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Designing Creatures and Characters: How to Build an Artist’s Portfolio for Video Games, Film, Animation and More
£11.60£19.90 (-42%)
Ever wondered how you could become a character designer for video games, film or animation? Veteran art director and concept artist Marc Taro Holmes shares proven methods for honing the skills and building the portfolio necessary to become a pro gaming artist. This is the first and only work-at-your-own pace home study program that teaches the crucial insider knowledge needed to break into the entertainment-design industry and develop your own style–all you need are a pencil, paper and your imagination.
The projects within this straightforward guide are constructed to help you apply your existing drawing and digital art skills to character design. Or, if you’re still working on your skills, it will help you improve while at the same time turning your mind into an idea-generating machine.
Unlock the Secrets to Character and Creature Design
- Follow the creature design process from start to finish: 35 projects are divided into 4 challenge levels, ranging from brainstorming and drawing character blueprints to completing market-ready illustrations. As the levels advance, the projects become more complex.
- Learn to solve design problems: Every project introduces you to an open-ended fictional assignment inspired by industry experience. Each project has a list of minimum deliverables–the basics to get to the next stage–plus bonus goals. You receive virtual merit badges for each achievement you complete.
- Think like a pro: Over the 155 possible artistic achievements, you’ll be asked to find a solution to every type of conceptual problem you might encounter as a professional creature or character designer.
- Build your portfolio: Work toward creating an outstanding portfolio. Improve your skills and push yourself to create a fine-tuned presentation that could get you your eventual dream job.
“This is a workout for the imagination, a boot camp for creativity.” –Marc Taro Holmes
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Additional information
| Publisher | IMPACT Books, 1st edition (28 Oct. 2016) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 192 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1440344094 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1440344091 |
| Dimensions | 20.7 x 1.3 x 25.48 cm |
by Andrew Vyse
An inspirational book. Full of handy tips and tricks throughout. A good kick starter for ideas. Deserves a place on the bookshelf on any artist looking for a way into the animation/games/film industries.
by Tilen
Concise and gives both an extensive overview and in depth discussion on the professional life cycle of the creative industry with diverse example projects. Also nice to read through some brief tutorials on ways to develop fast, loose character designs you can build in
by Mattias
As a student starting university next September to study Computer games art, this book is PERFECT!!! I can’t wait to work through all the achievements and projects to get myself prepared and improve my designing skills while having fun. Marc Taro Holmes’ artwork is a true inspiration to me and made me so excited to get drawing, I would recommend to anyone wanting to peruse a career in concept art or just for a hobby!
by FlashBandit2019
Fun to read and very informative. It’s mostly creatures design. I kinda wish it had a couple more human characters but I still like it a lot.
by Caitlin
Gave this my daughter. She loves drawing creatures. I got it for me initially but actually it’s not my cup of tea! Great book overall. Very informative. Well written and laid out.
by Amy Kennedy
As an aspiring concept artist, I don’t think I could’ve found a better book! The active style of teaching in the book (the achievements) are such a great form of teaching! I wish more art books did this, the method of teaching through practice is so invaluable! I’ve only personally managed to work through a small amount of the book so far, but I’ve already noticed a significant improvement into my presentation and design from simply working through this book! I’d seriously recommend this for everyone! It’s absolutely fantastic!
by FlashBandit2019
This book offers a novel structure for practicing visual design, based on an achievement system that rewards iteration. If you aren’t sure how to practice/build a portfolio, this book offers a fantastic option. It’s also just a lot of fun to flick through and admire the art.
by Luke
Such an awesome book. I did my research on the book beforehand so knew what to expect. This is a book by professionals, for professionals. There is a lot of useful information and some really complex stuff but if you persist with it it will no doubt be a handy endeavour for any artist. If you are a beginner or amateur artist just know that you may find it overwhelming/ not what you’re after, but if you’re like me and think you can learn regardless – and what’s more, just love the art and illustrations for the inspiration – then you shan’t be disappointed.