Fundamentals of Character Design

We use the 3dtotal.com website (450,000+ page views a month) and name to promote all our art titles. This includes adverts, announcements, features, and a free chapter on our site. We also use our various social media platforms to publicise the book: Facebook (207,000 Likes), Twitter (42,800 followers), Instagram (70,200 followers), and Pinterest (7,082 followers). In addition we post promotional videos for all our books on YouTube and Vimeo. Book releases are always announced to our mailing list of 83,000 subscribers. In terms of print marketing we send out promotional postcards and a catalogue with all physical orders in our online shop to promote book titles that are about to be released. We also send review copies to popular magazines, websites, and blogs such as ImagineFX and Parka Blogs, and work with sites such as Creative Bloq and CG Cookie to promote the usefulness of our books on their websites. In addition we advertise our titles on the popular Character Design References Facebook page (670,000 Likes). Artists involved in the book are always asked to promote the book to their audience – this means our titles are often mentioned on social media platforms with as many as a million followers.

An eye-opening, visual-led exploration of the fundamental aspects of character design, including narrative, shape language, proportion, and expression.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.