Character Design Challenge || Inspire Multiple Designs from One Idea! 

This method feels like it could be a really useful worldbuilding tool to have; it's a cool, fun way to come up with new alien or fantasy species.

I love the concept of beakless birds! It's got me thinking of potential other ways to make unique avian designs.

This is something I always like to play around with, using one idea to make another or being iterative. Sometimes these types of ideas really help shape up the original character or design you've had too, which is an added bonus if you decide to add another character to a growing cast later on. EDIT-1: PS! Love the birdies!

I love these bird designs! They looks like a cast for a small comic when they do everyday things or something. I really like seeing these character design videos but it would be interesting to see videos on how to design a world or the look for the environment based on a group of characters you have made.

I also wanted to do a race of birds. But I wanted mine to be more pheasant/parrot-like.

I have a specie family that consist in anthro looking birds mixed with canines (one of these used to be my internet avatar) This video reminds me the process that I did to get them in paper. Now I'm going to use it again for other two species in my comic proyect. Sorry if some spelling error appears, is because English is not what I speak normally, is not my main language.

Really like the designs of the characters you made there!

When Brookse adds beakless birds to Biko's Backpack: Beakless Backpack?

Defs going to try this out this week! 🌼

I have a superhero story that could benefit from this for example like a league of superheroes like the justice league or the avengers, or maybe even a crime organization.

This is probably a bad idea for me, since I already have 80+ characters and making new ones would make me attached with them and add it with the others

As someone who is making a webcomic with a few different alien species, I really needed this. Otherwise, all of my aliens would look the same. Definitely going to give this a shot with my sea slug race.

I do really like this idea. There's a big reason I don't like drawing humans: there are billions of them. They don't inspire me. I feel like non-humans are just more interesting and diverse, and are more fun an challenging to create. Frankly, I think that I might like your work because the nonhuman characters you create are more interesting. This vid gave me an idea for an ostrich-like character, but also gave me an idea to draw characters around one concept: Look ma! No hands! Might try that.

I always love hearing what designs inspire you, it makes me wanna diversivy my influences as well

I loooove those bird designs! Ill give that exercise a shot--i feel like my design skills have been stagnating a bit lately, maybe this willl help me out.

I was actually tinkering with design ideas for a race of bird people. This is actually really helpful.

aaaand time to hyperfixate on making more species designs for my series lol

This is how i got a full race of bug alien robots i made out of legos, and are now going to be for a game im going to make

Very inspiring! I will have to design a whole lot of anthro wolf characters for a fantasy game of mine, and I think these ideas will come in super handy. I'll try to give them some unifying characteristics, but also unique features and shapes so they don't all just read as "big doggo".

Thank you for this, I'm always looking for exercises that make iteration easier and this is a fresh way for me to try some new kinds of characters I'd never consider drawing before. I'm a big fan of these videos that present fun challenges, I like that we get to see your examples as you complete the challenge, it's really inspiring. Now I want to go do my own version.

280 likes and no dislikes... Good.

Seeing that page of birdies you drew makes me want to draw some background characters. The green one with the cast is my favorite.

The characters are really cute

I love those designs! I haven't done character design in a while, but this was so inspiring!

Well, I've got to say this is a very helpful refresh for me since I can struggle with some same-face syndrome, so a new perspective really helps! Also, does anyone else have a lot of design children? For me you're looking at something around 300-400 at least? I'm a bit of a hoarder heh

This bird topic is very helpful for what in doing, Im making a comic and its like a bug work so now im thinking i could fit in a bird, Thank you I was so stuck on a cast!!!

Really great idea. I’ve recently started brainstorming for a story revolving around a character traveling through a great sea. When I think of sea travel the first think that came to mind was pirates and fish, so I’m going to see what sort of character I can make with those simple concepts and see which could work in the story

Wonderful video as usual! Very helpful! Every time I watch a video of yours I'm getting highly motivated to draw myself! I love it! And I love the beakless birds! They're so cute! I love watching all of your vids! Keep up the great work and thanks for making those helpful videos!

