Character Design Tutorial (Part 2)

So, you have an idea for your character! What now? Well, if you have a really solid idea, or don’t want it to be related to something already existing, you may not even need this step. But if you are making a character that is meant to be a reference or parody, or even if you don’t know how to draw a particular type of uniform, you are definitely going to benefit from a little research.

I decided to make a character based on the Austrian Krampus. (Click here for more info!)

Seeing as I might actually use this character in Sister Claire, they can’t just be a regular Krampus, but possibly a member of G.O.D. (like Gabrielle.) So I decided to give the character a bit of a professional look, despite being a child-beating demon. =P

When making a new character design, particularly if this is going to be an unsual, non-human one, it’s always good to get yourself some reference. The Krampus reminds me not only of the devil, but satyrs and other mythological goat-like creatures, so I googled some pictures to give me some inspiration:

I search for the iconic elements in order to amplify or parody them. In this case there are three main iconic things that I really liked- the goat legs, red and black color scheme, and the bells a Krampus wears.

I also had in mind an old drawing I had done on the train, which had been an early experiment of this type of character:


This old sketch was a start, and there’s a possibility I might still use it as a base for a different character, but it didn’t feel quite right. So I took the basic idea and changed it a bit.

Another thing you could reference is to check if there are already any similar characters already. Or, if you know some, look them up to make sure that you aren’t accidentally just ripping them off. Here are some that came to mind when I was working on this:

Although there are a lot of elements to both these designs that I really like, I don’t want to copy them. Having the pictures by me for quick reference will allow me to make sure I’m not subconsciously borrowing too many details.

<– Part 1 : Coming up with an Idea
Part 3 : Finish!–>