Character Design and Digital Art in Immersive InstallationsLaajuus (5 cr)

Objective

This course will introduce the basics of digital painting and character concept-art. You will learn basic character design skills and about designing content for interactive media (audiovisual content reacting to sensory input).

You will also learn to discuss and develop your ideas in groups. After this course the student is able to draw and plan the process more efficiently and

• create design and draw a simple object in Photoshop
• generate ideas for characters and refine them
• use references to enhance creative process
• create simple character design

Content

Phase 1: Concept development

Day 1: Introduction to the Brief
You will brainstorm ideas, develop concepts that can be used with technology provided by OiOi (https://oioi.fi/) and get familiar with the exhibition space. The exhibition is about developing interactive modern commedia dell’arte characters that are connected to a theatre play and would interest young people. All students work towards the same goal and concept.

Day 2: Developing the concept further
By using a parallel design method, you will cherry-pick the best ideas that are taken to further development. You will work on the interaction design and script for the installation.

Day 3: Prototyping the concept
As a group, you will test out your ideas to test if they work and are enjoyable to the user. You will develop your prototype so that your character designs (developed in the following days) can be implemented into the prototype.

Phase 2: Character design

Day 4: Tools for drawing
You are acquainted with the essential Photoshop tools necessary for drawing. You will learn how to set up a brush, how to work with layers and blending modes. You will start with a black and white sketch and end with the addition of colour, and colour correction.

Day 5: We will study the pipeline for drawing a simple object
You will go through the following steps: Search and analyse references; Create a linear sketch; Add light and shadows and ambient occlusion; Create a colour scheme and add colours; and render and finalization.

Day 6: Understanding Character Concept Art You will learn how to approach character design and how to work with anatomy without an in-depth knowledge of anatomy. You will perform a set of exercises to develop skills in working with the form.

Day 7: Colour, design and forms of our character
You will learn the process of developing a character from idea to implementation. You will make a linear drawing of your character as well as a colour scheme for your character. You will create several colour schemes for your character and add shadows to create volume.

Day 8: Colour, rendering and detailing
You will finish all the details of the character, and pass on the physical properties of the materials to finish your characters.

Phase 3: Implementation

Day 9: Implementation
As part of a group, you will be implementing the characters into the prototype and develop your prototype further. You will animate your characters if needed.

Day 10: Finalization and presentations
You will finalize the concepts and present them.

Evaluation

Pass or fail. 100% attendance is required to complete the course.

Qualifications

Basic computer skills, basic drawing and painting skills and prior knowledge of Photoshop are required.