ISSUE 03 PREVIEW

WELCOME TO CHARACTER DESIGN QUARTERLY 03!

Clearly illustrating the personality of a character is one of the most important tasks a
character designer needs to complete for their design to be successful. Throughout this
issue you will see many ways in which this task can be performed; be that through color,
texture, shape, or pose.

In his tutorial, David Ardinaryas Lojaya translates calm and friendly personality traits
into his fantasy character design, while Alberto Camara discusses how he makes
non-human characters appear more human in their expression. Ida Hem builds a
sense of disappointment into her character to create a cohesive story, and Almu
Redondo shows how she uses standard practices from other disciplines, such

Image © David Ardinaryas Lojaya

as psychology and method acting, to innovate her design choices. In doing so
she presents new ways of understanding and depicting the personality of
her character. Happy reading!

Annie Moss
EDITOR

Image © Matt Howorth

contents
04 12 14 26 38 40 52 62 70 76 78 88 90
BEHIND THE BASHFUL AND DRIFTING FREE MEET THE ARTIST: PERSONALITY IN CREATE A AN INTERVIEW GALLERY EDUCATION PROFILE: CALM BEFORE AN INTERVIEW BALANCING KIND AND
COVER ART: CONFIDENT IN SPACE DANIEL ISLES STYLIZED DESIGNS DISAPPOINTED WITH: ALBERTO ROYAL COLLEGE THE STORM WITH: PETER HAN DESIGN NEEDS FRIENDLY
ANNA CATTISH CHARACTERS GORILLA CAMARA OF ART AND ARTISTRY WARRIOR

The creator of Varun Nair Almu Redondo Illustrator Daniel Matt Howorth Ida Hem takes up Alberto Camara Discover the Learn what one Izzy Abreu offers Concept designer Isadora Zeferino David Ardinaryas
our striking cover transforms shows how Isles discusses explores the random-word talks designing works of Sébastien of the top post- quick tips on and teacher Peter considers meeting Lojaya reimagines
image talks about confident cross-disciplinary his fascinating different ways to brief challenge characters for Le Divenah, graduate courses drawing calm Han explains why design needs a friend as
her influences and characters into techniques can works and his quickly indicate to design a games and what Guillaume Poux, for animation in the and frustrated everyone should while getting a congenial
character growth embarrassed ones aid your designs year of drawing personality down-beat ape studio life is like and Benson Shum world has to offer characters draw with ink the right look warrior
 Anna Cattish | 5

Growing up in the USSR, Anna Cattish

developed a love of drawing and cartoons but

BEHIND THE COVER ART:

there was limited access to a diverse range of
comics for her to explore at the time. However,

ANNA CATTISH
as American and Japanese media became more
accessible and Anna discovered the power of
sharing her work online, a world of possibilities
opened up to her. Now Anna is known for her
striking, attitude-filled characters of edgy,
fashion-orientated young women. As the
creator of this issue’s incredible cover image,
we speak to Anna about the biggest influences
on her distinctive style, and her animation
collaboration with Stas Bashkatov and the
music producer Sasha DZA.

Hi Anna, thanks for letting us When I discovered the internet I started

interview you for CDQ. Can you tell posting my illustrations on a small local forum,
the readers a little about yourself then I started a blog and a DeviantArt account.
and give us some insight into your It was thanks to this online activity that I
career so far? got my first freelance commissions. Many
Hi! Thanks for having me. I always loved to draw. years later, Facebook – and more recently
As a kid I attended a local art school (similar to Instagram – helped me to get discovered by
an extra-curricular activity class) and I would customers worldwide. Truly, I did nothing but
spend my nights drawing my favorite cartoon draw the things I liked and post them on the
characters like Disney’s Chip ’n Dale. But it internet just like everyone else.
didn’t occur to me that this could be a job. I
even spent a year in medical college before I Can you tell us a little about where
suddenly realized I should try a creative field. you are from and how that inspires
I applied to study graphic design instead. I felt your art and character designs?
that the most exciting class at university was I was born in the USSR. Like all kids I loved
book illustration and I found myself enjoying cartoons but in my early childhood I could
drawing again just like when I was a kid. only watch Soviet animation. Besides a few

