Concept art question

[MaidenM 2]

Hiya, first proper post here!

 

I've been drawing for most of my life at a hobby level, I am self taught and a bit lazy so I've never really done any serious work. Now I want to try making concept art for my game to get my characters fleshed out... and it's bloody hard. I find myself needing a structure I haven't needed before. Not to mention I'm not very good at full-body drawing and I get bored quickly...

 

Here are two characters I'm working on. I'm trying to go for a simple design, few colours and such.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you guys get your ideas going? Doodling? Planning? Power through? Do you try to go for details or get more of a whole look? Am I thinking too hard about this? Why are arms so difficult for me? _{don't amswer that...}

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

I'm in the same boat as you in that i get bored pretty easily with designing characters.

 

For me, it was much easier when i was younger. I think watching anime and playing (anime/ fantasy/ [genre you want to design characters for]) video games was what mostly made it so easy/ more enjoyable, though.

 

I think we all know that we subtly pick up on what we see around us, and i can imagine that designing outfits for characters-- much like designing outfits for ourselves-- is no different. I think you see a certain "culture" or clothing type often enough, and it becomes easier to build upon: Someone exposed to a lot of goth things, for example, could probably create gothic designs easier than someone who isn't.

 

 

You should also like drawing your character(s), though, and after awhile, for me (again) at least, you may naturally come up with ideas that way.

 

 

It's much harder for me to design characters now that i stopped watching anime and play video games less.

[Gui 61]

If you get bored quickly, it may be a good idea to put your work aside for a moment once you did your best with. Then you come back at it a few days or weeks later, or even months and its flaws will be more noticeable because you'll be considering it with fresh eyes.

 

You can also use a mirror/Flip Canvas Horizontally feature to invert the picture, or if you draw on paper look at the drawing in a mirror (you can also revert the paper and use the sunlight to see your drawing through it): it's useful to get a fresher look at a drawing and helps a lot noticing its flaws.

 

The picture tends to imprint itself in your mind if you work on it for too long, so considering it from a different point of view can be a life saver...

 

As for your sketches: it may be a good idea to add some shadows here and there, to give more volume to these characters – a good lighting is often the main difference between a satisfying drawing and one which still needs work.

[MaidenM 2]

-snip-

 

You definitly have a point, I found it much harder to even begin to draw since I stopped reading manga and watch anime. Video games still help, but it's not the same kind of inspiration for me. And you're right, it's easier when I like drawing them. The girl in my example is way more developed appearance wise and I enjoyed drawing her. The orc on the other hand I knew would be difficult since he's not as fleshed out and I'm quite sure that lowered my preformance.

 

-snip-

 

Very good advice. I have heard it before, but I always forget so it was good to get a reminder. Flipping the canvas was a new one though, I think I will find it useful. Adding more volume might help, I think I will try it. The reason I didn't was mainly because I wanted to get an idea of what I wanted before commiting.

Edited May 9, 2015 by MaidenM