User blog:Sprinklemist/Character Model School - Lesson 1 (Inspiration)

Several posters here asked me to start a class for making character models in Paint. I finally decided to start it.

Inspiration
I find that some of my best pictures are based on a cartoon character, an actor, or someone who walks passed me with a bizarre hairstyle. This guy on the left is the inspiration for this lesson's character model. This is Sato Takeru. I saw him on a Japanese commercial, and thought that he had a very unique and interesting style. So let's make him TDI style.

Lines and Picture Size
The kind of line I use for the outline is the third thinnest line seen on the right:

The picture has to be 150 wide in order to fit in the standard character box.

Face Rule #1


I decided to make a guy, first. The reason is the very basic rule of the TDI style; guy's faces are the easiest to do. The reason is that they are allowed to have a visible jawline. There are far less restrictions, because you don't need to have an open space at the neck like the TDI girl's require. Guys sometimes have jaws that flow into the neck, like Trent, Cody, Duncan, and Noah. Chris and Justin are examples of characters with the visible jawline. Study the TDI characters in order to see possible body shapes, as well as facial features.

Hair Lines
The lines are less thick for hair for TDI characters, as seen in the example on the right. The line I use for the hair outline is the second thinnest. The hair is adjusted later on, but let's move on.

Outline
Instead of doing each detail as a I go along, I do the entire profile, first. That way I don't need to worry about changing the thickness of the lines throughout the picture. On the TDI wiki, most character's feet face the left.

Drawing in Detail
Now that the outline is done, it's time to fill in the detail. That means using the line that is second smallest. Let's start with the shoes.

Erasing Odds and Ends
Compare this picture to the one from the last section. Most noticeably on the left sleeve. I suggest magnifying the picture x 2, when looking for faults to erase.

Taking Liberties
The clothes are all done. This guy is wearing two scarves in the picture. Since it's my picture, I've decided to remove the checkered scarf, because the thinness of the character, he would look even more overdressed.

Facial Features
Okay. Some basic features of TDI characters have been added. Trent has thin eyebrows like our character model, but the standard eyebrow can be seen on characters like Heather, and Chris McClean. This nose is similar to Eva's and Tyler's (If I'm thinking right). The standard male TDI mouth is a sarcastic smile that is very close to the nose and high from the chin. Justin is the exception to this rule, as he has full lips, similar to the female characters. Their are a few types of eyes. Closed eyelids, rounder eyes, half circles, dots, etc. Our character model's eyes are a combination of Heather and Sadie's eyes.

Copy and Paste
Gah! Anyway... One way to color your character is by copying and pasting the image you want to take the colors from. Using the eyedropper thingy in Paint, select a color from the picture you pasted over your drawing. After doing so, Undo, and the picture you pasted will disappear. Keep doing this, and you'll fill your character. I'll fill in the colors in one picture... Practically.

Coloring
Zombie Sato! I'll color in the eyes in the next image. If you use the method I used for this picture, usually go for the lightest spot in the picture, otherwise you'll pretty much get bizarre colors. There are several ways to color your character, but those methods will be brought out in future lessons.

Eye Coloring/Drawing
I usually use the pencil feature for drawing eyes. Don't make an outline when making the irises. Use the solid eye color.

So... The picture is all done. If you want to know some more specifics, leave a comment.