This page: Mimi the girl

All images © Anna Cattish
12 | Bashful and confident characters Varun Nair | 13

Now, this character is facing away from the

The orangutan here is super confident. He
audience and does not want to be seen.
has a relaxed, comfortable pose with a wide

BASHFUL
Her hands are held close to her body for
open gesture. The arms are held behind the
reassurance, and her shoulders are raised as
neck to emphasize his relaxed state of mind.
she tries to hide her face which shows how

AND CONFIDENT
He is enjoying the attention.
embarrassed she is.

CHARACTERS
Varun Nair

This tutorial illustrates how to show confidence and

embarrassment on male, female, and animal characters.
Aspects such as the subtleties in posing a character, showing
expression through body language, and creating facial
expressions, are the focus of this lesson. The artworks are
made digitally in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet.

This female character is stepping

out in front of her audience. She
This chap has realized that he has left
has relaxed shoulders, her arms
his pants zipper open. As he zips up, the
are wide open, and she has an
slouching back and bent knee helps to
overall controlled pose which
show that the character does not look
shows her confidence. The smile
very comfortable. His head is tilted
on her face, raised eyebrows, and
down, he has worried convex eyebrows,
the implied direct eye contact
and he is biting his lip which shows how
with the viewer emphasizes this
embarrassed he is.
feeling of self-assurance.

To show the feeling of

confidence on a male
character like this,
keep him in an upright
position with a straight
The orangutan has realized the previous awkward
back. He has relaxed
placement of his banana snack. Embarrassed, he
shoulders and his chest
does not want to be seen; hence the silhouette
is puffed out. A subtle
of his pose is almost like an egg or shell. The hand
tilt of the head upwards
on top of the head is a bit dramatic but works well
with a smile helps to
with his clown-like personality. With his other hand
emphasize the feeling
he tries to conceal the banana, the source of his
of confidence.
embarrassment. Mortified, he does not want his
snack anymore!

All images © Varun Nair

 Almu Redondo | 15

Drifting In this tutorial you will encounter one of the

most challenging and exciting scenarios for a
Above: A diagram showing the most
important concepts drawn from
the brief and its interpretation

free in character designer: to design from a narrative

brief! This is the best opportunity to bring extra
depth to your characters through subtleties,
Extracting from
the brief ALPHA STATE ►

space several layers of psyche, and fascinating back

stories. For this reason, every small detail
counts and the challenge to make a solid,
To start with, and to get you into the creative
mindset, highlight the main words from the
brief. Start writing or creating thumbnails
Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it
has to find you working.” What if we
could actually switch inspiration on

ALMU REDONDO
relatable, and “living” character is the most of the ideas, sensations, or feelings these and focus it every time that we need
difficult but interesting part of it. concepts create in you. Those first minutes to? Actually, studies of our brain waves
with the text are fundamental so read through have found we can!
She just wants to connect, with anyone. Almost a year of drifting free To help you achieve this, I recommend you it with a notebook by your side to catch the
in the Pariah asteroid belt, and not one commuter... until now. The print and hang by your desk the wonderful Walt first ideas and thumbnails. It also helps a lot, It has been shown that our brain has
transmission alarm sounds, waking her. She lurches from her captain’s Stanchfield mantra: “Draw ideas, not things; if possible, to capture your initial ideas while five frequency states and one of
chair and peers at the forward screen, then her comms. Is she seeing this action, not poses; gestures, not anatomical relaxed (in your favorite café for example) and them, the Alpha state, is the best one
correct? She rubs sleep from her eyes and runs her hands through long, structures.” To communicate the greatest to read the text slowly. The best ideas come in for creative work. When our brain is
black hair, tying it up out of her face. “Another mining class?” she smiles, amount of story and personality, with the fewest this state of relaxed attention. relaxed, it is also more focused. The
beams. “Finally!” She stands and pulls up the zip of her mining uniform, number of lines, should be your objective, and amazing news is that we can trigger this
the Corps Mining logo half-torn from her breast. Trousers hang slightly this is what we will aim to do in this tutorial. In this case, I choose three keywords from the state of mind with music, meditation,
loose from malnutrition. Barefoot had been the choice footwear option I will go through different techniques that narrative: “miner,” “captain,” and “space.” From or breathing (and coffee always helps!).
for months. She breathes in and tries to look casual as she gives the order will help you achieve this, starting with rough these keywords are several concepts that I I practice this every day and it makes
to open video transmission. The forward screen connects. It’s like staring maps of ideas and thumbnails in pencil, going want to associate with them (which I note in me considerably more effective,
at a mirror. Narrative by Adam J. Smith through ink drawings and digital retouches, to purple) and thoughts of how I would translate productive, and creative. I encourage
the final color and presentation in Photoshop. those ideas into practical visual concepts for you to research it and get the most out
Are you ready? Let’s dive in! the design (which I note in green). of it!
 MEET THE ARTIST

