Creative Techniques for Design and Illustration of Characters
A course by Gastón CabaCharacter designer and illustrator
A course by Gastón Caba, Character designer and illustrator
Create a narrative universe for your characters based on your own experiences
Gastón Caba is an illustrator, character designer and passionate about everything abnormal and nonsense of everyday life.
In this course, Gastón will teach you his technique of creating characters and then share a series of exercises to unlock creativity based on experiences, dreams and desires.
To do this, you will create a character from scratch, you will define the variables that help build your style and you will look for ideas without stopping (inspired by your everyday experiences) that you will write down in a notebook.
The goal is to learn to imagine complex universes for your characters and stories that allow you to create images with which to feed a blog or social networks daily.
As Gastón Caba says "Never believe that you have nothing to tell because there is a universe inside you" .
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 9 downloads
Workbook and references
7 minutes, 12 seconds
Choice of the character
10 minutes, 39 seconds
Playing with our design I
17 minutes, 10 seconds
Playing with our design II
7 minutes, 26 seconds
Time as a design variable
3 minutes, 3 seconds
Configuring my universe
8 minutes, 39 seconds
What's included in this course?
You will start knowing the work of Gastón Caba and his influences.
Next, you will define the characteristics of your character and play with some design variables. At this point, Gastón will explain unlocking techniques that will serve as triggers to generate ideas for your stories (from personal experiences, to dream diaries).
Once you have a good number of ideas written in your inspirational notebook, you will create an alphabet of images and generate a series that will help you to publicize your work on a regular basis (by publishing it on a favorite blog or social network).
Gastón will give you advice about choosing the format, the color palette, the scan when digitizing your drawings and how to give them a professional finish.
You will also see how to stretch the concept of your character to the maximum by listening to the criticism of your environment, socializing with your audience and applying your ideas on other supports (books, products, games, actions on the street, etc.)
This daily trip will shoot thousands of ideas, it will help you to focus on a project, to develop yourself technically as a professional and to acquire greater capacity for concentration and confidence to carry out a long-term project.
In addition, it will be of great help to let you know and that your work connects with a larger audience.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
The project consists in creating a blog, a profile in social networks or a portfolio in Domestika where you publish your daily production of images around the life of a character invented by you.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
To designers, illustrators, creators of video games, animators and anyone who wants to create characters in an intuitive and fun way, who wants to expand their capacity to tell stories and who wants to share their work with the world.
Requirements and materials
To carry out this course, no previous knowledge is required, just a lot of desire to experiment and connect with your inner world.
Regarding the materials, you will need: notebooks, pen, ink, brushes, markers, a scanner and a computer with Photoshop.
Reviews
- 1 month ago
Me gustó mucho el curso. Muy buenos consejos para generar ideas y personajes.
- 1 year ago
excelente curso, muy recomendable!!
- 1 year ago
Excelente, me aclara mucho la manera y tecnicas que debo usar para crear personajes que sirvan para mis intentos de narracion infantil
- 2 years ago
Super!
- 2 years ago
UNA GOZADA MUY BELLA Y PRÁCTICA. AVANCE SEGURO.
In 2005 he created an ambitious project called Ping Pong Remix, in which he invited more than 70 artists from around the world to reinterpret his work.
From 2010 he started with his project We Love Patterns, a series of group and individual illustration courses in companies and colleges and in 2011 he joined the teaching team of Daniel Roldán's illustration department at the UBA.
Since 2015 he has collaborated in the magazine Anorak with his adorable character Round Bunny, a classic strip of four panels and in 2016 Round Bunny became the protagonist of the book "Churro, the rabbit" edited by Edelvives.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- Workbook and references
- U2
Designing a character
- Choice of the character
- Playing with our design I
- Playing with our design II
- Time as a design variable
- U3
Drawing ideas without stopping
- Configuring my universe
- Diary of emotions and experiences
- Pressure to the character
- Diary of dreams and daydreams
- Alphabet of images
- Connecting with the culture of the moment
- U4
Selecting and formatting
- Your community is your first editor
- Thinking about the output format
- Tips on scanning, painting and color palette
- Opening of your project
- FP
Final project
- Character design: create a narrative universe
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
You’ll learn how to design original characters, create inspiration notebooks, experiment with mixed media, and develop your own visual worlds by weaving in cultural references and personal experiences.
Yes, this course is designed for people with basic drawing skills who want to deepen their knowledge of character design and visual notebook creation.
You’ll need an A4 notebook or something similar, pencils, pens, ink pens, sumi-e brushes, digital tools like a tablet or computer, and internet access for visual references.
Yes, the course teaches you how to create characters and visual worlds that can be adapted for books, comics, video games, animations, and social media.
Yes, it covers traditional drawing and inking techniques as well as digital tools for collage, editing, scanning, and online publishing.
They’ll help you gather visual references, sketches, dreams, and experiences, making it easier to generate ideas and develop original projects.
Yes, you’ll dive into deep characterization, facial and body expression, and how to develop emotions and conflicts in your characters.