1. digital illustration + design
design a character
plainfield central – mr. lawler art + design
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2. digital illustration + design
Audience & Purpose in Design
Your artwork is intended to be seen. That is the purpose of art – to visually communicate with a viewer. The collective of viewers
whom see your work is known as the audience. When designing your work, especially in visual communication, it is crucial to keep
your audience in mind. Target audiences are key to the success of a work. This is why the most popular television shows are usually
shown between 7:00pm and 11:00pm, at a time when most people are at home and available to watch television. Advertisements for
acne medication and sneakers are more likely to be found in Seventeen magazine than U.S. News & World Report magazine. Toys are
more likely to be advertised on children's television shows than on other types of television shows. A search of the word Nike on the
Yahoo search tool will likely bring up banner advertisements about shoes or sports equipment.
Look at the below advertisements and determine which audiences they are intended for.:
Audience:
Audience:
Audience:
The Message
Like the audience, the message of a piece of work is crucial to its successfulness of visually communicating. Simply stating the
message is not always enough to encourage viewer interest. Instead humor, shock, cleverness and gimmicks are often employed in
order for the viewer to become engaged.
Look at the below advertisements and determine what each ad’s message is:
Message:
Message:
Message:
plainfield central – mr. lawler art + design

3. digital illustration + design
Inspiration
When thinking about communicating visually it often becomes difficult to find inspiration. It is important to think of your
audience and your message. But sometimes inspiration comes from totally unrelated sources. Below there is an image of
a sundae and an image of a dress that was designed based off of a sundae. Although seemingly unrelated, the sundae
implies a “fun” and “summery” look. Try to design something based off of the objects below.
Creative Design from Creative Sources
Inspiration can come from various sources. Below is an example of an illustrator using his audience to create
interesting designs. Dave Devries uses children’s drawings of monsters to create monsters for children’s books and
programs!
plainfield central – mr. lawler art + design

4. digital illustration + design
Character Development
What is the character’s name
and why is s/he named this way?
Give a one sentence description of the character. Think of this as an overview
or sample of the entire character – not just the physical description.
Where was the character born?
Is this important?
List and describe any significant moments in the character’s life. Anything
specific from the character’s childhood? Something that shaped the
character’s mood, attitude, outlook?
Was your character influenced in
life by a particular person or
event:
What is the best thing that ever happened to your character?
List three important personality
traits to your character:
What is the worst thing that ever happened to your character?
What is your character’s sense
of humor like?
How do other minor characters or other people see your character? How
does s/he interact with others?
How does you character handle
stress?
Why do you like or dislike your
character?
Is your character a leader or follower? Is s/he a lover or fighter? Is s/he
peaceful or high strung? Does s/he have a bad temper?
What is your character’s
occupation?
Who is character’s: enemies, love interests, friends, family, parents?
plainfield central – mr. lawler art + design
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5. digital illustration + design
Designing a Character
Below you will see an examples of a “Model Sheet,” sometimes referred to as a Character Design Sheet. Create a Model
Sheet for your character.
plainfield central – mr. lawler art + design
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6. digital illustration + design
CREATE YOUR OWN CHARACTER
Develop a character model sheet using the below template:
head 1: happy
front view
head 2: sad
head 3: angry
head 4: confused
back view
Notes:
plainfield central – mr. lawler art + design
head 5: injured
side view
head 6: in love