3dtotal Publishing

If you have any interest in how artists progress from a prompt or an idea to a completed character design and illustration, I highly recommend this. The artists in this issue include Lynn Chen (the creator of the issue's cover art), Simone Grünewald, Cam Kendell, Aurélie Lise-Anne, João Moura, David Navarro, Roger Pérez, Anastasiia Platoshyna, Alex Relloso, and Jennifer Voigt. There's also a creature teeth tutorial created by Lorenzo Etherington under the cover flaps.

The issue includes:
- show more a detailed step-by-step look at the creation of the cover art,
- a step-by-step look at the creation of "a family of circus performers on vacation,"
- some info on the creation of an owl character, an interview with Simone Grünewald (who was involved in the games A New Beginning, the Deponia series, and The Pillars of the Earth),
- a detailed look at the creation of a wizard character,
- some tips from Jennifer Voigt,
- a gallery of art by Eunbi Kang, Ben Eblen, and Shannon Hallstein,
- a step-by-step look at the creation of an illustration using the prompt "wind, adventure, youth, light,"
- an interview with Cam Kendell,
- some tips on using lighting to create different moods,
- and a detailed look at the creation of an "embittered, eccentric old man and his animal sidekick"

Not only is the artwork a treat for the eyes, the detailed process information is fascinating and makes me itch to play with my art supplies. show less

This book is very large and it looks real pretty but it doesn't offer content that is any different to any of the other books on this topic. The second, larger part of the book, where stories and thier illustrators are presented, and the artists discuss thier process, was a novel concept. But an aspiring illusrator would be far better served by reading really good, award-winning picture books than the lame offerings that constitute the bulk of this tome.

There is a good balance of pictures and text (instruction/explanation). I was also pleased with the number of examples, the variety of art styles, and the diversity of characters (racial and body type).

I checked this out at my local library, and it’s ideal as a reference book due to its length. I don’t recommend trying to read this all-in-one setting. I couldn't read this straight through. Take your time and go through or skip directly to the chapters most relevant to you.

It doesn't matter which issue of Character Design Quarterly you pick up, you're always going to end up with quality artwork and character design advice and tutorials. This issue features:

- An interview with Ben Eblen, the cover artist, about his art and career
- A step-by-step look at Eblen's process for creating the cover art
- A step-by-step look at Sarah-Lisa Hleb's process for creating a "shy sheep" character
- A step-by-step look at Corah Louise's process for creating four members of a show more Victorian family
- An interview with John Loren
- Paul Joseph Nicholson's tutorial for expressing personality in your character designs, using a hare and tortoise as examples
- A step-by-step look at Iz Ptica's process for creating a character using the prompts nature, party, and tiny
- Andy Na's tutorial for using color to amplify emotions and draw the eye
- An interview with Poopikat (Kate Pellerin) about her art and career
- A gallery of artwork by artists Dan Sprogis, Kenny Leoncito, and Haiyang Sun
- Laura Dumitriu's tutorial for creating different looks (sporty, casual, elegant) for characters, using a couple different characters as examples
- Erica Hodne's step-by-step process for designing a Robin Hood character
- (Inside the cover flaps) Lorenzo Etherington's tips for drawing rabbits and hares (which, thinking back to a needle felted rabbit I created, also contains helpful information for 3D work)

As always, a really nice publication with lots of tutorials and tips and fantastic artwork.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less