Winners of the “Harry Potter” Challenge
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Congratulations to Stefano Martinuz, Hoa Tran, David Garrido and to Javier Garcia Sempere, the Special Guest Juror’s Choices this month! Thank you so much to ALL the artists of our community who have submitted their work for this challenge, to Jean-Baptiste Monge for accepting to be our juror this month, and to Character Design Quarterly, the official partner of the CDChallenge, which makes this project possible.
Special Guest Juror's Message
To the Winner:
Hat off Javier!! Your design conquered me.
The silhouette is very good and the lines are very expressive and very clear.
We feel definitely at 1st glance the scatterbrain, eccentric personality of the character, her mystic side and her lanky silhouette, uncomfortable in her physical body. Her physic, her pose and her attitude in general depict perfectly the character of Professor Sibyll Trelawney, without embellishments and ornaments and without useless additions. To push a bit further, you should also have added a wand, a cup of tea and a kettle on the ground, some books and the portrait would have been even more fantastic. Again Javier, Congratulations, this picture is for me the perfect example of an excellent character designer.
To the Community:
During this challenge, I have been truly impressed by what I discovered. I saw excellent works and ideas similar in quality of what we could have seen in big productions.
I’d like also to precise that a character design is not just a beautiful drawing and it is not neither a beautiful illustration. We have to remember that the role of a character designer is to be close enough of the sight of a Director and/or to help her/him to sharpen the sight of the character. Therefore it is essential that this particular picture be the clearest possible, that the shape be obvious by its volume and energy and of course that the focus be orientated on the main elements that build the character. A great part of the personal story of the character must be possible to read in this very 1st picture.
I saw a lot of pictures in colour but sometimes the colour is disruptive and can cause harm to the reading of the picture. I have the same remark for a background too dark or overloaded with details. The character is your focus so choose carefully the assets around. Simplicity and cleaned up lines are usually excellent asset for a character designer.
I have now 4 other special mentions on pictures that were on my top 5.
- So my 2nd favourite is for Almu Redondo and his Rogue, particularly succeeded, who represent in the same time the universe of Harry Potter and the character himself that we read through the pages.
- 3rd favourite: the board of Hermione Granger of Lidia Macov. This board is totally the kind of excellent work that we could find created in a studio as a 2nd step, to push further a character. The biggest and main picture of this board has a lack of tiny details that we would have loved to see, like books, some vials and why not her big fat cat.
- 4th favourite: Dobby the House Elf of Diego Antonio Rodriguez Vera. Everyone knows I have a particular affection for goblins and elves and this one cast a spell on me. A very simple shape, a great expression and attitude, that reflect perfectly the Dobby we adore.
- 5th favourite: Last but not least the picture of Lau Mii with her Moaning Myrtle. Fabulous strong and sensitive design! And could have finish ex-aequo with Javier, the 1st picture of my choice, if she had put the accent, like we have been able to see in other great representation of the character, on the whining and depressed of Moaning Myrtle.
Thank you to the CDR Team and above all, congrats to you all, it has been a true fantastic adventure through your designs and I wish you all a Happy Creative New Year 2017!
Character Design Quarterly
This challenge is presented by Character Design Quarterly, the Official Partner of CDChallenge.
Character Design Quarterly (CDQ) is an exciting new print magazine for illustrators, artists, animators and character art enthusiasts. Releasing four times a year, the magazine will offer inspirational and educational articles, tutorials and interviews from top industry professionals specifically geared to helping artists hone their character design skills. This unique, engaging magazine will provide a regular stream of insider knowledge and illuminating advice from experienced professionals and freelancers to help artists of all skill levels improve their workflow and designs. New issues will be released at regular three-month intervals in September, December, March and June. Subscriptions are available now!
