My Course's Final Project: Creating a Dynamic Character Illustration

My final project for my course Creating Dynamic Characters is creating a character illustration. To do that, we have to start at the beginning - choosing a character. My prompt for this project is skater girl, so I begin with roughly sketching out some variations of silhouettes and skater personalities. My goal is to create all different types of personalities within the prompt.

When tightening up my concepts, I'm focusing on shape, silhouette, colour, and mood. It's easy to draw a human but it takes more work to create a character with a story. I'm focusing on their colour scheme, making sure they're all different yet cohesive in the lineup. In Unit 3, I focus on finalizing the lineup to create volume, texture, and realism in these characters.

What makes a skater a skater? Perhaps her I-don't-care attitude, or her distaste for The Man. Maybe she's shy but she just loves to skate. Maybe she's aggressive, or just too cool for you. Let's explore all the ideas!

It's time to create out final character in Unit 4. Once I have my character chosen from the lineup, it's time to sketch out some pose thumbnails and ideas for the final illustration. I create several variations from more dynamic poses to more mundane ones, factoring in the character's personality the entire time.

I make sure to add props for the character to act with, like a phone, a skateboard, or a drink. I add secondary action in her clothing to create the idea of movement. Since she doesn't have long hair, this secondary action is shown in her clothing.

I've chosen my pose! I chose this one because I can really see the character's personality and think the pose's composition works well within the square canvas. I think this pose really emphasizes her I-don't-care attitude since her pose is relaxed and giving a little smirk to the camera.

I make sure there is a slight background despite this being a character-focused illustration to really ground her in reality. She's sitting on stairs here, so you can infer where she is in her environment. Perhaps outside at a skatepark!

Next, I create some rough colour ideas using references for lighting. I want the correct mood emphasized, and decide I want the hot sun to be reflected in the piece.

In Unit 4, you can see all the colour variations and my ideas behind each colour composition.

My favourite part is rendering. This part takes the longest, but uses the least amount of brain power, I feel like I'm in a trance! I paint right over my lines to create interesting variations of textures.

Once my rendering has enough soft edges, hard edges, rough textures, hard blacks, and shadows mixed in, it's time to add in our hot summer lighting.

I add final touches and voila! The final illustration is complete. I finalize the piece with some extra overlays and effects to really give off the idea that it's noon on a hot summer day. I want the heat and mood to be felt through the canvas.

I can't wait to see what you all create in my course, Creating Dynamic Characters !