I would like to see the cereal mascot idea.

Thinking of doing this with fungi-just making a bunch of lil mushroom guys for fun. Thanks for the video!

Nice tips on iteration!! Very inspiring

This exercise looks very fun! I really like your videos. Thanks!

Those are some nifty scientifically accurate cartoon dinosaurs. Dromaeosaurs to be precise.

I love when you draw characters. Love your style ❤️❤️❤️

I'm really glad I found your channel. In High school, I met someone who inspired me to make stories. Art was already a big hobby of mine, and I gravitated towards various art electives from ceramics to painting. But it was an author from one of my favorite series who inspired me to make stories. I made so many rough drafts back then, some I posted on DeviantArt, but I haven't worked on them in years, and I gradually lost my drive. Now, after watching a handful of your videos, and others' videos (including another man with the name "Brooks" at Shadiversity), I want to pick up the pieces where I left off. I probably can't make the exact stories I wanted to make back in High School, even with my notebooks and old DeviantArt posts available, but I at least want to adapt some of it.

Inspiring as usual!

I've been wanting to design my dragon people species, I only got one of them because he's one of the main characters, guess now it's the time

Ummm…character select…yes. Yes please. Oh my goodness i can’t wait for that please everyone go patreon subscribe if you haven’t yet this is a need 😂

I’ve been so down about creating but this challenge and your art style video has helped me out of my slump, you’re a blessing and your art is fantastic, thank you so much

Will your pilot be on RU-vid or you made a deal with a network like Netflix or Hulu?

didn't know this was a challenge, I've had multiple designs come from a single idea at least a few times in the past

Certainly useful! Find it slightly hard to do this when it comes to drawing humans, though. I have designs for four characters (quite convenient) already done and revised a few times, but I'm starting to think that simply starting from scartch and applying this technique to give my cast more in common while still keeping each individual character unique is a better option. Do you think starting over again is a good idea?

Yay! 😁

i love videos like this that show off the character design process. it's just fun to watch you create some little guys.

I went to an animal generator and combined a few animals to make an entirely new animal, I didn't choose which animal the generator did. it's really fun to see what you can come up with using a generator or animals and people that already exist. And I love your character designs for the birds, they're so cute!

This is insightful challenge! Especially with focusing on one specific thing in mind to bind all the characters you're making together. It seems like a great warm-up without being too much pressure as well

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I love this... im kinda working on a video that has a similar feel...im calling the multiplication method... where you have some like a fish and multiple them with kites...giving me a couple of flying fish creatures

tips on character design in a more reality oriented universe? i already have general ideas of personalities and looks, but i'm having a lot of trouble figuring out what clothes a post apocalyptic sci fi type of society might wear? i do have a general idea, since i've already done a lot of worldbuilding in terms of the type of society it is. i just don't want to find myself going towards an overused fashion idea, like the capitol in the hunger games, or mad max? i want my characters to stand out without being over the top like that, if that makes sense. not that campy clothes are bad, it's just not the vibe of the story i'm trying to tell.

Would you recommend this exercise: to design a group of diverse characters but are still more or less the same thing (say strawberry poison dart frogs) but then you add something unique to each of them like one of them has a beak but then the other has horns then the other has wings

Whats an-therpa-morfize?

Hey Brooks, your are information is pretty good. I used to try writing stories that used a lot of sheets of paper per chapter. Now I just write chapters that are only 1 - 2 pages of paper front and back as it narrows my focus on the characters story more. From there I edit it in word and expand on what I originally had. One of the hardest difficulties I have in writing stories is writing chapter 1. I just can't figure out a good starting chapter but I can build chapters that kind of are like a chapter 2 or 3 which is easier for me. Still I have a lot to learn when it comes to story writing.

Could you do a three part series going off of shape language and making different characters from the same shape. Ex: a calm stoic character and an impulsive angry character can both be based of of squares

Not me willingly listening to lectures