Or “How to do twice the work in half the time!”
By Lurch
We’re back for another fun filled lesson in design! Everyone have their No.2 pencils and sketchbooks? All of those that raised their hands go to the back of the class; you obviously didn’t pay attention in the last lesson. Now all the rest of you, bring up your design program (Photoshop, Gimp, etc) & internet browser and let’s get to work.
Same as before the best way to start is to get good source art. For designs this time, I picked the Goblin Queen and Punisher Captain America. First up however, we have a simple design for one of the Goblin Queen’s minions. To start, take the general minimate design and then add the base color. You will notice for most of the designs you usually only have to do half the work, a majority of characters are symmetrical. So don’t worry about getting the entire thing right, just concentrate on the section your working on, then flip the design to the other side and bam … twice the work! As you see with the goblin I copied in the torso design. Then changed the outline of his hand and added some facial & feet design. Then just copy and flip to the other side and you got a full figure. All that’s left is some touch-up.
Now for something a bit more challenging, the Goblin Queen. Select your general design, then for those that don’t have a uniform base color I like to add in lines for where the breaks in color will be. After that, add in the colors, here’s where having good concept art really helps because you can just take samples of the colors from those to use in your design. Next I add in some of the costume highlights and more detail, then some changes to the base design. Then the flip and you got your base body design. From here, you can add another layer to your design; that way any additions you make don’t mess up your progress so far. For this character, she really needs a cape, so we build up the shoulder pad that will hold the cape. Next we add the outline for the cape, then fill in with color and highlights, flip it over and the cape’s done. The part I always leave for last is the face, I’m just not that good with the facial features as I would like. One good tip, if your having trouble with lips or eyes or any other feature that you just can’t seem to get right; go to the internet and Google some images. You might just find something you could use or trace over and use in your design. So once you have the face how you like it, add in the hair. Then the front is done and you can start on the back. So just copy and flip your design over, then fill in any parts as needed and add detail. Then one more flip and done, just added in the minion from our first part and there you have it … the Goblin Queen.
Finally one more design left, Punisher Captain America. You’ll notice with this design you have a lot of layers that get added to complete the entire character. To start I picked the basic designs I’m going to use. Make any changes to the lines and then add in some color along with a little detail. Adding in the belt and holster along with some leg & arm detail. Flipping it over to get your base body design. Then we start on the next layer on the torso, the Punisher logo. After flipping that part, then add the next layer. You’ll notice with the little changes to the shoulder straps, that even with doing a symmetrical character you can add some changes to either side. Next up the progression of the face with mask. Then we copy and flip the design again and fill in for the back to finish. All that’s left is to add in any accessories. For items like guns I like to copy one of the hands in the section so I can judge how big or small to make the weapon. Then your done .. Punisher Captain America!
Now get out there and start making some designs!
