What is it about the characters we see in our favorite books, animated films, and games that make us laugh, cry, and respond to them? How do character designers develop ideas that are unique, memorable, and captivate us as an audience? This book answers these questions and more, taking a comprehensive, visual, and analytical approach to discover just what it is that makes a character appealing. Understand key principles like shape language, proportion, and exaggeration, and learn from talented professionals who share industry secrets for getting the most out of anatomy, gesture, expression, and costume. Uncover ways to convey relationships and interaction between multiple characters, and how narrative fuels authentic and engaging characterization. With hundreds of lively illustrations to inspire and study, and tricks of the trade from celebrated artists, this thorough and insightful volume is an essential library addition for anyone interested in character design.
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863 reviews for Fundamentals of Character Design: How to Create Engaging Characters for Illustration, Animation & Visual Development
4.8out of 5
★★★★★
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★★★★★
Jp –
Harika bir kitap. Baskısı çok kaliteli, karakter/poz/figür çiziminde dikkat edilmesi gerekenleri çok da güzel anlatıyor. 196 liraya şaka gibi bir fiyata aldım. 3dTotal Publishing’den daha çok kitap getirilirse çok sevinirim.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
KE –
I am really enjoying working on some of the technique and it is helping.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Danielle Renee Benson –
I loved this book and went through the whole thing in like 2 sittings because it was a fun read. I’m only barely learning to draw on the side as a hobby and the insights in this book are SUPER valuable. I see a lot of art from other amateurs online and after reading this book it’s PAINFULLY obvious that other budding artists need this book. Character design is a much more complicated topic that “make them look cool/cute.”
Each topic is covered from multiple angles and written by multiple different artists. The variety of perspectives is pretty great, but where I have to lean toward 4 stars is that all of the examples lean toward like a Pixar/Disney type look. I’m exaggerating a bit, but there’s not a lot of more serious-tone designs or anything like anime style (if you’re into that). However, that’s more an issue of imagination on the reader’s part. Everything they’re describing works just as well for those art styles, they just don’t demonstrate the principles using those types of designs.
Pick up this book after you understand a bit about gesture drawing and figure drawing, maybe even try out a few Loomis heads first.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Dori –
One of my favorite art books. So much information and wonderful art.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Joey –
I ordered this book along with a few other book. All of the books came in one box that was stuffed with some paper. The other books I ordered were undamaged, but this one… What the heck happened to this book? As soon as I took it out of the box, I saw that half of the pages were horribly folded. Sone of the pages were even ripped. The amount of damage done to this book was too offensive for me to tolerate looking at, so I will be returning it.
–EDIT– I had been sent a replacement book. It arrived sooner than expected, and it came in a much better condition than the first one I ordered. Now, I can read the book properly without getting distracted by a bunch of wrinkles. I have been doing character design for a couple of years and was mostly self-taught. This book has been a really good resource to reference when I need a refresher. It has everything I need to know in one place. Also, I was able to learn some new things from the many examples that this book has. I would highly recommend this book to both beginners and professionals.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Heather Scherer –
Love the book. Great pictures
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Özlem Buket Duru –
Nicely illustrated reference book for artists and illustrators.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Jolene –
It has multiple different art syles with examples on how they push their artistic ability! Even the “bad” examples arent that bad especially when the art is so beautiful but it shows how to hit that next level.
Its a LARGE book! Tons of information! I just love it! Very glad I got it on sale but its worth its full price as well!
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
A. Tan –
Hatte das Buch schon länger auf dem Radar und war erst skeptisch, ob ich es mir holen soll. Aber im nachhinein haben ich mich dafür entschieden und es bis jetzt nicht im geringsten bereut! Es hilft wirklich seine eigenen Designs zu erschaffen und zu verbessern und enthält super wichtige Tipps; schön kompakt zusammengefasst mit vielen zusätzlich illustrierten Beispielen. Es ist, wie ich finde, eine sehr umfangreiche Grundlektüre für alle, die sich ernsthaft mit Character Design auseinandersetzten wollen, oder sich verbessern möchten! Klare Kaufempfehlung, da kann man echt nichts falsch machen! 😉
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Justyna –
De los mejores libros sobre creación de personajes.
