Advice: OriCharrie Design

by *OlivesOranges

Ciao, guys! ;D <3

Today, I'm going to teach you guys about character design. Before I begin, I must add that I'm no expert on the matter; I'm simply teaching you what I'm learning as a developing artist. If that's not what you came for, then the back button should be located somewhere in the upper left corner of your browser window. This is more about the basics of your character, mainly the appearance, and a little bit of the naming business. Here's some tidbits of advice I can give you regarding designing your character:

• Is your character going to appear in an animation or comic? More importantly, consider your level of patience. If you're not a patient person, or if your character's going to appear in an animation, it's probably best not to load so much detail on to your character, as animating this character may prove to be very difficult-- especially if you're an individual animator. Only move on when you're confident you can bear it-- or when you get more experience under your belt.

• As with everything you draw, you shouldn't be afraid to let loose. Don't restrain yourself; restraint of creativity is an artist's worse enemy.

• In regards to the above, sketch multiple instances of your character until you get a look that you're satisfied with. I can't tell you how many times a character gets redesigned.

• Don't be afraid to reference! Even professionals reference, just be sure to give credit to the source. It's like typing a paper—as terrible as that analogy is—trust me, I HATE WRITING PAPERS. Clothing, facial features, colors that symbolize a certain time period—all this can be found in the beauteous void that is the internet.

• With that being said, avoid "plagiarism". Don't try to make your character look like a character that's already been established. Add your own touch to this character—something that'll make viewers go, "Oh yeah! Such and such definitely created that character!" Think of accents like scarves or eyes—especially eyes.

• Color is your best friend. Trust me. When deciding on your character's color scheme, think about its purpose. Color can hint at or completely contrast with a character's personality/status. For example, notice how Luke Hirigani wears a long, red scarf.  Red is usually seen as a color that represents courage or confidence—two qualities Luke has. Too bad he's a lazy, sarcastic douche canoe. _{Shameless self promotion!} Or maybe you're just going with what looks awesome. If that's the case, develop a color study of this character you're designing. Make multiple instances of the line art of this character and give it different color schemes! Decide on what looks best. Maybe your series contains a certain color scheme, such as pastel or something of the sort. If you want to go with the former option and let the color hint at the character's personality, check out http://crystal-cure.com/color-meanings.html. It gives a basic gist of the colors and their meanings.

• Don't be afraid to ask your peers or me what we think! I'm no expert, but if given enough info, I can help you create a visually compelling character!

• Names. They're really tough to decide on, aren't they? Well I'm not really good in the names department. Sometimes a name can hold meaning, other times it's based off how the character looks, and other times, it's just… kind of there. The best advice I can give to you is look stuff up! Go to a website, mash names together, or randomly read the dictionary! _{or look at the periodic table of elements—where else would I get Xenon Naginata's first name from? |D}

That's all the advice I can give! Feel free to note me, and I'll get to you as soon as I can with help designing your OriCharrie!

_{If anything else comes up, I'll add it to the list! Thanks for your time, and I'm sorry this isn't really fancy or anything!}