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In this course, students will learn about designing and developing multi-dimensional and engaging characters and creatures, ranging from animals to humans to completely alien, for games and other forms of media. The development of character begins with history, backstories and narratives, to provide context to a character’s motives, behaviours and actions. This narrative leads to the design of the visual aesthetics of a character, from their physical forms and distinguishing characteristics, to how this impacts their dynamic movements and animation, and the clothes that they wear and the accessories that they use. Students will bring these characters to life in 2D and 3D, building on the tools and techniques they have learned in PROD142, and expanding into motion and movement through rigging, animation, and motion capture. Throughout the course, students will look at famous examples of character and creature design for Maori and other cultures in both modern media portrayals as well as history and mythology.
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:1. Create back stories and narratives which give their characters meaning and motive2. Explore reference material, and use sketching and other techniques to design the visual appearance of their characters, both in their physical form, but also their clothes and accessories3. Explore making, rigging and animating characters using industry standard tools such as Blender, Maya Animate, ToonBoom, Meta Humans, and using Motion Capture setups4. Critique examples of existing character design in modern media5. Translate characters from history and mythology into modern incarnations.
PROD142
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Hilary Tapper
Alison Lowery
Assessment WeightsSketchbook 1 20%Rigging 30%Quiz 5%Sketchbook 2 20%Character Design Concept 25%Total 100%
Domestic fee $1,059.00
International fee $6,000.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see School of Product Design .