W E L C O M E

CHARACTER DESIGN FOR FILM & GAMES

CGMA
C H A R A C T E R D E S I G N F O R
F I L M & G A M E S

C G M A

WEEK 1
INTRODUCTION
 1. Introduction about me
Course overview
What we’ll 2.

Concept art process

be covering 3.

today 4. Your design brief

5. Recommended resources
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C G M A

SOME
HOUSEKEEPING
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C G M A

WHO AM I?
UK based artist from the
north of England

I’ve been a concept artist for

8-9 years now

Currently a Senior Concept

Artist at Sumo Digital

Worked across game, film and

animation projects
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2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9

1 8 / 1 9 y e a r s o l d
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2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9

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G E O R G E H U L L
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P L E A S E D O N ’ T J U D G E M E B A S E D O N T H I S I M A G E . . .
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. . . O R T H I S I M A G E . . .
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. . . I P R O M I S E I C A N D O B E T T E R
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P L E A S E D O N ’ T L E A V E
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P R A C T I C E
+
P A T I E N C E
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C G M A

COURSE
OVERVIEW
C O U R S E O V E R V I E W

- Course designed and structured around character concept art

- Show a variety of methods you can use and adapt in your workflow
- Working with specific software but this is adaptable based on your
personal preferences
- Just to be clear: the techniques shown have worked well for me
but adjust things so that they also work for you
C O U R S E O V E R V I E W

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3

INTRODUCTION SKETCHING ROUGH IDEAS REFINING IDEAS
Format: Format: Format:
Live Lecture (approx 60-90 minutes) Live Lecture (approx 60-90 mins) Live Lecture (approx 60-90 mins)
No Q&A session Q&A session (approx 30 mins) Q&A session (approx 30 mins)
C O U R S E O V E R V I E W

WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6

USING 3D PAINTOVER PART I PAINTOVER PART II
Format: Format: Format:
Live Lecture (approx 60-90 mins) Live Lecture (approx 60-90 mins) Live Lecture (approx 60-90 mins)
Q&A session (approx 30 mins) Q&A session (approx 30 mins) Q&A session (approx 30 mins)
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WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 9

FINAL PRESENTATION AND
ADDITIONAL DETAILS FINAL SESSION
PORTFOLIO REVIEWS
Format: Format: Format:
Live Lecture (approx 60-90 mins) Live Lecture (approx 60-90 mins) Final Q&A session (approx 60mins)
Q&A session (approx 30 mins) Q&A session (approx 30 mins) No lecture. No homework (woo!)
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C G M A
C O U R S E O V E R V I E W - L I V E L E C T U R E S

- Live lectures will be very much like this

- They will each be around 60-90 minutes long
- Generally will consist of a short presentation then a live demo done
in software
- A good chance for you to see the process and ask any questions
- I’ll post any additional resources online as the course progresses
C O U R S E O V E R V I E W - Q & A S E S S I O N S

- Q&A sessions are a window of opportunity to ask for further

information
- Obviously you can ask questions regarding the lesson, but feel free
to ask anything else regarding the industry too
- There are no dumb questions, so please ask me something
(otherwise these sessions will be very quiet and lonely!)
C O U R S E O V E R V I E W - F E E D B A C K

- Each week, you will be given an assignment with a deadline

- Once your work is submitted through the CGMA site, I will provide
each of you personal video feedback that will be about 5-10
minutes long
- Please watch the video feedback :)
S O F T W A R E
S O F T W A R E
S O F T W A R E
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C G M A

CONCEPT ART
PROCESS
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S - C O N C E P T A R T V S . I L L U S T R A T I O N

L U C A S P A R O L I N
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S - C O N C E P T A R T V S . I L L U S T R A T I O N

I G O R S I D
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S - C O N C E P T A R T V S . I L L U S T R A T I O N

W E S B U R T
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S - C O N C E P T A R T V S . I L L U S T R A T I O N

W E S B U R T
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S - C O N C E P T A R T V S . I L L U S T R A T I O N

W E S B U R T
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S - C O N C E P T A R T V S . I L L U S T R A T I O N

W E S B U R T
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S - C O N C E P T A R T V S . I L L U S T R A T I O N

J O H N S T A U B W E S B U R T J E R A D M A R A N T Z
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S

1. RESEARCH
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S

2. INITIAL IDEAS

H Y O U N G N A M
C O N C E P T A R T P R O C E S S

3. REFINED IDEAS

H Y O U N G N A M
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4. FINAL DESIGN

H Y O U N G N A M
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C G M A

YOUR BRIEF
Y O U R B R I E F

- Pretty simple:
- From a provided list of options, I want you to choose the core
themes for your character design
- You can add and expand upon your ideas, so long as you stick with
the core themes
- Over the next 8 weeks, your going to design your character
following the methods shown through the course
Y O U R B R I E F

CORE THEMES
Choose one option from each list

GENREChoose one option

OCCUPATION
Choose one option
SEASON
Choose one option

LIGHT FANTASY FORGER/BLACKSMITH SPRING

(Fable, Zelda etc.)

DARK FANTASY ENFORCER/SOLDIER SUMMER

(Dark Souls, Mortal Shell etc.)

CYBERPUNK ASSASSIN AUTUMN

(Ghost in the Shell, Bladerunner etc.)

A P O C A LY PT I C THIEF/ROGUE WINTER
(Mad Max, Fallout etc.)

ANGLER

GLADIATOR/FIGHTER
If you would like an extra challenge, try also
adding a Cultural Reference (for example,
RACER Japanese, Mongolian, African, Indian etc.)
W E E K 1 A S S I G N M E N T

Task 1: Help me get to know you

- Please send 3 of your best pieces of work to introduce yourself
(JPEG images please)
- Please write a couple of sentences about yourself. Provide me a
little bit about your background, experience, why you want to work
in concept art and what you hope to get from this course
W E E K 1 A S S I G N M E N T

Task 2: Choose your themes

- Using the list of Core Themes, please also select the character
you’d like to create. Think about this and write a short pitch for the
character you want to design (a short paragraph will be fine)
W E E K 1 A S S I G N M E N T

Task 3: Research and Reference Gathering

- Gather research and references to support the design ideas for
your character (a single jpeg with lots of reference images)
W E E K 1 A S S I G N M E N T S U M M A R Y

SUMMARY:
- 3 images of your best work and short paragraph introducing
yourself
- Choose your options from the Core Themes list and write a short
character pitch
- Provide research and reference images for your character design
P L E A S E O R G A N I S E Y O U R R E S E A R C H
W E E K 1 A S S I G N M E N T - D E A D L I N E

DEADLINE: 1am (PST) Sunday 31st January

- Homework must be submitted through the CGMA platforms
- Guidelines and more information can be found on the Assignment
section in class room page
- Please be mindful of the course assignment due dates, because I
am only able to provide you with feedback if you submit your
assignment on time
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C G M A

SOME RECOMMENDED
RESOURCES
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C G M A
 I HOPE YOU
ENJOY THE COURSE

CHARACTER DESIGN FOR FILM & GAMES

CGMA