Narrowing Thesis Proposal B

Thesis Statement

An in depth look at the role of character artists in today’s animation, game and visual effects industry, and the importance of pushing designs to fill current character voids.

Concept

The responsibilities of a character artist spans across the front end of the production pipe line and can include concept art in pre-production as well as modeling, texturing and rigging in production and, in some cases, technical animation pertaining to fur, hair, and cloth simulation.

In today’s industry there are many artists that specialize in a specific area of character creation and will title themselves as such. For example a character rigger or rigging TD will focus on the technical setup of a 3D character, preparing it for animation. To master character production and carry the title of character artist one must demonstrate their proficiency in each of these production phases as it relates to character development. A character artist, having an in-depth knowledge of design principals and various pipelines, is a valuable asset. That value carries a quantifiable amount of influence as producers need character artists to bring story characters to life.

Characters are what drive the plot in stories and gain the public’s interest in them. I believe characters and their designs directly affect book, game and theatre ticket sales. Because of this, character designs are often bound by what many believe will sell in the market place. It’s time character artists acknowledge their role in the production and begin to push for change in current character trends. There is an overwhelmingly underrepresented population when it comes to mainstream animation, game and visual effects. There is also a lot of debate about the role of male vs female characters. Topics ranging from over sexualized designs, characters and their demeanor as well as the female role in the plot of the story; and gender is only a small part of a larger picture.

Process

There are a variety of articles written on the effects of current trends in the gaming industry in terms of character design. I will research topics of character representation pertaining to age, gender and race. My goal with this study is to break down today’s character design methodologies and suggest ways of widening the diversity of characters in an easy to digest and appealing manner. Media plays a large role in how people view the world and their place with in it. I believe shifting our media experiences to include under-represented demographics can, and will, positively shape the attitudes of America’s population.

I will pull from my experience, as well as a variety of resources, to develop a concise and targeted interactive web site that first breaks down the role of a character artist and also each phase of the character pipeline they will effect. I will also delve into current character design methodologies and introduce my theories of the importance of diversity to be included within those principals.

My goal is to encourage artists that read my thesis to push beyond the norms of current character design trends and introduce a more diverse character profile to the public. The end result is to give a detailed description of the role of a character artist and the impact we can have over our industry.

Visual

To keep the content fresh I will provide examples of successful and unsuccessful character designs where necessary to enhance and supplement the topics being presented. When presenting unsuccessful character designs I will offer insight into creating a more appealing and diverse version of the same character. I will include my own character designs to keep the reader intrigued as well as inspired.

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