Costume examples - Draw this dress!

some cool character designs for inspiration

Check out this site: http://drawthisdress.tumblr.com/  They take historical dresses and illustrate them with a character - super cool.  Some demos in there too.

Carter Goodrich

Ben Balistreri

Form Follows Function

"Design is solving problems. Not just being weird to be different."

sam Bosma

Can your character touch the top of his head?  how about his toes?  could he walk up stairs if he needed to?

How about if he was seen from above?  would he be recognizable?
Is my character equally interesting super close up as he is far away?

These Q's may or may not be important to your character depending on what it's application is.  A character design that is going to be handed of to a modeling department and then animated for a film will have different requirements than a character for a children's book, or graphic novel.  As a designer it is essential that you are aware of the needs and limitations of the final application of design.

Here are just a few examples of how a character designed for each of these format may require special features.

Animation

       - characters need to work from all angles

       - Repeatable shapes - whether able to be hand drawn or true to a model

       - If 2D usually less detail or small folds, as they would have to be drawn again (ex: Baguera from Jungle book)

       - Eyes up front for expressions (See Remy, or Maximus)

       - Workable anatomy - can perform necessary actions believably (ex. has knees, workable limb lengths etc.)

       - detail for close shots - (in film, a character will be seen at all sizes, thus detail and costuming should be interesting if the whole character is on screen,  if it is shoulders up or just a close up of the face.)

Comics 

       - easily repeatable from different angles - Drawing can keep the character

       - keeps character in different environments and backgrounds

       - reads very small - strong silhouettes required

       - reads in busy or dark compositions

       - doesn't depend on detail for recognition

       - longer read time - readers can study image as long as they like - expression

Giannis Milonogiamis 

Games

       - readable silhouette when very small or seen from behind or top down

       - interesting detail - especially on the most seen areas (ex. back of the character)

       - big readable shapes

       - Audience specific

       - Can read in different environments, lighting and during action or with lots of movement on screen.

       - Limitations such as poly count,  hair, cloth, animation etc.

http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/workshop/Dota2CharacterArtGuide.pdf

Live Action

       - Character details for up close

       - big screen - up close and personal

       - Character Elements need to be possible - Costuming, Makeup, Casting etc.

       - Character Progression - costume changes

       - Often multiple costumes - character needs to continue reading

       - Story

Illustration

       - More leeway for  "fudging" to make things work

       - character just needs to work from a few angles

       - controlled lighting and environments

       - Long viewing time - pos & neg

Sam Bosma

Advertisement - Magazines - Editorial

       - Iconic

       - colorful

       - quick attention graber - only a fraction of a second

       - simple read

       - effective message

       - audience - (children/adult)

       - Only has to work once - one angle etc.

       - Labeling - symbolism

       - Color can be very important

Dennis Zilbur

Logo 

       - Iconic

       - Memorable

       - Easily Recognizable

       - Color is important - also needs to work in B&W

       - Vector image - not too much detail or very many colors. - simple gradients etc.

       - Usually cute and friendly - appealing

Dennis Zilber

Dennis Zilber

Scottie Young

Tony Diterlizzi

Giannis Milonogiamis 

Folds

when an artist draws them well you don't even notice them; you only notice when they're drawn poorly. - Mark Kennedy

Milt Kahl

Folds are like hair, in that they reveal alot about the artist drawing them.  They are a window into how an artist sees and edits the world around them.  They are also a window into The artist's knowledge and purpose.

Folds show:

Stretch and squash

Gravity

knowledge and thought into costume

anatomical construction

3D forms

Balance of detail

Streamlining

There is also a lot of personality in folds.  Like Hair, folds are somewhat abstract and  every artist draws them just slightly differently and whatever the subject matter is often a clue to who drew it.
They are also a type of artist signature.

There are a few different types of folds.  go HERE for a breakdown of each kind of fold and how and where they are found on the figure

and HERE for more pages from the famous Artists cartoon course - Folds and drapery

and HERE for the Pintrest collection of knowledge on folds

Here are some more examples of Designing folds

kim jung

Sam Bosma

Scottie Young

Nico Marlet

 Secret of Kells

Giannis

Garrett Hamon - Assignment #4

For breakfast she ate a cube of cheese. If you met her in a dark alley way you wouldn't know it unless she wanted you to.

Assignment #4-Melissa Vance

For breakfast my character would eat cake. If you met her in a dark alley she would try to make friends with you.

Final Product

I'm not sure how to show squash/stretch so this is what I think that means?