Two years ago I was helping a friend with a special project he had in development. We met on weekends at a local restaurant and would draw while we had something to eat. These were fun and productive sessions. I wasn't getting much of an opportunity to create at that time so the chance to doodle and practice my sketching was very much appreciated.
I was taking his direction and coming up with character concepts along the lines of what he had in mind. At this point I was engaged in designing clothing for some of the figures for the project. Not so much the characters themselves but how they would be dressed.
These images are what I came up with at a sitting in September 2011. They're free form drawings that didn't involve anything else but a black line pen on paper. I'm posting them here for my students and also for others who would gain from this blog entry. The lesson I'm communicating is that creating a variety of designs and approaches for a specific concept is the preferable approach when working at a professional level. Giving your client / partner / associates / employer a broad choice of concepts with variation at the initial development stage.
These sketches even in their rough state still have a lot of potential to be cleaned up and finished.
ReplyDeleteIndeed they do Mike. They're a good basis for further refinement and underscore the importance of how concept roughs play into the overall design process.
ReplyDeleteThey look pretty darn cool!
ReplyDeleteI always loved creating characters and imagining how they would look in an originally created outfit.
Problem is, I don't know how to really draw clothes some I'm always kind of stuck in a rut -.-;
Do you have any tips for making outfits? Perhaps for video games?
Hi there Jam
DeleteI have the same problem when it comes to drawing clothes. What I do is look for tons of reference material and slowly work the design you're looking for. Practice makes perfect! Years ago I had issues drawing the human eye until I forced myself to truly break down the eye. I went through pages upon pages until it finally clicked. Now drawing the eye comes natural to me. Don't give up and keep practicing you'll get it.
Here's a hint on how to get better at clothing fellas. Focus on the anatomy of our character first. Once you've got the body structure then it's easier to adorn.
ReplyDeleteConsider also what your character is about. Are you creating a nurse or a business man? Viking or Samurai? You get the picture. The nature of your character will help determine the clothing they wear. Observation and reference also helps.