Shaping Character

Now you will do the same exercise the other way around.

Think of at least two words that you would use to describe a person.

These should be words for what that person is like, not what they look like.

Now think about what shapes would show that about a person.

Remember you can use a mix of shapes. You can also stretch shapes, flip shapes, tilt shapes and combine shapes.

With a light pencil, draw your character using only shapes. Choose shapes that will get across your character’s personality.

Now draw your finished character based on that shape design. If you like, you can start by putting tracing paper over your shape design.

Remember that you can add shapes as part of their clothing or costume. You can do this as a way of emphasizing a kind of shape (by adding more) or balancing the shapes (by adding shapes
with different meanings.

• You don’t have to use exact shapes. Unless it’s something that would naturally be a clear shape (like a belt buckle) you can smooth it out to make it more natural. People will still get the idea if you make the shapes the basis of your design.