Character Development for Visual Stories

Character Development for Visual Stories

If you’re building a 3D character, have you struggled to find a consistent method to make sure they are distinctive and recognizable? Or are you just using trial and error….feeling your way to a possible result?

Drew Spence has solid experience in building dozens of 3D characters, including those for his Force Six Annihilators graphic novel series. In this tutorial, he’ll show you his approach to developing distinguished and memorable characters, with Daz Studio at the heart of his workflow.

Included is a bonus tutorial that provides a great foundation for understanding basic elements of a character as well as character archetypes.

Content for this 3D Character Development Tutorial Includes..

  • Building your story world
  • Identifying characters and roles
  • Who is your character design aimed at?
  • Character strengths and weaknesses
  • Define the character’s “look and feel”
  • 15 Recommended products for developing characters in Daz Studio.
  • Writer and reader perceptions of characters
  • Making the character distinctive
  • Real world checks on your character
  • Dealing with an ensemble of characters

Bonus tutorial : Creating Compelling Characters by Peter von Stackelberg (part 1 only)

  • Our understanding of the characters is shaped by the actions they take
  • Elements to understanding a character
  • Key Properties of Characters
  • The Characters Populating Your Storyworld
  • Major, Minor and Placeholder Characters
  • Character Archetypes
  • Avoiding Clichés and Stereotypes
  • Raising the Emotional Stakes
  • Why is it important that characters be distinctive?
  • What makes a character distinctive looking?
  • What keeps characters from looking distinctive?
  • Purposeful Resemblances
  • Challenges In Distinctive Features
  • How characters are typically differentiated
  • Ways to test your cast’s distinctiveness

About the Presenter : Drew Spence

Drew Spence is a graphic comic writer and illustrator from the United States. He creates under the title of The Dynamic Universe. He has combined his music and video into several works- including Mark of the Griffin, which is both a graphic novel and web series. He is part of the instrumental group Fallout Shelter which provides the soundtrack. The other band members are Domino Grey, Dynamics Plus and Xodus Phoenix.

Drew Spence is a graduate of Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art and holds various certificates – from graphic arts to web design. Drew Spence was the CEO and Editor-in-chief of Producer’s Edge magazine, a quarterly publication dedicated to all aspects of music production. The magazine was packaged with a DVD which included sound samples, instructional videos and software. He currently lives on Long Island, New York and produces his work from the aptly named Fallout Shelter Studios, where he crafts crafty and clever comics using CGI and photorealistic image manipulation.

About the presenter : Peter von Stackelberg

"Whether it's with words or images, I love to tell stories. I've been a storyteller as far back as I can remember well before I made journalism my first career.

I studied journalism at Ryerson University (long before it was known as a university) and spent a number of years as an investigative journalist and news photographer. With the emergence of the web in the 1990s, I worked as a web designer, e-commerce developer, and IT project manager. In the early 2000s, I was a professional futurist doing technology forecasting and working as a technology strategist. I also began teaching college classes in strategic management, managing technology and innovation, project management, business communications, systems thinking, and other courses.

Through all of these jobs writing and visual communication remained a core part of the work I did.

I have a B.A. in Journalism from Ryerson University, an M.S. in Studies of the Future from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and an M.S. in Information Design & Technology from SUNY IT

What's Included and Features

  • Character Development for Visual Stories:
    • Main Tutorial : 1 hour and 40 minutes
    • Bonus Tutorial : 1 hour and 46 minutes
    • 3 x PDF character development worksheets
    • Main tutorial Slide Pack
  • Main Tutorial Content:
    • 00:00 Introduction
    • 00:02 The road map
    • 00:06 Characters that you can identify with.
    • 00:07 Force 6 Annihilators characters - Season III cover
    • 00:08 What is the tone of your story world?
    • 00:09 The hero’s journey : characters arcs
    • 00:14 W.O.R.L.D acronym
    • 00:20 Character archetypes. Force 6 annihilators - the character mix.
    • 00:22 The C.A.S.T. acronym - Core Assembly of Strong Traits
    • 00:25 Advice for building your cast of characters
    • 00:28 The force 6 characters built in DAZ Studio.
    • 00:29 How the writer sees a character. How the reader sees a character.
    • 00:30 Character Authenticity in Story Test (C.A.S.T.)
    • 00:33 Daz Studio- morphing a character.
    • 00:36 Place characters in environments that they would be uncomfortable.
    • 00:38 What’s the character hiding?
    • 00:39 Mixing the characters “genetics” using morphs
    • 00:39 Start of Daz product showcase of resources for character builds
    • 00:40 Product: “People of the Earth: Faces of...” series of products to allow multiple characters
    • 00:42 Skin effects
    • 00:42 Characters should show wear and tear
    • 00:44 Recommended skin shader products
    • 00:45 Scars
    • 00:45 Randomizer product
    • 00:47 High impact morphs, poses and expressions
    • 00:48 Fantasy shaping morphs product
    • 00:49 Cast of characters - silhouette test
    • 00:52 Tattoos
    • 00:53 Aging morphs
    • 00:54 Children for characters and Daz tools
    • 00:56 FaceGen and other similar products
    • 00:59 Ensure the Master file of character saved safely
    • 01:00 Real World tests on your characters
    • 01:04 Will your readership remember the character’s names?
    • 01:06 Ensure other characters are not made into background characters. Balanced development.
    • 01:07 Your character has a fear or weakness. What is it? What are they anticipating?
    • 01:11 Are the characters changing the shape of the world?
    • 01:15 What’s your fear? What’s your motivation?
    • 01:17 “I’m here to stop this happening to anyone else.” one special core value of a character.
    • 01:19 What’s driving the story? This will help define the tone.
    • 01:23 Killer Butterfly comic book. What’s the real secret? What’s the red herring?
    • 01:30 Compelling characters. Don’t miscast the characters.
    • 01:36 The insecurity turns into the strength. That’s the character arc.

Compatible Figures:

N/A

Compatible Software:

-empty-

Install Types:

Install Manager Manual Install

Daz3d