The project for this class is creating a fun, unique character inspired by yourself. We’ll bring a character to life with lots of tiny details in a style that doesn’t require any intimidating skills other than some clever thinking.

Writing - First we’ll brainstorm lots of ideas about what makes us unique with a simple writing exercise starting with the most obvious things. Your name, hobbies, where you're from, etc.
- Sometimes here I'll even write out the things I think a character isn't which of course helps narrow in on what they are.

References - Next we’ll gather some research and references for those particular details, down to the tiniest detail of the strings on a coat, or the way you roll up your sleeves.
- What makes a character interesting is the tiny details. The tear on a shirt, or the patch on a backpack. References will give us a rich pool of visuals to pull from.

Base Body - Then we’ll assemble and/or sketch out a simple base body that we can start decorating on top of with clothing and accessories.
- I've included a toolkit for this which can be downloaded in the sidebar. Because I don't always like to start brand new with every character, I've included some shapes you can use to get yourself started. Like a paper doll!

Sketching - After that we’ll start bringing all these details together into one final tighter sketch.
- We can sketch the clothing, accessories, etc all separately and then bring them onto our base body if we want. In the end ultimately we will draw it all together on one layer or as one final tight sketch. But in the meantime, we can draw on multiple layers or pieces of paper.

Finalize - Then we’re going to finalize that sketch in Adobe Photoshop (or any drawing software of your preference, even paper and ink is fine).
- This is an area where we can freestyle a bit and go off script. A good chance to zoom in and focus on the tips of shoelaces, or the shadows that a hat casts on a head.

Color - Almost finished, we’ll color the character in with a simple palette in Adobe Illustrator.
- I've included a few sample color palettes to get you started in the attached files.

Textures - And finally we’ll go into Photoshop where we add some texture and export an image ready for sharing!
- I've included a few brushes I use to texture in the sidebar attached files.

For resources I’ll be providing quite a bit of things -

My Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop source files for you to dig around in.
A few color palettes to start with since color can be intimidating.
A ‘build a body’ toolbox where you can get started and sketch over. (like Mr. Potato head but for full human bodies)
This will mix and match heads, hands, legs, arms, and feet.
And finally some brushes and textures for that final nice warm textured feeling.
- The brushes can be installed by double clicking the .abr file or loading them with help from this video
Lastly, I use Astute Graphics plugins for some of my workflow. All of this can be done in the native Adobe Illustrator program, but if you're curious, you can try the plugins here - Astute Graphics illustrator plug-ins Free Trial

Sharing

Absolutely share your projects (final or in process) in the Project Gallery so everyone can see. I’ll be more than happy to look through them all and give feedback and thoughts. Every single one! Additionally please share your final images or the journey on social media and tag me @bonehaus so I can re-share.

John Lawler

Graphic Artist & Illustrator

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