- This course has closed.
| Start Date | Duration | Cost | Max Participant Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday June 7th | 6 Weeks | €100 | 15 |
Overview
This is an introductory course to character design for animation and illustration. The course will guide you through all the fundamentals for creating compelling characters that your audience will love and remember. We will also cover some of the practical steps to follow to be able to achieve professional commissions and simple tips and tools to use photoshop and procreate practically and efficiently.
What will this course cover?
• How to tackle a character design commission with a focus on creating appealing story driven characters.
• The art of researching – Finding authenticity in reference!
• Thumbnailing – or the art of getting through the bad drawings quickly!
• Critiquing a character design – what makes a great character design?
• Understanding the role and responsibilities of a character designer/illustrator when working with a client
• How do we create a memorable character? – tips and tricks to infuse your character with emotion!
• We will also discuss the fundamental skills necessary to create professional quality character designs, including – shape language, silhouette, proportion, dimensionality, observation, and gesture. To name just a few.
• The applicants will be provided with the description of the 5 main characters of a Classic book of Literature. Using the descriptions I provided and following my step-by-step process, the goal is to design 5 of the main characters of the story. Personal assistance will be provided and the group will be able to compare and discuss the results in the final class.
Participant profile
This course is suitable for all level of artists from beginners to experienced professionals who are interested in character design and storytelling for animation and illustration.
Tutor
Finbar Coyle is a freelance character designer and illustrator with over 10 years experience in the Animation industry in a range of roles from animator, prop designer to character designer. Some of his design credits include: Prop designer on “Danger Mouse” Season 1 for Boulder Media/ CBeebies, 2D Designer on “Nella the Princess Knight” for Brown Bag Films/Nick Jr and Lead Character Designer on “Alva’s World” for Kavaleer/RTE amongst others. Currently based in Cologne, Germany Finbar specialises in visual storytelling, sometimes as an illustrator, sometimes as part of a design studio. As an illustrator represented by Advocate Art agency Finbar has created characters for board games with major US company’s and as a freelance character designer he has created characters for brands such as Gymshark, FisherPrice, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Aldi to name just a few. Finbar has also given talks and workshops on character design in Ireland and Germany.
Materials/equipment/software needed
You will need a good WiFi connection as the classes will be taking place on Zoom. You will be using your own software such as Photoshop or Procreate. These are not essential however and applicants can also work with paper and pencil.
Venue/location
Online
Costs/fee
Normally, the fee for this course would be €190 , but through Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet we can offer this course at the subsidised members rate of €100.
Dates and times of the course
Wednesday June 7th 2023 (6.30pm – 8.30pm) and then every Wednesday for 6 weeks until July 12th.
This course is at capacity. If you want to check if there have been any places made availabe due to cancellations, please contact seansmith@furthr.ie