The Art of Animal Character Design - Hardcover

David Colman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0979068606 ISBN 13: 9780979068607

Publisher: David's Doodles, 2007

Synopsis

Finally, there is an art book above the rest. There are many animal drawing books out there, but none explain how to use the knowledge obtained from study in an actual trade craft. This book explores the methods, philosophies, and secrets of a top character designer in the animation industry when dealing with creating animal characters, both professional production samples and personal work make up the content.

About this title

About the Author:

In his short time as a professional artist, David Colman has become a recognized and respected illustrator and character designer for the animation industry. He has been a creative force at such renowned studios as Sony Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Television Animation, Disney Television Animation, and is currently Character Design Supervisor at Cartoon Network Studios. David s first widely viewed work came at Sony Imageworks where he was brought on by Ken Ralston as a character designer for critically-acclaimed animation feature The Polar Express. He watched his characters, caribou, and wolves come to life alongside actor Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis, receiving industry kudos on his first feature film. Following Polar Express, David worked in visual development at Sony Pictures Animation on such films as Open Season and Surf s Up. Under the supervision of Marcelo Vignali and Richie Chavez, David s distinctive character design and story sketches became integral to the character development and overall look of both films. While at Sony Pictures Animation, he met renowned illustrator Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks comic strip, which is syndicated in more than 250 publications worldwide. Aaron was so inspired by David s work that he invited him to join Sony Television Animation to help develop the comic strip into an animated series. David s longtime admiration of McGruder led to his collaboration on the series launch through to its 15-episode first season. Although Boondocks was picked up for a second season, David leveraged that success along with recent character development work on Stuart Little 3 to join the Cartoon Network as Lead Character Designer for Class of 3000, a series featuring recording artist Andre Benjamin, better known as Andre 3000 of the group Outkast. Since its premiere in November 2006, the show has remained number one in its timeslot and is currently in its second season, with a possible t

Review:

If you're a fan of animation, of design, or of beautiful art in general, then listen up, because this book is for you. There are a million books out there, collecting and presenting the art of a million flavors. If you're like me, you've taken countless art books off the shelf, opened them up, and found disappointment that the interior artwork is no match for the beautiful cover that lured you in the first place. Or the artist loudly publicized on the cover turns out to have only a small portion of the book dedicated to his or her work. Or the book turned out to be a seemingly random mishmash of images, devoid of any instructional or explanatory text. But every once in a while, you find a book that you crack open, and within the first couple pages you know without a doubt that you'll be bringing that book home with you. For me, David Colman's The Art of Animal Character Design was one of those rare books. Unlike the disappointment I've so often found in other books, here is a book jam-packed with beautiful designs, sparkling with character and personality. Here is a book focused on a single strong artist flexing his artistic muscles in a variety of design styles. And best of all, here is a book that isn't afraid to not only present these incredible drawings to us, but to actually take the time to teach us the "why" and the "how" of what he's doing. David clearly likes to draw, and he clearly likes to teach, and if you can bring this book home and spend some time with it, you'll find that he's clearly terrific at both. --Shanw Kelly- co founder of AnimationMentor.com

THE ART OF ANIMAL CHARACTER DESIGN By David Colman. Recommended. Signed! From a top character designer who's worked for Sony, Cartoon Network and Disney, this is a lively and appealing collection of drawings and sketches of animal characters. David also explains how to design characters using observation, design mechanics and your own imagination. Much more than a sketchbook, this is a thorough how-to guide to the art of animal drawing. His technical versatility ranges from the hyper-realistic to the purely fanciful. His expressive and engaging characters remind us of Claire Wendling's work. Handsome oblong format. Signed by the artist. David's Doodles, 2007 --Bud Plant Book Catalog

About this edition

• Publisher: David's Doodles
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0979068606
• ISBN 13: 9780979068607
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 174
• Editor: Daniel Morris
• Illustrator: David Colman