7 WEEK CHARACTER DESIGN MENTORSHIP COURSE (Feb-March 2024)

THIS IS A LIVE COURSE WITH 9 SPOTS
This course has 7 live lectures, 7 group feedback sessions, and 7 1 hour long one on one sessions with each mentee!

Get more connected and informed with the characters you design and the worlds/stories that they inhabit!

This 7 week intensive course will give you the opportunity to create and refine your character design process from the ground up. Through weekly lectures focused on process and theory (using examples from your favorite shows and games), interactive demos where you will see the design process happen in real time, and assignments that will challenge your creativity and problem solving skills, you will gain an understanding of the relationship between character and the larger story they are a part of, the impact of informed world building and research on the character and their design process, and how to know when your ideas are successful. Most of all, this course will leave you with a lasting attitude of joy, wonder, passion, and the urge to bring your authentic spirit back into your work and breathe life into the characters you design!

This class will run from the 5th of February 'til the 24th of March 2024

Structure:

Lessons/Demos will take place on Mondays from 1PM-3PM ESTon Zoom. Participants will be free to ask questions throughout the lectures and demos. All the lectures and demos will be recorded and made available to all participants for the duration of the course and after the course ends.

Group Feedback Sessions will take place on Sundays from 1PM-3PM EST all participants' assignments will receive feedback in a group Zoom call where participants will be able to ask questions. All feedback will be recorded and made available to all participants during the course and after the course ends. (the last feedback session's date is subject to change as it currently falls on the 24th of December, most likely to be done after new years so everyone can set resolutions after!)

Individual feedback sessions will take place on an agreed day of the week and time of day that works for each participant. This will be confirmed before the beginning of the course with each participant. The individual sessions will be 1 hour long. They will be a space for participants to explore their goals, struggles, problems, successes, and get on track by having productive conversation and creating solutions through reflection and encouragement, ensuring that each person gets the most out of each assignment. Individual feedback sessions will be recorded and shared only with the individual (personal recording is allowed). Each participant will have one individual session each week throughout the course.

Assignments will be given after Monday's lesson, and are to be completed before the feedback session on Sundays. This will give each participant roughly 6 days to complete each assignment (very doable).

The 7 weekly lessons and assignments:

Week 1 - If you give a kid a sword! (potential, power, possibility)

Assignment: Design a kid (or younger character) with a sword!

Week 2 - Villains: a spectrum~ (the good, the bad, and the ugly)

Assignment: Design a villain!

Week 3 - Simple heroes... made better! (Backstories, details, motivations)

Assignment: Design a hero!

Week 4 - Knights and squires~ (mentors, tyrants, unlikely friends)

Assignment: Design a knight and their squire!

Week 5 - Animal sidekicks:why? (humor, sympathy, antics)

Assignment: Design a character and their animal sidekick!

Week 6 - Dynamic Duos!!(romance, friendship, comedy)

Assignment: Design a pair of characters!

Week 7 - If they can fly! (symbolism, freedom, implications)

Assignment: Design a character that can fly!

IMPORTANT

Participants will be working in their own style, and after each lecture and demo they will be tasked with taking these open design assignments and turning them into original and interesting designs unique to their own interests and passions. If the participant is not confident in their style, then we will work closely to set achievable quality benchmark goals and deliverables. The lessons and demos will provide a clear framework and direction for participants to feel confident applying themselves in this way.

Goals and Outcomes!!!!!

After 7 weeks, you will have created 7 diverse character designs (and duos) that you will be able to build on and use as a springboard into future ideas and learning. You will have refined your process and gained momentum to continue creating characters that are evocative, have depth, and feel alive. You will also develop a hunger for constructive learning, continue to build your visual library, and expand your knowledge of story and design. In short, this course aims to "teach a man to fish," rather than "give a man a fish."

REQUIREMENTS!!!!

This intensive course is open to all, and everyone will be able to benefit greatly from the lessons, demos, and assignments. However, it would be beneficial for participants to be comfortable with drawing the human figure enough to not get stuck before the creative process can occur. A basic knowledge of human anatomy is recommended, as well as basic knowledge of the fundamentals of art and design.

This course will require a lot of work each week, please make sure you can set aside 5-8 hours a week to work on the assignment to get the benefits of the course.

Note from the instructor:

Hello everyone! This is Gabriel Quinn. I am SO EXCITED TO TEACH THIS COURSE AGAIN!!!!!! I have been refining these ideas and lectures for a long time, and can't wait to share them with a new passionate cohort of participants! The environment of this class will be encouraging, inspiring, dynamic and intense (in a good way)! If anyone has questions please don't hesitate to contact me!