Major Project 1/Task 2: Design Proposition

24/02/2025 - 16/03/2024 (Week 04 – Week 06)

Shao Han / 0369187

Major Project 1 / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylors University

Task 2: Design Proposition

CONCENT

• INTRODUCTION
• TASK 2:DESIGN PROPOSITION
• SUBMISSION
• FEEDBACK
• REFLECTION

INTRODUCTION

TASK 2:DESIGN PROPOSITION

Week 4

This week, our team leader told us what we needed to change according to the teacher's feedback.

• Characters - redesigned based on character descriptions
• Environment design - based on the story (more detailed illustrations, e.g. townhouses, fire stations, etc.)
• The story can be more interesting
• Start drawing storyboards

Because I am mainly responsible for character design, I need to redesign the character and start thinking about how to modify the performance of the character.

I will modify the character I designed according to these three points:

1. Character should be able to reflect characteristics set throughout the story; mistakes on character design - is it suppose to look cute, does he look confident or?
2. Revisit your character description to design your character
3. Design your character with a mindset that it has potential to sell or merchadise.

In order to better reflect the character of the character, I read the script again. I found that the master worker-Mile, who grew up, was a very strong, confident and determined person, who could move forward bravely in the fire, regardless of safety.

So I first tried to change the expression of the character, but the result was not satisfactory, so I finally discussed with the team leader and decided to ask Mr. Kamal in class.

Week 5

In this week's course, Mr. Kamal focused on the problems that need to be paid attention to in character design.

By listening to the lecture, I summarized the key points of character design expressed by Mr. Kamal：

• The character's appearance should match the personality

The character's appearance should show the character's personality at a glance. For example, a confident person may stand straight and have sharp eyes, while a serious character may have a tense face and wear formal clothes. Hairstyle, clothing, body shape, etc. can help express the character's personality, rather than being randomly matched.

• Convenient for animators to draw and look good in animation

The character design should not be too complicated, otherwise it will be very tiring for animators to draw, and the animation effect may not be smooth. For example, too many details, too complicated patterns, too long clothes or accessories will increase the difficulty of production. In addition, the character should be reasonable from different angles, and it cannot be handsome from the front and weird from the side.

• There should be obvious differences between characters

If there are many characters in an animation, the audience must be able to tell who is who at a glance. You can distinguish them by body shape, color, facial features, etc. For example, one character is very thin and another is very strong, or one character is bright in color and another is dark in color, so that the contrast is more obvious.

• The color matching should be coordinated

The color of the character should be consistent with the overall style of the animation and should not be too abrupt. For example, lighthearted and funny animations are usually brightly colored, while more serious animations may have more desaturated colors. In addition, the colors of the protagonists are generally more eye-catching than those of the supporting characters, making it easier for the audience to find them quickly in the picture.

Based on these points, I began to redesign the characters in accordance with our story content.

The image of the protagonist Miles:

Persistent and purposeful: His childhood experience made him determined to embark on the path of a firefighter. He made great efforts to enter the fire academy and performed well in training.

Forbearance and fragility coexist: On the surface, he is a calm firefighter, but his heart is still troubled by the shadow of the past, especially when he really faces a fire, the fear of the past instantly crushes his confidence.

Bravely break through psychological barriers: Under the guidance of his mentor, he gradually realized that he could not be bound by the past, and finally overcame the psychological barriers, bravely carried out the mission, and completed self-salvation.

For the character's expression, my first choice for reference is Tadashi. His facial expression shows the character's bravery and determination very well. Although Miles has a fragile side, it does not affect the overall character performance.

Tadashi's movements were also a major reference for me. His relaxed, pocket-stuffed posture further highlights his confidence and determination.

Fig1.1 Character image reference,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

Tadashi's proportions are also very useful and distinctive, so I also included it as an image reference.

But for the character design, I think I should prepare more alternatives, so I started looking for some other character image references on the website, so as to make the character image more interesting and easier to remember without deviating from the character setting.

