Character Design for Video Games
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Character Design for Video Games
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Description
When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan .
- Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
- Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.
About this course: In this course you will explore concepts and approaches involved in creating successful character designs that can be applied to video games. Following a first week delving into some foundational concepts for successful character design, each of the remaining three weeks are structured as a "master class" where you will observe three professional character designers at work in the studio: Andy Ristaino (Adventure Time), Jacky Ke Jiang (Journey), and Robertryan Cory (SpongeBob SquarePants). Each designer will take on two different design challenges on the fly and address the various issues in designing characters for games, such as movement, expression, and technical l…
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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan .
- Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
- Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.
About this course: In this course you will explore concepts and approaches involved in creating successful character designs that can be applied to video games. Following a first week delving into some foundational concepts for successful character design, each of the remaining three weeks are structured as a "master class" where you will observe three professional character designers at work in the studio: Andy Ristaino (Adventure Time), Jacky Ke Jiang (Journey), and Robertryan Cory (SpongeBob SquarePants). Each designer will take on two different design challenges on the fly and address the various issues in designing characters for games, such as movement, expression, and technical limitations. At the end of each week you will have an opportunity to try out some of the concepts from that week's lesson on characters of your own design. This is a fun and engaging class especially useful for students interested in animation in film and TV as well as games, and is suitable for students of any drawing ability.
Created by: California Institute of the Arts-
Taught by: Fran Krause, Faculty, Character Animation
School of Film/Video
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
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California Institute of the Arts CalArts has earned an international reputation as the leading college of the visual and performing arts in the United States. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions.Syllabus
WEEK 1
Week 1: About Character
In this first week of the course, we will explore some of the major concepts involved in creating compelling, unique, and purposeful characters. These ideas will provide the basis for your assignment this week and lay the groundwork for our visits with professional designers in the coming weeks.
5 videos, 2 readings expand
- Video: Welcome
- Reading: About this Course
- Reading: An Important Question
- Discussion Prompt: Choose Your Own Character
- Video: Density
- Video: Mood & Story
- Video: Proportion
- Video: Week 1 Homework
Graded: One Character, Three Ways
WEEK 2
Week 2: Technical Challenges
This week, we visit Andy Ristaino, a character designer who has created many of the ingenious characters for the animated series Adventure Time.
5 videos, 2 readings expand
- Reading: Introducing Andy Ristaino
- Reading: Resource: Andy's drawings
- Video: Drawing the Explorer
- Video: Refining the Explorer
- Video: Drawing the Alien
- Video: Refining the Alien
- Video: Week 2 Homework
Graded: Opposites Attract
WEEK 3
Week 3: Design with Purpose
This week, we visit Jacky Ke Jiang, an animator who has worked as a character designer for both Disney Feature Animation and in video games. Jacky will discuss working in both 2D and 3D modes as he completes his challenges.
4 videos, 2 readings expand
- Reading: Introducing Jacky Ke Jiang
- Reading: Resource: Jacky's drawings
- Video: 2D Ink Drawing
- Video: 2D Tablet Drawing
- Video: 3D Modeling
- Video: Week 3 Homework
Graded: Observe and Adapt
WEEK 4
Week 4: Find Your Character
This week, we see Robertryan Cory in action. Cory is an a character designer known for his work on shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Ren & Stimpy, and Gravity Falls.
8 videos, 4 readings expand
- Reading: Introducing Robertryan Cory
- Reading: Resource: Robertryan's drawings
- Video: Drawing the Pig
- Video: Refining the Pig
- Video: Drawing the Sheep
- Video: Refining the Sheep, Part 1
- Video: Refining the Sheep, Part 2
- Video: Working in Animation
- Reading: Introducing Robertryan Cory (again)
- Video: Robertryan Studio Follow-Up
- Video: Week 4 Homework
- Reading: Course Credits
Graded: Outside Inspiration
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