Designing Characters with Scott Flanders (LIVESTREAM)
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Ask Questions Before the Stream Starts!
I'll be exploring ideas for a Harvestman themed video game and will be using the same process that's featured in my course. During the livestream, I'll take suggestions from the community in real time and apply them while also answering any questions about my process or about Monster Lab. Should be a good time :)
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@maria_sokolovska
2yr
Hello! The stream was cool, thank you. I hope it's still ok to ask questions. If I understood correctly, you make around 4 versions of a character, and then one is picked. How far developed are these versions? Are they more sketches or more final works? Are they colored? Do you develop them further?
Here are cleaned-up sketches from the stream.
2yr
Those are really fun, I love that detail of the eye popping out!
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Germán Olivera
2yr
The stream was a lot of fun, hope we get more draw-alongs :)
2yr
Thanks a lot. I Had fun too. I'd like to do more :)
kirasaaan
2yr
This is from the ideas I had during today's stream!
2yr
cute ghost doggy!
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Adrian Potato
2yr
Oh boi I sure do love drawing weird tech aliens and farmer druid with flowers coming out of their butt ❤
I'm really starting to appreciate asymmetry in designs
Thanks for the stream man.
2yr
asymmetry is a really fun design tool!

@biban
2yr
Drew along, thanks for taking your time to do these free lessons <3
2yr
cool!
2yr
Thasswutimtalkinbout :)
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@aby_graphite
2yr
What do you do if the character design brief uses words you haven't heard before? Do you ask for clarification immediately?
2yr
Absolutely. Or Google that mess :D
José Arango
2yr
this is exploration of character i do , still i am on working that
2yr
cool!
José Arango
2yr
https://www.instagram.com/d.n.a_sculpt/?hl=es-la
@claradrake
2yr
its noicee! They have such a good silouette! good work!!
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@somanyninjas
2yr
hey scott i sent you a grass hopper pic today.🙃
2yr
Where??! :)
@claradrake
2yr
I DID IT, and yes the thing on the drawings is my watermark lol

@icoart_
2yr
Is there a non-presencial way to present a comic book portfolio to an editor/comics publisher?

@icoart_
2yr
Random question: Do you like the walking dead tv series? If is affirmative, ¿What do you like of the walking dead?

@dweller
2yr
What sort of qualifications would companies be looking for if you wanted to be a concept artist?
2yr
You'll hear many concept artists refer to themselves as 'problem solvers'. I think it's a key thing to keep in mind when you're thinking about doing this kind of job: can you use visual communication skills to solve design problems? Every studio and every gig has it's own list of demands and different artists are suited better for certain jobs over others, but at the core of it whether you're an environment artist, a character artist, a prop artist, etc., you're job is to come up with design solutions for those things. If you're working on a portfolio, many artists recommend you gear your work towards what you actually want to do. For example, If you want to design spaceships for a living, make sure your portfolio includes cool designs of whole lot of spaceships! Different kinds, different shape languages, different use-cases. Make design problems for yourself, and show that you can solve them. Your portfolio is there to show potential employers what your skillset is!

@aby_graphite
2yr
Qualifications don't matter as much as a solid portfolio. You should be able to present a solution to a design problem.
That is what trent kaniuga talks about in the latest proko video.
Also watch fzd school YouTube videos and the student work on their blog to get a better understanding of what studios require of concept artists.

@icoart_
2yr
Is there a non-face-to-face way to present a comic portfolio to a publisher?

@icoart_
2yr
Random Question: Do you like the walking dead? If is affirmative, ¿What do you like of the walking dead?
Marcos Vinícius Vieira Lustosa
2yr
Question: how much time do you have to create a character design? and what info they gave you before you even start?

@deezyruminated
2yr
I feel like my biggest struggle when trying to come up with character design concepts is that my thought pattern is very linear and basic. Any tips to help loosen up the mind so that these kinds of ideas come more easily? Thank you for your time!
Germán Olivera
2yr
Weird question: what makes a shape good?
2yr
Context! Contrasting relationships.
This is not a weird question, but I do think it is in some ways an impossible question to answer. There is too much to unpack. Maybe in the critique video though :)
Wiktor Budzinski
2yr
How much of an animal/human anatomy does one need to know to become a creature designer? I like drawing animals/figures from photos, but I am not much into studying muscles, their names and so on...
Also, how would you go about learning to draw animal-based creatures from imagination? The animal world is so vast that it is a bit overwhelming. Would you start with one group like birds, and focus on it for a longer period? Thanks!

@aby_graphite
2yr
Go watch Terryl Witlatch's talks from THU festival on artstation learning.
Muscle names shouldn't be important when your beginning but muscle studies, their function, their grouping is all important. You are going to base off the imaginary creature on what you know. And what you know or can study is the human and animal anatomy.
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Alex Esbenshade
2yr
How much time do you spend exploring and just sketching loosely without designing, VS how much time you spend deliberately designing a character?
2yr
If I'm designing for client work, I always do some writing/listmaking first. Almost verbatim to the way it is outlined here in the livestream and more accurately in the Monster Lab course.

@alexskye
2yr
Question: How do you design a certain character that is different from your state of mind? When I draw characters they inherit my emotions almost everytime and I know that’s not very professional. Thank you
2yr
I know what you're talking about. I used to think about this. I think to a certain extent, being more strongly governed/influenced by your emotions is actually just part of being a young person. It's normal. And becoming increasingly aware of that fact and learning (over time and as a result of error and consequence) is part of growing up. This goes beyond art Alex, but it does encompass and will effect your art and creativity.