4 Tips to Mastering Character Illustration

I'm presenting four ways in detail on how to bring your illustration to the next level.

This is Mirage from Pixar's The Incredibles in my style. I drew it on my phone.

What is character illustration?

Showing character(s) with a personality, either by facial expression or body shape, clothing and accessories or an appearance that fits the environment. Be clear and concise. Have a theme. Art is the conscious use of skill and creative imagination.

One of the key aspects of mastering character illustration is understanding the importance of storytelling in your art. Creating characters that are not only visually appealing but also rich in personality and depth using colour theory, and interesting composition.

Another essential tip for character illustration is to focus on anatomy and proportions. Understanding the human body and how it moves is crucial for creating believable and engaging characters.

N.D.C.I.

Narrative, decorative, conceptual and informative. These are the ways to approach a good illustration. If you are indecisive... ( haha) You can use these as a guide to:

• make them unique! Are they someone who is confident? What is their aesthetic? Are they an angry man-child obsessed with heroes and technology and trying to establish himself as a new kind of hero ... by killing off actual superheroes?

• exaggerate your design either by defining features or body shapes. If they are strong, give them huge arms and a tin waist to show off their strength.

• when they move, do they have a line of action? This defines the movement and direction of your character. Maybe they do ballet?

• the line weight gives meaning to the character(s) overall feeling. The line provide a rhythm that leads the eye; thick or soft round line suggest your character is approachable and cute.

• a silhouette is a distinct shape. Depending on the pose or even an item that the character is known for having, you would be able to name the character without even seeing them in colour. The gestures the character(s) make should help you understand their emotions. Don't overlap the limbs, try to keep it simple.

• posture adds to the character's personality. Are they hyper and impatient, or broody and shy?

• what does the environment feel like? Colours are emotional. They communicate and express the mood. Warm colors, such as reds, yellows, and oranges, can create an energetic mood; anger or even excitement. Cool colors, such as blues, greens, and violets, can create a relaxed mood; sad, laid back, or even lazy. Complementary colors create dynamism, while monochrome colors invoke feelings of calm

Showing a Narrative

Is your character a villain inspired by a wolf? His features should be sharp and he should look dangerous. Are they someone afraid of ghosts, who for some reason, is in a haunted environment? They should look afraid! Like they are slowly tip-toeing around with feather light steps. Maybe the eyes of a painting is following them. Do they have a weakness? Rubber breaks in freezing temperatures... how does this affect the character?

Think of The Incredibles from Disney/Pixar.

Art by Lou Romano

Here, we can clearly make out a fight between a hero and a monster.

This piece is exaggerating the contrast between the heroes small stature versus the giant black mass he is fighting. The hero draws you eye by being the only red subject and his posture shows that he is determined to win. The active lines of the scorpion show a rhythm of striking fast and hard.

In this piece, the colours show our hero is clearly depressed. His body is slump with displeasure and he is the only person not happily working.

Let's looks at posters. Each member has their own features.

From right to left:

• the boy looks competitive maybe even impatient

• the baby looks silly and slightly mischievous

• the girl looks confident, albeit a bit angsty

• the dad looks proud, muscular yet chubby

• the mom firm and in charge, yet her body is loose and relaxed

What do you want your character(s) to show?

Decorate the Environment

You need to identify the main things you wish to show. Is it your colour choices? Is it the composition? A unique perspective? Maybe even a dinner date with your enemy's... secretary?

Show your character(s) blending in the environment. Is the scene you want to portray in a city or a cafe? Are they in a cave? Use different textures!

Texture is the perceived surface quality. Is the chair smooth? Does it have wood grains? Is the characters hair messy? Is their clothing ruffled?

How do these things feel to you? Are they smooth or rough, soft or hard, coarse of fine, matt or glossy?

But... How do you show these? By using line weight!

If you have a favorite movie scene, find a screen-shot of it and find what draws your attention. For me, its the scene in The Incredibles where Mirage is bathed in warm light. The atmosphere is very moody yet it does not feel oppressive. It feels almost playful, if not a bit alluring. You can see that her chair is wooden because of the texture. The pottery in front of her is blurry, yet you can still understand what it is... through interpretation.

I wanted to capture the feeling of playfulness of her expression, the comfortable atmosphere, the sharp focus on her face and the light refractions.

You should focus on breaking down these elements and implementing them in your own scene recreation.

The Concepts

The idea behind the work is often more important that the finished piece, because it shows how you got there. What influenced your decisions? What was your inspiration? Assign each character an attribute. Play around with their expressions. Where do they come from? What do they dream of?

Ask yourself, what period of time are they in? Is it mid-century? The 1960's?

You should sketch out your ideas first. Put down a few thumbnails! Sketch out different expressions and have a general idea of ow your character looks.

From Pixar Storytelling by Dean Movshovitz.

Providing the Information

What, where, when, how and why? Will your audience learn something?

You need to provide a topic, location, time period, process and possible reasons why.

How do you do it? By having dynamic poses, focusing on lighting, how everything interacts with said lighting.

Shapes are important! Are you going to use organic shapes or geometric?

Posters and book covers are a great inspiration for finding ways to inform your audience what the story is about. Is it a series of images?

Try these tips and tag me on Instagram or X with #heypinkcapri.