why you NEED to simplify character designs in #animation

[mikejox]

it's always a tough balance between simplifying a character and not making it boring

[spam-elee]

A clarification for everyone: this artist is a character designer/concept artist and animator. If you are NOT planning to use the character for animation or something else you'll have to draw 10 million times, accessories are perfectly acceptable. Complex graphics are fun. If you're an illustrator you probably don't need to take this advice super hardcore! Keep the little embroidery stitches and tattoo details! BUT, if this character needs to very repeatable, that is a time when this mini-tutorial will apply. Hope this helps y'all

[aeoligarlic]

Top: comic art, graphic novel, cover art
Bottom: animation

[rebecamariag]

She got so simplified her eyesight got corrected

[frownyclowny]

The key difference between seeing if someone’s an animator versus just a visual artist

[Dynamo]

The JoJo animators are literal gods by this metric.

[almightteacheratua]

It’s too bad that glasses tend to get cut

[Gustoberg]

Thus is the reason a lot of cartoon pilots are GORGEOUS but the series designs are aways less cooler (looking at you SU, like honestly Rebecca's artstyle is sooo beautiful I wish I could replicate their style)

[butterscotchmagic]

These are 2 vastly different characters. The top is an older, cool, confident woman. Laid back and self assured. The bottom one is younger and optimistic. Her tomboyish style leads more to her coolness rather than her own self eestem which she is young and still coming into

[HarvoSpoon]

i understand the simplification thing, but after reading these comments, i realise the character's face didn't need to be changed so much - the white hat, glasses and bottom lip could've stayed in a simpler form instead of being replaced or removed... the rest is streamlined well without transforming the overall style

[mahougesu]

I think there's an important distinction that went unmentioned in this vid - simplifying in animation is necessary IF you have a deadline. If you're just doing it as a hobby/passion project, go nuts and do whatever you want, add as many details as you see fit and don't feel the need to restrict yourself if you don't want. I think a lot of aspiring animators get the wrong idea from vids like this and think they can't stay true to their hearts/what inspires them because they get this notion that pumping out episodes is more important than taking their vision one step at a time to an appreciative audience.

[cloudy-pepsi]

As much as I do love the look of both characters I feel like simplifying the characters look in clothing design kind of kills a whole character's personality, and kind of makes them look more or less interesting.

I mean you can always make a simplify character with a lot of designs and accessories in different type of clothing that make them look interesting but maybe it's just the way it was drawn.

[RickyKingProductions]

getting rid of the bottom lip changes how the character’s ethnicity reads

[neonradius]

I heard someone say “My advice to comic creators is to cut more corners. No, more than that. No, more than that”

Obviously though, it’s very dependent on your schedule, style, priorities, medium, etc. There’s also ways to cut corners without taking away the details you love. I know custom brushes are a big one

[ieatconcrete]

I remember reading this manhwa that have this BEAUTIFUL AND GORGEOUS AND JUST BREATHTAKING ART! I'd expect one panel would take 20 hours or more and they upload It's amazing really.

[zootzbootz]

gonna be honest the bottom one doesn't look like a simplified version of the top one it looks like a different character 😭😭😭😭

[Freybyss]

This is honestly the hardest thing. Finding the balance betweem this is so hard and I've had moments in my art where it's far too complicated and times it's way too simple to tell a good story.

[reyahhhh]

Honestly I wouldn’t mind waiting longer for more detailed characters if animators needed (with proper compensation as well). I feel like it would be amazing.

[impagain]

One is fantastic for illustration. One is fantastic for animation. They're both great, but the design serves different mediums better.

[lolabee]

I always find it funny that western animation is like “simplify simplify simplify!!”
And anime is just like
“Here’s a million little details we have to animate and don’t forget all the sparkles in the eyes and complex shading”