Creating a character #1 – Silhouette
What makes a character recognizable? How does it have to be built to be unique, yet have a distinct message? Why are certain figures better known than others? This is the first entry of a series in which a character is fully developed.
If we take a look at the most popular characters in film and TV, there is one thing they all have in common. Their silhouette is unmistakable. Even when you can just see their shadow, the character is still clearly identifiable. So when creating my own character, the first step is to draw it as a single shape.
The purpose of this is to understand the proportions of the figure’s body parts and weight out which details and accessories are mandatory to do the character’s traits justice. In my example the protagonist is a little cat girl.
Despite appearing quite shy at first glance, her curiosity gets her into trouble regularly. It is important that her childish as well as her cat like characteristics are united.
To emphasize her young age the head is proportionally much larger than it naturally would be, compared to the body. It’s an exaggeration of the baby schema which lets a creature look like a child and thus usually appears cute to us. This effect is also simply called „Cuteness“.
Starting with a silhouette determines the basic appearance of a character. Details may still change over the course of developing its final form.
Next entry: Creating a character #2 - Shapes and Accessories >>