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Character Illustration

Character illustrations refer to a detailed, full-colour illustration of a character. Whether the character illustration is required for a video game, film or children’s book, it’s important for them to be incredibly detailed in order to truly define the character and capture their personality. It takes a truly skilled artist to truly be able to convey the character’s persona and portray information about that character without the use of words.

When an artist is creating a character illustration, it’s important for them to take into consideration a few key characteristics, including; body shape, posture, anatomy, facial features, facial expressions, costume and behaviour. This helps the artist to expertly capture the essence of the character and reveal its personality and traits to the viewer.

Character illustrations are often created using vector graphics. This allows the illustration to be used in a variety of sizes and allows it to be easily manipulated, for example, to change their outfit or hair colour. Designing a successful character illustration is quite a long process and generally includes the following steps:

  • Research – Evaluating the brief and researching similar, pre-existing characters.
  • Competitor research – Exploring similar characters and evaluating what works, what doesn’t and how a more unique character can be created to stand out.
  • Audience evaluation – The target audience will have a huge impact on a character illustration. For example, a character aimed at young children will need to utilize bright colours and less detailed features.
  • Evaluating characteristics – Determining the character’s characteristics is an important step in character illustration and can determine posture, face shape and anatomy.
  • Choice of colour – Different colours can convey different emotions and personality traits, as well as appealing to different audiences. The use of colour for character illustrations can dramatically impact its success.
  • Conveying personality – The ability to convey a character’s personality greatly contributes to the success of an artist.
  • Expressing emotions – The character’s range of emotions largely depends on their personality, however, it is another key step for bringing a character to life.
  • Fine-tuning the character – Finally, it’s time to fine tune the character. Even just evaluating its facial features can have a dramatic impact on the whole character illustration and how the character is perceived.

If you’re looking to commission one of our artists for a character illustration, then please contact us with your requirements and we will help you to find the perfect artist for your specific needs.

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