Character designer Byran Tillman dives into the 6 different aspects of character design in great detail.
Archetypes
Tillman states that archetypes are needed to ‘propel a story forward’ (p.4); he also asserts that characters exist as a result of the story and that the personal story of each character encourages good character development (p.12).
Tillman delves into the 6 main archetypes found in character design:
- The hero- brave, selfless and willing to help others no matter the cost
- The shadow- “connected most with our instinctual animal past”, usually perceived as ruthless, mysterious and evil
- The fool- always confused and seems to get everyone into undesirable situations
- Anima/Animus- embodies the male and female urges and represents our sexual desires
- The mentor- helps the protagonist figure out their full potential, usually old
- The trickster- constantly tries to move the story toward their favour (p.13-21)
He states that the combining of archetypes may lead to confusion; however in stories with a horror theme, this confusion can lead to the audience becoming more invested in the storyline. He also touches on the ability to change archetypes and states that this has to happen over the course of the story and not all at once. (p.22-23)
Story
One of the most important aspects of character design is the story. Tillman states that putting in the effort to develop each characters backstory and personality traits results in the a more well rounded design (p.5). He separates the story into 6 different questions
- Who: Who is the character in question?
- What: What does the character do in the story?
- When: When does this story take place?
- Where: Where does the story take place?
- Why: why is the character motivated to do what he does in the story?
- How: how does your character do what he does? (p.29-30)
Originality
Tillman admits that it is hard to be original since humanity has been around for a long time and a large number of ideas have been thought of and brought to fruition; He then states that it is a lot easier to obtain originality than it is to be original. He defines originality as the ability to take something that already exists and add your own unique twist to it (p.43-44)
Shapes
Tillman states that shapes play a big role in character design as they can tell a visual story of the character (p.6). He goes on to explain the meanings behind each shape:
- Square: Stability, trust, honesty, order, conformity, security, equality & masculinity
- Triangle: Action, aggression, energy, sneakiness, conflict and tension
- Circle: Completeness, gracefulness, playfulness, comforting, unity, protection, and childlike (p.68-73)
Tillman claims that the best way to augment these shapes is by using silhouettes. It is said that a successful character is completely recognisable when it is in complete shadow (p.74-75)
Reference
References are important as they help you make sure that everything on your character is completely accurate. Tillman lists random people on the train, life drawing classes and oneself as the best form of references; he also states that photographs can be detrimental as cameras turn 3d moments into 2d images by flattening them (p.87-93)
Aesthetic
“The way a character looks determines whether the viewer likes, dislikes, connects with, sympathizes with, or anything else. There are many things to consider when thinking about aesthetic—for example:
What style should be used when creating this character? What colors should be used?
What medium is this character going to be used for? Who is the character’s audience?” (p.9)
Aesthetic is the first thing a viewer notices when looking at a character. Tillman states that its best to figure out what age group you aiming for and what genre you are exploiting before delving into the designing of the character. He then explains what works for different age groups
“Ages 0–4 Characters have really big heads and eyes, short bodies, bright colors, and simple shapes.
Ages 5–8 Characters still have big heads but less so than characters for the 0–4 age group. Their eyes are smaller, the colors are a bit more muted, and the shapes are more intricate.
Ages 9–13 Characters are pulling away from the simplistic. They resemble more believable proportions. The colors are more realistic and have a lot more details.
Ages 14–18 Characters resemble the real world. They are properly proportioned. The colors are more complicated, and they have the most amount of detail” (p.103)
Tillman then goes on to speak about the use of colours and their different meanings:
- Red- action
- Yellow- joy
- Blue- trust
- Purple- power
- Green- nature
- Orange- cheerfulness
- Black- mystery
- White- cleanliness
He lastly speaks on the use of tones and how different tones of the same colour evoke different meanings; for example, red is angry and aggressive however, pink is more loving and nurturing.
Tillman, B. (2011) Creative Character Design. Burlington, MA: Routledge. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com.arts.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=377416&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Ayanfe III 