Designing for Newzoids
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| Author | Mike Giblin |
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| Genre | How-To |
| Published | EF Issue 2015.3 |
Publication date | Summer 2015 |
| Media type | Digital |
| Pages | 30-31 |
| Website |
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An how-to on character design process with Mike Giblin, released digitally in EF Issue 2015.3 on pages 30-31.
Article Transcript
The process of designing each character was quite straightforward, and I would usually repeat the same procedure each time with little variation. (Unless, of course, I found a subject particularly difficult, in which case all structure went out the window in a frenzy of scribbling and scraps of paper flying everywhere.) In the beginning, I was only required to come up with one or two celebrity designs per week; but once the project was firing on all cylinders, the production team would email me four or even five celebrities at the beginning of the week, and I would then rattle through them at my own leisure. I was usually provided with an information pack, containing some basic info (including, quite commonly, an indication of their “take” on the character, and perhaps a scene description) and photos of the celebrity. I would then reinforce this with my own Googled images, which I would arrange on large sheets for easy reference. The process would then unfold as follows:
Step 1
Sketching. My starting point is always to try and capture one “key” likeness from a single angle (either front or three quarter), from which I can then work out the other angles. Trying to think in terms of geometric shapes and solid, workable forms, I try to focus on maintaining an all-important likeness whilst keeping the design simple and funny - and of course, in line with how Newzoids want the character to be perceived. It is important to work quickly and instinctively here, and not be overly concerned with specifics, as I’ll be doing some digital tweaking later anyway.
Step 2
As soon as I’ve arrived at a satisfactory likeness in pencil, I will then scan this single sketch to Photoshop. I’ll then spend some time playing around and making adjustments, constantly flipping the image to ensure there are no serious construction errors or flaws in the design. Once I’m happy I’ll lock the sketch down and print it to a blank sheet of paper.
Step 3
With one view of the character nailed, I’ll begin to work up the other two angles, using this first establishing sheet — as well as constant referral back to my reference material — to anchor and guide the design. Again, I’ll constantly try and think “through” the design and imagine the character in terms of three dimensional shapes. (This is something I struggled with at first, but it definitely got easier.)
Step 4
Repeat step 2 above.
Step 5
I will sketch any body situations required, and scan. There’s a good reason why I tend to draw my bodies separately, and it’s this: I often have a real problem keeping heads and bodies in proportion. While I might be happy with a likeness, I’ll invariably make the head too large (a side effect of years drawing gig caricatures perhaps?) and end up resizing everything in Photoshop anyway. Far better - and less time consuming - to simply create two separate elements from the start and stitch them together at the right size digitally. I used to have a real problem doing this, thinking I was somehow “cheating” - but I’ve made my peace with it now, seeing it as simply another tool in my arsenal.
Step 6
Pull the entire turnaround together in Photoshop, make one version with grayscale shading and one with a basic colour job.
Step 7
Email to client. Sometimes they’d come back and want some changes, but - and I don’t mean to sound big-headed here - for the most part the production team were happy with my first take and worked directly from these sketches. I would often see 3D sculpts based on my designs, which were created by a talented tech-wizard from Manchester called Pete Minister. These sculpts then formed the direct reference for the puppets (which would be created using an innovative 3D printer process, before being painted, and having hair, clothing & accessories added), and even though at this intermediate stage it looked like the character had been carved from chocolate, it always blew my mind to see how faithfully my sketches had been realised in fully-rounded form.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek at my process. Thanks for reading!
See Also
External Links
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