DANIEL ISLES
The comic illustrator talks about his art, how
a year-long drawing challenge affected his
practice, and the positive impact moving to Japan
has had on his work.

All images © 2017 Daniel Isles [Dirtyrobot.work]

 Ida Hem | 41

Understand your
character
The first step is always research. You may think you know
what a gorilla looks like or what a ninja looks like, but
you might be surprised by the new things you discover
while researching. Furthermore, people can tell when
something does not look the way it should. Note down
your initial ideas for the character then search for
images that will support these. Research will often help
a you to expand upon those original thoughts.

You should also take a look at what other artists are

Create a doing. It is okay to take some inspiration from your

favorite designers because it helps you develop your
own personal style. Collect the images you find inspiring

disappointed and derive your choices from that.

Thumbnails

gorilla An empty canvas can render even the most talented

artist intimidated. It can be scary to start creating
thumbnails, because in many ways it is the most personal

IDA HEM
and honest step of the design process. Every single
artist makes thumbnails differently, which can make you
question whether or not your way of doing it is correct.
In this article my aim is to make an in-depth character design tutorial,
and explain parts of a design that you may not even know you are looking As long as you are getting your ideas down and putting
for. I have five randomly generated words to work from: “gorilla,” “ninja,” your pencil to the paper, or stylus to the screen, you are
“disappointed,” “hat,” and “purple.” Using these words as a starting point I doing it correctly. This is the phase where you will make
will guide you from the very first sketch to the finished product as I touch your best work and your worst work. Both of which will
on every technique I find important as a designer. I work digitally using help you grow as an artist.
Adobe Photoshop CC and, as a freelancer who is constantly on the move,
Top: Create a chart of the keywords related to the
the main tool I use is a portable 16" Wacom Studio Pro. character for a better overall view

Right: Draw initial thumbnails of possible body shapes

for your character
 Alberto Camara | 53

A law graduate, Alberto Camara didn’t

believe he could make a career out of his
art until his wife convinced him otherwise.
The self-taught artist moved from his home
in Spain to Finland, where he now leads a
team of artists at Angry Birds developer
Rovio Entertainment. Alberto espouses
the value of a good portfolio, discusses the
ins-and-outs of working at the mammoth
games publisher, and explains how to create
good art for mobile games through an ever-
evolving art-style.

Hi Alberto, thanks very

much for taking the time
to chat to us! Please can
you tell us a little bit
about yourself?
Thank you for inviting me! I am a thirty-
three-year-old Spanish artist from Malaga, a
coastal city in the south of Spain. As long as
I can remember, I have always loved drawing
and especially creating all kinds of different
characters, though I did not pursue a career
as an artist at first. I just believed that it
was going to be impossible to achieve. I
studied law at university, but did not want to
practice it for a living.

AN INTERVIEW WITH:

Alberto
Camara
Discover what being Art Manager at the studio behind Opposite page: Gentle giant
Angry Birds is like and how Alberto creates such This page: Escolopendra is a design of a creature
anthropomorphic non-human characters Alberto has always been terrified of All images © Alberto Camara
62 | Gallery Guillaume "El Gunto" Poux | 63

FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR
AND DESIGNER GUILLAUME
POUX LIVES IN SPAIN
WHERE HE WORKS FOR
CHILDREN'S BOOK
PUBLISHERS AND
INTERNATIONAL GAME
AND ANIMATION STUDIOS.
IN HIS FREE TIME HE
LOVES DRAWING CUTE
BUT BADASS PINUPS.

