About This Workshop
About This Workshop
Start the New Year off right by diving into the world of character design! This session is a 30-day workshop that teaches anyone of any skill level the basic foundation of designing quality fantasy characters. It includes 3 different classes over the duration of the session -- Shape Language, Color Schemes, and Proportion -- each of which will require you to view the series of video lessons and post a completed project in the gallery. One student will be awarded a year of premium membership for displaying the highest quality projects across all 3 classes. It's a great way to get a creative head start to 2016!
How does this work?
As stated, there are 3 different classes that you'll be taking in this month-long session. Each class requires you to watch a series of video lessons at your own pace -- you can pick up where you left off at any time if you want to. After watching all of the lessons, you'll complete the designated assignment for the class. Each assignment requires you to incorporate the ideas introduced in the lessons into a fun personal project.
Since this session is a month long, there are periodic milestones to keep you on pace to complete all 3 classes before the deadline. Let's take a look at the schedule.
Session Schedule: Milestones
- January 4th: The session kicks off with the first course, Build A Fantasy Character With Shape Language. We'll begin our journey by learning how to build characters' appearances from scratch with basic, geometric shapes. The video lessons will cover things like the difference between curves and sharp angles, and how simple and complex shapes can be applied to different parts of a character.
- January 11th: You should have enough time to finish all of the Shape Language lessons at this point (but it's fine if you don't -- you can always catch up later!). Post the beginnings of your assignment in the Project Gallery. You don't need to have the entire thing done to post -- in fact, it's much better for you to show us your assignment as it progresses so that other students and myself can provide feedback as it develops. Be sure to check out and comment on what your classmates are up to as well. The first assignment will task you with building an original character from the ground up.
- January 18th: Post your finished Shape Language project in the gallery! Pat yourself on the back, the first and most formidable leg of the session is complete. Now it's time to learn about color. Begin watching the video lessons for the 2nd course, Give Character Designs A Fun Color Scheme. These lessons introduce concepts about how colors interact on characters and the cultural associations that go along with them.
- January 21st: Begin to brainstorm ideas for your Color Scheme assignment after completing the lessons. Start off by posting color palettes that you find appealing and thinking about how you'll apply them. You can find inspiration from any source that you like, from movie stills to photographs you've taken. This assignment will ask you to assign a color scheme to a predetermined character template.
- January 26th: Post your completed Color Scheme project to the gallery! Now it's time for the home stretch: Transforming Character Design With Proportion. This class is focused on intelligent use of space when designing characters.
- January 30th: Brainstorm ideas and post the early stages of your Proportion assignment. Think about the key concepts introduced in the lessons and how you can incorporate them into your project. This class requires you to re-design an existing fantasy character, so think carefully about a favorite you'd like to work with.
- February 3rd: Post your completed Proportion Assignment to the gallery. Congratulations! You've completed the character design triathlon, which means you can say you have 3 new characters under your belt. You can walk away with that much more experience and knowledge for future characters. I'll announce the student who exhibited the most successful projects in the following week, and they'll receive a year of Premium Membership on Skillshare.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I submit an assignment? When you enroll in a class, there will be a tab below the video frame called "Project Gallery" -- submit assignments there. You can post ideas and concepts and update your project later with the final product!
- What if I've already completed a project for one of the classes? Then you're ahead of the curve. All you've got to do is focus on the remaining assignments, which should be a breeze with the extra time.
- Can I join the session after the start date, January 4th? Sure! Join whenever you want. Just be sure you complete all 3 assignments before the session deadline (February 3rd, 2016) to successfully complete the challenge.
- What happens if I miss a milestone? You can catch up any time within the duration of the session. The important one to keep in mind is the final deadline, February 3rd. The milestones are suggestions for having enough time to focus on each class adequately.
- Will the classes still be available after the session? Absolutely -- you can take them at any time at your own pace after that. The structured format of the session is meant to encourage students to think and create actual finished characters, and to help them tie the concepts of the 3 courses together. Whether you're a novice trying to learn or a veteran looking for a refresher, this challenge is perfect for getting the creative juices flowing and converting them into unique characters that you can call your own.