Fig1.2 Character image reference,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

I focused on Gru, the protagonist of Minions. His overall body is an inverted triangle, which makes him look strong and has a long body and short legs, which is very visually impactful.

Fig1.3 Character image reference,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

Ferb from Phineas and Ferb was also used as a reference because of his unique appearance, but he was obviously too skinny, so when drawing him I paid attention to highlighting the character's muscles.

Finally, I drew the character image based on the above three appearance and expression references.

Fig1.4 Character drawing,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

Regarding the choice of character colors: I chose a large area of ​​white and a small amount of blue as embellishment. White can reflect the character's clean temperament, while blue represents hope and peace. The bright blue adds a sense of visual jump to the picture while showing Miles' growth in overcoming fear, extinguishing the fire and bringing hope and peace to others.

The image of the mentor:

Steady and reliable: As a senior firefighter, he remains calm in any situation and gives clear instructions to the team.

Patient and empathetic: He understands Miles' psychological trauma and does not force him to overcome his fear directly, but helps him grow by encouragement and guidance.

Succinct but powerful: He does not say much, but he can always give Miles important guidance at critical moments, allowing Miles to find direction when he is confused.

When looking for references, I focused on some characters with shorter stature. In order to highlight the calmness of the mentor, I set his expression to be more serious. The short stature can well balance his seriousness and give him a more amiable feeling.

For the mentor's character design, I chose a pose with arms crossed to emphasize his composure and calmness.

Fig1.5 Character image reference,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

Fig1.6 Character drawing,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

Regarding the choice of character colors: The gray hair shows that the mentor is older, and the dark clothes such as crimson and dark blue highlight the mentor's calmness. Because of his rich experience, he can teach Miles well and help him walk out of the shadows and grow better.

Fig1.7 Comparison of role images,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

Final（individual phase）

Fig1.8 Character design summary,Week 5 (05/03/2025)

SUBMISSION

Fig2.1 PDF-Submission slides,Week 6 (16/03/2025)

GOOGLE DRIVE LINK

FEEDBACK

Week 4

Specific Feedback:

Characters need to be redesigned based on their descriptions to better reflect their personalities. 

General Feedback:

Environment design should build on the story and add more details. 

The story itself can be made more engaging to improve the overall appeal. 

Storyboards need to be drawn to present the storyline more visually.

Week 5

Specific Feedback:

More detailed suggestions for character design (described in the weekly progress).

Week 6

Specific Feedback:

The character style could be more realistic.

REFLECTION

Experiences

In this stage, I drew the main character for the animation project, paying special attention to how Miles looks. My job was to make a character that people would recognize and to show his feelings through how he looks.

During the design process, I tried to find a balance between unrealistic style and emotional expression. Since the project style was based on American animation, I studied a variety of unrealistic character designs to ensure that Miles was both unique and could show his growth process through details such as posture and expression. At the same time, collaboration with the team also made me realize that in animation projects, character design is not just an independent visual creation, but must closely serve the storytelling.

Observations

I found that visual storytelling is crucial in character creation. Miles's stiffness, trembling and even hesitation in the face of fire can show his fear and psychological changes better than any lines. In addition, the role of the mentor is not only to guide Miles' growth, but also the key to the turning point of the story. His presence makes Miles more determined, which makes me understand more about how the supporting role plays a role in promoting the growth of the protagonist in the story.

Another important observation is that non-verbal expression is extremely important in animation. The body language, posture and micro-expressions of animated characters can deeply affect the emotional resonance of the audience. They are all important ways to shape the psychological state of the character, which makes me pay more attention to the importance of character dynamic design.

Findings

What I've learned the foremost is that character design isn't close to how somebody looks, but moreover approximately appearing their feelings and stories. A great character ought to see diverse, but they moreover got to appear their sentiments and how they alter over time through their plan.

Also, I found out that making characters takes ongoing changes. The first design usually has to be changed several times to make sure it fits the story. With the team's feedback, I kept changing Miles' look to better match the feelings of the story, and I also got better at design and storytelling. This experience helped me realize that a successful animation project relies not just on individual work, but also on teamwork and constant improvement.