Gallery
In every issue we hope to inspire you with superb character designs and character-based
artwork from a selection of talented professional artists. This issue features work by:
Sébastien Le Divenah | Guillaume “El Gunto” Poux | Benson Shum
Guillaume “El Gunto” Poux | instagram.com/elgunto | © El Gunto
 Royal College of Art | 71

EDUCATION PROFILE: Hi Birgitta, thank you for taking the time to speak

ROYAL
to us! Please could you tell us a bit about yourself
and your role at the Royal College of Art (RCA)?
Thanks for inviting me for interview! My role at RCA is to lead the direction
of the animation program, make sure that what we teach is current, develop

COLLEGE
animation-related research projects, and to be responsible for organizing the
delivery of all of this. In order to keep the program up-to-date, I also make
sure that I get feedback from different areas of the animation discipline;
from those working in the industry, academia, and experimental practices.

OF ART
My own work is very experimental and research-based, but I have previously
worked commercially and have an interest in all kinds of animation. My
personal work ranges from short films, video installation, and animated
performance art through to drawing on paper.

Find out what makes their MA Animation As an Adobe Certified Expert, I previously freelanced for Adobe as Senior
program one of the top rated in the world Presentation Artist and organizer of Adobe Inspired Media networking
events. This was in combination with being the course director of the
Established in 1837 and named by the QS World University Rankings as the MA Character Animation program at Central Saint Martins, where I
top university in the world to study art and design, the Royal College of Art gained a PhD in “Animation as Performance” and conducted research
(RCA) in London, UK has a long-standing reputation for nurturing creative into character animation.
excellence. As part of the school of communication, the two-year full-time
postgraduate program in animation has evolved with the development of
This page: The animation Inner House by Yuriko Ogawa depicts a
the industry and is now divided into three distinct pathways: Documentary girl who believes she is the cause of her mother’s struggle
Dr Birgitta Hosea
Animation, Experimental Animation, and Narrative Animation. In this issue Head of Animation
Opposite page: In Patrick O’Mahony’s stop motion animation Under The Weather this
Dr Birgitta Hosea, the head of RCA’s MA Animation program, discusses the character, Ed, discovers a secret room which brings about a life changing decision
three specialist pathways offered through the program, what they look for
in an applicant, and what sets the animation program at RCA apart from
other courses.

All images © Royal College of Art

 AN INTERVIEW WITH:

PETER HAN
We discover how teaching and sharing his process has helped
Peter develop his own skills, and learn about the creation of
his first comic The Blacksmith

All images © Peter Han

88 | Balancing design needs and artistry Isadora Zeferino | 89

Balancing design Clothes are often a sign

needs and artistry

of someone’s lifestyle,
To avoid ending up personal taste, social
with a plain-looking rank, and even moral
character, try to values! So, dressing a
add some detail character accordingly
Isadora Zeferino that is mischievous might have a major
or out of place in role in directing your
Developing a character is a project-oriented activity, and the link the design. For audience’s first opinion
between art and design is often clouded by the demands and necessities example, this old of them.
of each field. Having some level of organization in your process will lady has a perpetual
help when approaching this task. Here are some tips to help jumpstart plotting grin.
your design process and find a balance between the different needs
required of your design! Taking into consideration
how the face can be one of
the most telling features
of a character, the area
around it is also important.
Interesting hair shapes can
often be used to frame Shapes are the building blocks of design,
the face and boost, or and it is always refreshing to find a show,
lessen, the appeal of that game, or comic in which the vast amount
particular area. of possibilities are explored. Chubby and
muscular characters should exist too!