Classes
Projects
Students
Classes
Projects
Students
Start the New Year off right by diving into the world of character design! This session is a 30-day workshop that teaches anyone of any skill level the basic foundation of designing quality fantasy characters. It includes 3 different classes over the duration of the session -- Shape Language, Color Schemes, and Proportion -- each of which will require you to view the series of video lessons and post a completed project in the gallery. One student will be awarded a year of premium membership for displaying the highest quality projects across all 3 classes. It's a great way to get a creative head start to 2016!
How does this work?
As stated, there are 3 different classes that you'll be taking in this month-long session. Each class requires you to watch a series of video lessons at your own pace -- you can pick up where you left off at any time if you want to. After watching all of the lessons, you'll complete the designated assignment for the class. Each assignment requires you to incorporate the ideas introduced in the lessons into a fun personal project.
Since this session is a month long, there are periodic milestones to keep you on pace to complete all 3 classes before the deadline. Let's take a look at the schedule.
Session Schedule: Milestones
- January 4th: The session kicks off with the first course, Build A Fantasy Character With Shape Language. We'll begin our journey by learning how to build characters' appearances from scratch with basic, geometric shapes. The video lessons will cover things like the difference between curves and sharp angles, and how simple and complex shapes can be applied to different parts of a character.
- January 11th: You should have enough time to finish all of the Shape Language lessons at this point (but it's fine if you don't -- you can always catch up later!). Post the beginnings of your assignment in the Project Gallery. You don't need to have the entire thing done to post -- in fact, it's much better for you to show us your assignment as it progresses so that other students and myself can provide feedback as it develops. Be sure to check out and comment on what your classmates are up to as well. The first assignment will task you with building an original character from the ground up.
- January 18th: Post your finished Shape Language project in the gallery! Pat yourself on the back, the first and most formidable leg of the session is complete. Now it's time to learn about color. Begin watching the video lessons for the 2nd course, Give Character Designs A Fun Color Scheme. These lessons introduce concepts about how colors interact on characters and the cultural associations that go along with them.
- January 21st: Begin to brainstorm ideas for your Color Scheme assignment after completing the lessons. Start off by posting color palettes that you find appealing and thinking about how you'll apply them. You can find inspiration from any source that you like, from movie stills to photographs you've taken. This assignment will ask you to assign a color scheme to a predetermined character template.
- January 26th: Post your completed Color Scheme project to the gallery! Now it's time for the home stretch: Transforming Character Design With Proportion. This class is focused on intelligent use of space when designing characters.
- January 30th: Brainstorm ideas and post the early stages of your Proportion assignment. Think about the key concepts introduced in the lessons and how you can incorporate them into your project. This class requires you to re-design an existing fantasy character, so think carefully about a favorite you'd like to work with.
- February 3rd: Post your completed Proportion Assignment to the gallery. Congratulations! You've completed the character design triathlon, which means you can say you have 3 new characters under your belt. You can walk away with that much more experience and knowledge for future characters. I'll announce the student who exhibited the most successful projects in the following week, and they'll receive a year of Premium Membership on Skillshare.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I submit an assignment? When you enroll in a class, there will be a tab below the video frame called "Project Gallery" -- submit assignments there. You can post ideas and concepts and update your project later with the final product!
- What if I've already completed a project for one of the classes? Then you're ahead of the curve. All you've got to do is focus on the remaining assignments, which should be a breeze with the extra time.
- Can I join the session after the start date, January 4th? Sure! Join whenever you want. Just be sure you complete all 3 assignments before the session deadline (February 3rd, 2016) to successfully complete the challenge.
- What happens if I miss a milestone? You can catch up any time within the duration of the session. The important one to keep in mind is the final deadline, February 3rd. The milestones are suggestions for having enough time to focus on each class adequately.
- Will the classes still be available after the session? Absolutely -- you can take them at any time at your own pace after that. The structured format of the session is meant to encourage students to think and create actual finished characters, and to help them tie the concepts of the 3 courses together. Whether you're a novice trying to learn or a veteran looking for a refresher, this challenge is perfect for getting the creative juices flowing and converting them into unique characters that you can call your own.
