Photo

Inspiration for all from a great illustrator, a true master of the art. Russell Patterson.

1st September 2012

Post

Character Design new Fall Syllabus

Character Design Syllabus - ANIMA-340-01 (1443) Fall 2012

09/04/2012-12/13/2012 Studio Tuesday, Thursday 12:00PM - 03:00PM, Founder’s Hall, Room 306

Course Description

This class covers the craft of character design for a broad range of animated media. Our aim is the creation of animation‐friendly 2D and 3D characters for the screen, emphasizing the look and appeal of a character, personality, psychology, context within an environment and within a cast of supporting characters. Exploration of the various forms of drawing related to the field of animation. Emphasis will be put on volume, mass, weight, movement/gesture, conveying attitude, dramatic expression, action poses, acting, anatomy, consistent perspective and economy of line.

Class structure

This is a three hour class, meeting twice a week.

The content of the course will aim to sharpen the student’s working knowledge of the craft of characterization, developing personality in a character, creating a balanced cast of characters, developing overall “look and feel, and how best to present their work. During class time students will be exposed to design history, learn the professional method, and sharpen their critical thinking about the work of design for animation. Lectures on various design topics will be followed by student assignment and practice, with guidance by the teacher.

Course Objective(s) 

After completing this course, students will be able to:

1. create appealing characters with a distinctive personality;

2. create a range of characters that work together as a “cast”.

3. Create character design pieces suitable for student projects and portfolio presentations.

Student Learning Objectives

SLO 1: Acquire a basic knowledge, theories, and concepts about art; develop a foundation of art skills and a high level of craftsmanship; communicate ideas and concepts through writing, speaking and art making; acquire a competency with the tools and technologies associated with the visual arts.

SLO 2: Apply processes of generating and solving problems in art; analyze, interpret and question traditional methodologies and preconceived notions of art and art making.

· Practice creative development process of design for characters that can later be animated in 2D traditional, 2D Digital Flash, or 3D Computer Animation.

· Apply drawing knowledge learned previously: 3-D structure, volume, weight, perspective, action, attitude.

· Produce original Character design work that demonstrate successful integration of principles of animation, technology & student’s own personal aesthetic in conceptually rich & skillfully executed work.

· Critically analyze peers work in critiques. Analyze own development and comfortably receive criticism and feedback. Apply problem-solving skills and make revisions to improve work.

SLO 3: Develop appreciation and tolerance of diverse perspectives dealing with art, culture, teaching/learning. See the power and effectiveness of works beyond Manga or Pre Disney, from all around the globe.

· Become aware of and learn to critically analyze Character Design from both History and the current Animation field of 3D CG and 2D Features and Games.

Course Subjects by Week

Week 1
   Day 1       Class Overview – 1^st Topic: Heads
   Day 2       Heads Continued

Week 2
   Day 3       Features: Eyes, ears, nose
   Day 4       Features: Mouths

Week 3
   Day 5       The Body
   Day 6       Body Continued

Week 4
   Day 7       2D shape design – Illusions of Dimension

   Day 8       2D shape graphic design

Week 5
   Day 9       Personality design (Emotion & Sensation)
   Day 10      Expression

Week 6
   Day 11       Reference and how to use it
   Day 12       Reference Continued

Week 7
   Day 13       Costume and period design
    Day 14        2D Costume design

Week 8
   Day 15       Caricature
   Day 16       Caricature Continued

Week 9
   Day 17       Volumetric Design
   Day 18       Volume & Animateability

Week 10
   Day 19       Body Language
   Day 20       Body Language : Making Characters Interact

Week 11
   Day 21       Model sheets: preparation
   Day 22       2D character turn‐ around

Week 12
   Day 23       Versatility
   Day 24       Versatility Continued

Week 13
   Day 25       3D Design: technical considerations
   Day 26       3D technical design I

Week 14
   Day 27       Refinement
   Day 28       FINAL Project: Assignment/Explanation

Week 15
   Day 29       Character Bible
   Day 30       Character bible Continued

Week 16
   Day 31       FINAL Project Presentations
   Day 32       Guest Lecture & Student Pitches

Attendance-Attendance will be recorded at each class meeting. Instruction will not be repeated for the benefit of students who have missed class. The design of this course is centered around guided practice - supervised project development (see evaluation). Attendance is a requirement to succeed.

Recommended Internet Resources

Animation World Network: http://www.awn.com/ 

Animation Nation: http://www.animationnation.com/ 

Cartoon Brew: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/ 

AWN Student Corner: http://studentcorner.awn.com/

Character Design | Artist Interviews: characterdesign.blogspot.com/

Reading- The development of a personal library of texts and manuals is considered to be a professional career development expense. The following text books are strongly recommended to enrich your projects and achieve the most for your time here:

Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair
ISBN: 1-56010-084-2

“Cartooning The Head And Figure”- Jack Hamm

ASSIGNMENTS-

Reading Assignments- The (handouts) are required reading assignments and will be discussed in class in order to assist the student in developing understanding of the techniques and processes required to accomplish the art work.

Typical Class Assignments- Write a short character profile and concept sketch, write a full character description and story, or write a critique of a commercial animation.

Typical Outside Assignment- Draw character and layout sketches, participate in a sketch-crawl, or visit a zoo to draw and observe animals.

Evaluation - The design of this course requires that the student will devote additional hours of effort outside the class, in addition to the hours of lecture, production team- work, and lab hours in class. The student is advised to carefully consider this in determining whether they have will be able to devote the time necessary in order to meet the requirements of this course. Planning is paramount! Just as you will discover in the workplace, if you cannot manage your time and production you will not be successful. Grading in this course is based upon your COMPLETED WORK.

Grading:

1. Midterm and final projects: 50%

2. Attendance and class participation: 25%

3. Exercises and assignments: 25%

The course is graded according to the following system:

A+; A (Excellent); A-; B+; B (Good); B-; C+; C (Satisfactory); C-(Substandard, must repeat the course. You will still receive studio elective credit); D+; D (Unsatisfactory, must repeat course. You will still receive 3 units of studio credit but must take course again) F (Failing not credit received).

Code of Ethics and Plagiarism

The School expects you to critically scrutinize your course materials and creative work to be sure you have transformed and uniquely personalized your artwork and or any written information. CCA considers plagiarism unacceptable and knowingly using another’s work as your own may lead to a judicial process within the school that could possibly result in suspension or dismissal from the college.

• Disabilities and Special Accommodation For questions with disability issues please contact George Sedano, Director of Disability Services at 510.594.3775 or gsedano@cca.edu

If you are an animation major, you must achieve better than a C-in order to pass.

Materials:

• Paper

• Graphite pencils

• Ink pens

• Sketchbook or journal

• Markers (optional)

Some in-class work may require paper cutting, modeling clay or puppet -making, in order that students grasp the given design concepts while not limited by lack of drawing experience. For these projects the instructor will provide some materials. On some drawing assignments the instructor might provide a template or guide to follow.

Animation Student resources list