K n O W le d g e i s P O W e R ►
Several popular cartoons While developing a character, it is crucial to
have their uniqueness consider how much the viewer should know
attributed to a piece of and what they need to be able to learn
clothing, a weapon, or from the character’s appearance alone. As
another singular prop. Few things express as a character designer you are working to
If they carry it with much personality as convey a visual narrative; the main goal is
them at all times, it will the way your character often learning how to manipulate a design
probably foreshadow some interacts with the world. to work in your favor.
importance in their story. Drawing some key poses
is helpful when getting A strong design will have subtleties that
your message across can be explained later in the narrative
about their personality and clear details that will capture the
and habits. audience enough that they will search for
more information about the character.
The design process is a game of gathering
the information that is truly necessary and
using it to your advantage.

All images © Isadora Zeferino

90 | Kind and friendly warrior David Ardinaryas Lojaya | 91

kind and
friendly
warrior
DAVID ARDINARYAS LOJAYA Basic shapes
The first step when creating a new character is to reference
Characters are one of the most important elements in film projects, the basic shapes and any foundational designs that exist for
especially for animated features, and therefore character design is the figure. Circles, rectangles, and triangles, are the most
a very crucial subject for every animated film. Characters are often common basic shapes to use.
the first thing we see in a film so they must be distinct in some way
to make the viewers interested and willing to watch them. For this tutorial, we have Pablo, who has a very unique
face and body structure. His physical construction can
In this tutorial, I am going to discuss character design for film be broken down into different parts using basic shapes.
animation, and how to make a stylized character based on a real-life His head consists of a circle, a rectangle, and a triangle.
person. Thank you to my concept artist friend Pablo Carpio (who His body is very lean and tall, so it can be grouped as a
makes awesome environments) for being the willing subject for this rectangle. Adding a triangle as well makes the basic body
tutorial. Throughout this tutorial I will be using a Wacom Bamboo structure more interesting.
to create all my works.
This page: Break the figure down into basic shapes

Model: Pablo Carpio

 IZZY ABREU ALBERTO CAMARA ANNA CATTISH PETER HAN
Character Designer Art Manager & Lead Game Artist Character Designer Designer & Teacher
izzyabreu.com camarasketch.artstation.com annacattish.com instagram.com/peterhanstyle

A character designer, illustrator, and Originally from Spain, Alberto Anna is a comic artist and Peter has worked in the
recent Sheridan College graduate; Camara now works in Helsinki, character designer for animation, entertainment industry for over a
Izzy’s clients include Warner Bros., Finland as the Lead Game Artist who creates distinctive female decade, shows artwork in galleries,
Nickelodeon, and Guru Studio. for Rovio Entertainment. characters with attitude. and teaches sketching and design.

IDA HEM BIRGITTA HOSEA MATT HOWORTH DANIEL ISLES

Freelance Artist Head of Animation at Royal Freelance Illustrator & Illustrator
idahem.com College of Art Character Designer dirtyrobot.work
expandedanimation.net matthoworth.com

Contributors
Ida is a character designer and Birgitta is an artist and curator who Matt has worked in children’s A freelance illustrator and comic
visual storyteller. She has worked works in expanded animation, and illustration, feature animation, creator, Daniel is originally from
for DreamWorks TV, Nickelodeon, is currently Head of Animation at and is currently working on an the UK but he currently lives and
and Universal Pictures. the Royal College of Art. upcoming Nickelodeon project. works in Japan.

DAVID ARDINARYAS LOJAYA VARUN NAIR ALMU REDONDO ISADORA ZEFERINO

Visual Development Artist Freelance Designer & Student Storyboard Artist at Animator at Combo Estúdio
david.lojaya.com varunsartwork.tumblr.com Lighthouse Studios instagram.com/imzeferino
almuredondo.com

David has a passion for animated Varun is a final year student at Almu’s clients include Lighthouse Isadora is an animator whose
films and specializes in character Gobelins. Last summer he interned Studios, Blue Zoo, and Flaunt work revolves around pop culture,
design. His clients include Disney at Blue Sky Studios where he Productions. She used to be an colorful compositions, flowers,
and DreamWorks Animation. learned design for feature films. architect and a VFX concept artist. and fabricating wonder.