http://www.daz3d.com/new-releases/mec4d-darkon-for-genesis-2-male-s

I am not talking about becoming a great individual that everyone looks up to, I am talking about creating a character that tells you who that person is, just by looking at their face, the pose, how they are dressed.

I remember reading this advice: write everything down about the character. This means writing where they live, what they like to eat, what they like to do during the day. All this information is the background, and will give the character his or her backstory.

This may seem to be a lot of time spent dreaming, but it will actually make character creation a lot easier when you already have all the notes about how your character thinks.

Looking at some of the 3D graphics, illustration and animation, when researching the featured artist, I realized these people were doing just this. When you look at a well-thought out image you get a sense of the place, if it is a landscape, or if there is a person, you see past the posed or rendered model to the inner story, their backstory

Also, taking a couple of tips from the world of advertising about character design we have: Decide who your audience is, which will greatly influence the character you are creating. Your character’s accessories are also important; as they can tell your audience a lot about the person you want to create. Finally, what does the facial expression convey of the inner life within? Is there a characteristic pose, or movement?

Source image: http://www.daz3d.com/people/janessa-for-victoria-4-and-genesis

Here are a few tips on building characters from around the Web, the first is about building characters in games, which you can find here: http://www.creativebloq.com/how-create-character-models-games-18-top-tips-9113050

Linda Lyle wrote about creating 3D characters for Mac 3D animation, but her advice can be applied broadly. You can find it here: http://mac-3d-animation-software-review.toptenreviews.com/creating-3-d-characters.html.

Here is a fast paced video by ShadeVlog on fantasy writing, she also talks about creating villains.

http://www.daz3d.com/victoria-6-pro-bundle/

 Shade also has a 5.33-minute video on writing about characters, which you will find here:

Although these videos cover text creation, you can take her advice for your backstory for image creation.

Finally, Shade advises: “Give your villain some positive traits … give him [or her] a soft spot.”

http://www.daz3d.com/people/genesis-gargoyle-hd

-Val Cameron/Dreamlight

PS: If you want to create fabulous Fantasy Art, much quicker and easier than you ever thought possible, then Fantasy Art Master for DAZ Studio artists will do the magic. You can get it now HERE

Val Cameron