the progression of the story as well as what will help mold them into who they will be at the end of the story take Finding Nemo for example throughout the movie Marlin meets many characters and undergoes a lot of changes in the beginning of the film it's clear that he is an overly protective father he is overbearing and constantly worrying his interactions with Nemo and the other parents on the reef show this it is only after being separated from his son Marlin is forced to interact with many other fish and animals ones that end up changing his disposition over time he meets the forgetful but lovable dory he faces a support group of sharks a laid-back sea turtle and well Pelican to just name a few throughout his journey he learns patience how to trust the judgment of others how'd it go with the flow and ultimately how to understand how to let go of his old ways Marlin has changed due to these interactions and by the end of the movie although he ends up in the same place he has clearly evolved past who he was at the beginning in part this was due to being pushed into extraordinary circumstances but it was mostly due to who he met what he learned from them and how they interacted with him keep in mind that not all characters will interact in the same way either relationships and power dynamics will often influence the way characters react to each other and it is your job to effectively show this off to your audience as naturally as you can it isn't enough for you to have the character's state that they are best friends but to show them acting that way as naturally as you can through their screen time together also note that a character interaction doesn't need to include any dialogue at all simple visual cues and framing can really drive the point home and in many situations they can even be more effective than speaking even something as simple as moving the angle of a composition can add more context to an interaction changing the camera shot or tilting the angle could help portray the mood of whatever interaction is taking place or even manipulating lighting and reflections these are all tools to help you deliver the most impact when showing off an interaction between characters it's all just a matter of discovering how to use them effectively and finally I'll leave you all off with some supplementary materials first I have designing the Secret of Kells this book is absolutely breathtaking and if you really want an in-depth look into fantastic examples of shape language and designing the visuals around the story's overall concept this is the book for you the designers at cartoon saloon really run with the visual style of illuminated manuscripts and medieval tapestries but adapt them into a really appealing animation style I would really recommend watching the movie if you haven't already as well it is an absolute vision treat next I have an exercise you can use to find interesting ways to subvert expectation for your characters if you have a hard time thinking outside the box and want to shake up your OC designs more simply fill out a list of at least 10 traits that would be obvious choices for the characters archetype next across from those traits fill in the exact opposite trait now try swapping out some of your original traits with the opposites he can actively choose them or pick it random for more of a challenge in the end you'll have some unexpected twists to the character and create an interesting foundation to work off of when developing your character and their story lastly I recommend the book framed ink if you want a bit more information on how to portray interactions through visual cues this book is such a great source for creating compelling and interesting compositions that really help tell us strong stories I also recommend checking it out if you have any interesting creating story boards and comics you'll learn all about how to frame a scene the most effectively making your shots clear and easy to understand and how to really manipulate your compositions to help get your point across to the audience that's all for today's episode everyone I hope this video helped you think about new ways to improve your o'seas and I'll see you all in the next one bye

Channel: Ando

Views: 713,909

Rating: 4.9690619 out of 5

Keywords: Weekly, art, tips, draw, out, loud, ando, antonia, andros, review, critique, criticism, artist, paint, drawing, crit, deviant, deviantart, da, original characters, make characters, ocs, 5 ways to save an oc, 5 things that can save an oc, save an oc, creating characters, things that can kill an oc, 5 things that can kill an oc, how to be a poser, character creation, fix oc, silhouettes, strong silhouettes, shape language, story, interaction, subverting expectation, oc story, how to make a good oc

Id: eNnXd2HzV5Y

Length: 14min 10sec (850 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 10 2018