No solo a nivel técnico sobre como dibujar, proporciones, etc… sino, lo que creo que es más importante, todo el universo que debe rodear al personaje para hacerlo creíble. No solo se trata de hacer un dibujo técnicamente correcto, también que a nivel conceptual tenga coherencia, carácter, personalidad y responda a muchos factores que van más allá del lápiz y el papel.
Este libro potencia y da mucha importancia a todo eso, y lo mejor de todo es que expone muchísimos ejemplos de un mismo personaje con o sin esa personalidad, algo que ayuda mucho a visualizar claramente la diferencia entre un personaje bien trabajado, con historia, a uno plano y sin personalidad, ambos técnicamente bien dbujados, pero con claras diferencias que hacen que uno sea más creíble y vivo que el otro.
El libro es muy extenso, todo está muy muy bien explicado, y aunque sea en inglés, es muy visual y no hay grandes páginas con texto, son todo pequeños bloques de texto con explicaciones visuales.
Muy recomendable, te abre los ojos a un mundo nuevo sobre la creación y definición de personajes.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Jp –
Jest to pierwsza książka o projektowaniu postaci jaką kupiłam i jednocześnie najlepsza. Mam już kilka innych, ale do tej wracam non stop. Najbardziej podobają mi się rozdziały, w których przedstawione jest rysowanie emocji na twarzy.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Esti –
It’s have everything about character design, a lot of examples, organized, really cool. Try to find all that informations through the internet will take a lot of your time. In this book is it all, you can just read and draw without searching web.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Joey –
I am blown away from the amount of info in this book. There’s so much I’ll be rereading it many times over. I’ve been drawing and creating since I can remember but was never taught the fundamentals revealed to me in this book, not even after having a bachelors degree in graphic design.
So, now that I’ve realized my passion is illustration, I wanted to get into the digital part of it and actually finish the creatures/ characters I work on. This book is perfect for those who don’t know much about character design AND for those who know their stuff because I’ve learned time and time again that even if you’re a professional at something it’s VITAL to remind yourself of the fundamentals. This has everything you need in one book. I have learned SO much from this. Thank you!
Jp –
Harika bir kitap. Baskısı çok kaliteli, karakter/poz/figür çiziminde dikkat edilmesi gerekenleri çok da güzel anlatıyor. 196 liraya şaka gibi bir fiyata aldım. 3dTotal Publishing’den daha çok kitap getirilirse çok sevinirim.
KE –
I am really enjoying working on some of the technique and it is helping.
Danielle Renee Benson –
I loved this book and went through the whole thing in like 2 sittings because it was a fun read. I’m only barely learning to draw on the side as a hobby and the insights in this book are SUPER valuable. I see a lot of art from other amateurs online and after reading this book it’s PAINFULLY obvious that other budding artists need this book. Character design is a much more complicated topic that “make them look cool/cute.”
Each topic is covered from multiple angles and written by multiple different artists. The variety of perspectives is pretty great, but where I have to lean toward 4 stars is that all of the examples lean toward like a Pixar/Disney type look. I’m exaggerating a bit, but there’s not a lot of more serious-tone designs or anything like anime style (if you’re into that). However, that’s more an issue of imagination on the reader’s part. Everything they’re describing works just as well for those art styles, they just don’t demonstrate the principles using those types of designs.
Pick up this book after you understand a bit about gesture drawing and figure drawing, maybe even try out a few Loomis heads first.
Dori –
One of my favorite art books. So much information and wonderful art.
