Anatomy is the structure of muscles and bones in animals, without a strong basis and understanding of anatomy a design of a character will look and feel unnatural or unhuman.
Muscles are complex structures that allow movement within humans and animals, they can be simplified into simple shapes for modelling and concepts and can be grouped into muscle groups to make it easier to draw.
Proportion:
Proportion refers to the relations and ratios between the width, height and depth of a character or concept. There are many different factors and techniques that can affect or are used when drawing concepts. The most common rule within proportion is the 8 or 7 1/2 head rule, which gives the guideline that a character must be the same high as 8 of their heads.
Age is one of the main factors when drawing character concepts, it can affect the proportions of the character and their features;
Children are much shorter and change the 8 or 7 1/2 head rule, they usually have a larger head and eyes then fully developed adults. Adolescents also affect proportion; they will have puberty related aspects and a more defined body shape for their gender.
Gesture Drawing:
Gesture drawing is about capturing emotion of the character through action and movement, the layers of action, form and pose of a figure can help tell a story and convey different emotions. Often loose sweeping lines are used when designing as they help lead the viewer into the action.
Structure Drawing:
Structure is the opposite of gesture drawing. It focuses on the anatomy and details of the character. Shading and straight sometimes harsh lines are used to capture that detail and define muscles. It focuses more on being anatomically correct then giving personality and feel to a character, because of this they can often feel robotic and stiff.
However, it is a useful technique when creating character sheets.
My Concept
For my design I decided to make a realistic version of a pixel art character I made for my platformer game. I went for a structure drawing as it allowed me to give some detail and add some shading to their overall design. I will work on the character again either in the form of a model sheet or try my hand a drawing them in an action pose as a gesture drawing.
I started with a basic design and template using the 8 head rule to give a general basis of my character. I then slowly moved from the basic connected shapes to adding detail and finally adding colour.
Reflection:
After Doing this I decided to look into doing some actual drawings using a pencil and paper and getting back into physical drawing, by doing this it should help improve my own drawing skills that will help with any art I create as well as improve my drawing of proportion and anatomy. What I have drawn before is usually inanimate objects like weapons and collectibles for games and concepts I created in college.
I feel that my drawing could be improved and by doing some physical drawing I should be able to create something with much more detail.
References:
Pinterest. (2019) Apex Legends ‘Bloodhound’ Concept Art [Photograph] . Available Online; Apex Legends Bloodhound | RPF Costume and Prop Maker Community | J hill, Bloodhound, Character modeling (pinterest.com.mx) [Accessed 18/11/2022]
Redbubble ‘DonatasSab’ (n.d.) Pixel Art Astronaut Print [Print]. Available Online; “Space Astronaut Pixel” Art Print for Sale by DonatasSab | Redbubble [Accessed 1/11/22]
Galioto, J. (n.d.) Anatomy Proportion Example Template [Photograph] . Available Online; 8 head worksheet – Google Search | Drawing body proportions, Body proportion drawing, Human body proportions (pinterest.co.uk) [Accessed 16/11/2022]
Bishop, R. Gadea, L. Ruiz Cruz, M. Boo, S. (1999) Fundamentals of Character Design. 3dtotal Publishing.