From the course: Learning Character Development and Design

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Tools of the trade

Tools of the trade

- Getting bogged down with technicalities early on can be deadly, so removing technical barriers at the outset helps to access the clearest ideas. Using simple, often traditional materials works best. Here's a list of tools you could use for the first steps of creating your characters. Pencils are one of the most common tools to start the process, because it's one of the first tools we become familiar with as artists. Carter Goodrich uses a common number two Staedtler pencil, and whatever drawing paper he has laying around. He typically explores his characters without color to keep the focus on the character's structure. Adding a more permanent and deeper value range mark making on paper can help to provide more graphic clarity and darker values to a sketch. Nico Marlet uses pencils and markers on lightly toned paper to capture his fluid and organic character designs. These materials allow for a clean, graphic presentation, while still displaying his expressive pencil line. Thinking…

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