Joey –
I ordered this book along with a few other book. All of the books came in one box that was stuffed with some paper. The other books I ordered were undamaged, but this one… What the heck happened to this book? As soon as I took it out of the box, I saw that half of the pages were horribly folded. Sone of the pages were even ripped. The amount of damage done to this book was too offensive for me to tolerate looking at, so I will be returning it.
–EDIT–
I had been sent a replacement book. It arrived sooner than expected, and it came in a much better condition than the first one I ordered. Now, I can read the book properly without getting distracted by a bunch of wrinkles.
I have been doing character design for a couple of years and was mostly self-taught. This book has been a really good resource to reference when I need a refresher. It has everything I need to know in one place. Also, I was able to learn some new things from the many examples that this book has. I would highly recommend this book to both beginners and professionals.
Heather Scherer –
Love the book. Great pictures
Özlem Buket Duru –
Nicely illustrated reference book for artists and illustrators.
Jolene –
It has multiple different art syles with examples on how they push their artistic ability! Even the “bad” examples arent that bad especially when the art is so beautiful but it shows how to hit that next level.
Its a LARGE book! Tons of information! I just love it! Very glad I got it on sale but its worth its full price as well!
A. Tan –
Hatte das Buch schon länger auf dem Radar und war erst skeptisch, ob ich es mir holen soll. Aber im nachhinein haben ich mich dafür entschieden und es bis jetzt nicht im geringsten bereut! Es hilft wirklich seine eigenen Designs zu erschaffen und zu verbessern und enthält super wichtige Tipps; schön kompakt zusammengefasst mit vielen zusätzlich illustrierten Beispielen. Es ist, wie ich finde, eine sehr umfangreiche Grundlektüre für alle, die sich ernsthaft mit Character Design auseinandersetzten wollen, oder sich verbessern möchten! Klare Kaufempfehlung, da kann man echt nichts falsch machen! 😉
Justyna –
De los mejores libros sobre creación de personajes.
No solo a nivel técnico sobre como dibujar, proporciones, etc… sino, lo que creo que es más importante, todo el universo que debe rodear al personaje para hacerlo creíble. No solo se trata de hacer un dibujo técnicamente correcto, también que a nivel conceptual tenga coherencia, carácter, personalidad y responda a muchos factores que van más allá del lápiz y el papel.
Este libro potencia y da mucha importancia a todo eso, y lo mejor de todo es que expone muchísimos ejemplos de un mismo personaje con o sin esa personalidad, algo que ayuda mucho a visualizar claramente la diferencia entre un personaje bien trabajado, con historia, a uno plano y sin personalidad, ambos técnicamente bien dbujados, pero con claras diferencias que hacen que uno sea más creíble y vivo que el otro.
El libro es muy extenso, todo está muy muy bien explicado, y aunque sea en inglés, es muy visual y no hay grandes páginas con texto, son todo pequeños bloques de texto con explicaciones visuales.
Muy recomendable, te abre los ojos a un mundo nuevo sobre la creación y definición de personajes.
Jp –
Jest to pierwsza książka o projektowaniu postaci jaką kupiłam i jednocześnie najlepsza. Mam już kilka innych, ale do tej wracam non stop. Najbardziej podobają mi się rozdziały, w których przedstawione jest rysowanie emocji na twarzy.
Esti –
It’s have everything about character design, a lot of examples, organized, really cool. Try to find all that informations through the internet will take a lot of your time. In this book is it all, you can just read and draw without searching web.
Joey –
I am blown away from the amount of info in this book. There’s so much I’ll be rereading it many times over. I’ve been drawing and creating since I can remember but was never taught the fundamentals revealed to me in this book, not even after having a bachelors degree in graphic design.
So, now that I’ve realized my passion is illustration, I wanted to get into the digital part of it and actually finish the creatures/ characters I work on. This book is perfect for those who don’t know much about character design AND for those who know their stuff because I’ve learned time and time again that even if you’re a professional at something it’s VITAL to remind yourself of the fundamentals. This has everything you need in one book. I have learned SO much from this. Thank you!