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GD341: Character Development and Design
Prerequisite(s): GD340

This course will prepare students to create characters with personality. Students will design a character from scratch and carry the process through to the level of detail expected in the animation industry.Topics include brainstorming ideas, elements of character, expression, facial anatomy, ethnicity, poses, costume, accessories and human psychology. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to take a character development project from its conceptual stage to a final end product.


 

Brainstorming Ideas

Brainstorming
Tools and techniques for generating ideas from MindTools.com

Brainstorming Techniques Resource Center
From Innovation Tools


Costume

clothfx
Tools necessary to create fabrics and clothing for characters and creatures (system for 3ds Max) 

Roy's MAX Clothing Tutorials
Written by Roy Riggs


Additional Sites of Interest

10 Second Club
Monthly animation competition

3DArk.com
Art, models, articles, tutorials, and links

3DBuzz.com
Community of 2D and 3D artists, programmers, and aspiring game designers

3DLinks.com
Provides links to sites on various topics related to 3D

Animation
Resources from About.com

Animation Arena
Resources for 2D, 3D, Flash animation, and video game design

Animation Factory
Animated clip art gallery

Animation Meat
News, model sheets, templates, and links

Animation Nation
Directory of animation sites

Animation World Network
News, resources, directories, and more

Anime and Manga
Tutorials from About.com

Builder.com
White papers, trialware, and online book library

Communication Arts Network
Site for Communication Arts, a trade journal for visual communications

Computer Arts Magazine
Tutorials, and tips for web design, typography, 3D, animation, motion graphics, and multimedia

Computer Graphics World
Graphics, 3D modeling, CAD, and visual computing

Creative Cow
Community for media professionals

Dynamic Graphics
Magazine that presents design ideas and how to apply them to projects

A Digital Dreamer
Graphic designer career information

fontBROWSER
Preview active fonts on your system

Gamedev.net
Leading online community for game developers

Graphis
Site for the International Journal of Visual Communication

Highend 3D
Articles, downloads, gallery, and other resources

How TV Animation Works
Article from HowStuffWorks.com

I.D. (International Design)
Graphic design, product design, and architecture

Kaliber10000
The Designers' Lunchbox

MacWorld
Resources for Mac users, including a help desk

Open Directory
Directory of stock photo websites

P-O-P Times
Official news publication of the in-store marketing institute

Print
Graphic design magazine

STEP Inside Design
Publication that explores the impact of design in our lives

Elements of Character

Anti-Linear Logic
Notes and PowerPoint slides of lectures presented by Lee Sheldon, author of "Character Development and Storytelling for Games"

Building Character
Article written by Toby Gard at Gamasutra.com

Character-Based Game Design
Article on character design at GIGnews.com

 

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