Design a Character in Photoshop with @JackieDroujko (Ep 3) | The Brief | Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud
24 Apr 202405:42

TLDRIn this episode of 'The Brief', Jackie Droujko, a character designer for Disney TV and other major studios, shares her creative process for designing a character that embodies qualities she admires in herself. Jackie is inspired by a box of items sent by Adobe, which includes elf ears and charcoal sticks, and her personal interest in muay thai. She decides to create an elf character with a kickboxing twist, projecting traits of determination, passion, and ruthlessness. After numerous sketches and design iterations, Jackie settles on an anti-hero character, drawing inspiration from her own sweaty post-boxing class appearance. She uses rough and loose lines, incorporates textures from Adobe Stock, and adds details like charcoal war paint to enhance the character's edgy and sweaty look. The final illustration features a determined, passionate elf-person with elf ears, charcoal hand wraps, and a subtle background that places her in an environment, complete with red and blue lighting effects to emphasize her villainous yet noble presence.

Takeaways

  • 🎨 Jackie Droujko, a character designer for Disney TV, shares her creative process in designing a character that reflects her own qualities.
  • 📦 Adobe sends Jackie a box of inspirational items, including elf ears and charcoal sticks, to create a character.
  • 🧝‍♀️ Jackie relates to the elf ears and decides to incorporate them into her character design, reflecting her personal connection to her Dungeons & Dragons character.
  • 🥋 Jackie's current interest in Muay Thai inspires her to create an elf character who is also a kickboxer, bringing a unique blend of fantasy and athleticism to the design.
  • 💭 She emphasizes the character's determination, passion, and ruthlessness, projecting these traits onto the character's personality.
  • 📝 Jackie sketches multiple variations of the character, struggling to find the right anatomy before settling on a design that resonates with her.
  • 🥊 The character is envisioned as having just come out of a boxing round, embodying exhaustion, anger, and determination.
  • 👀 Jackie experiments with the character's eye color, ultimately deciding on a more natural look to contrast with the villainous vibe.
  • 🧵 She uses textures from Adobe Stock to add depth to the character's clothing, showcasing her ability to blend different elements into a cohesive design.
  • 🌟 Jackie focuses on form and texture, adding details like charcoal 'war paint' and sweat to enhance the character's appearance.
  • 🔍 She uses lighting techniques to create a dramatic and moody atmosphere, emphasizing the character's emotions and the story behind her.
  • 🖌️ The final illustration is a combination of fantasy and reality, with the character appearing as a determined, passionate anti-hero with a noble background.

Q & A

  • What is the name of the character designer featured in the video?

    -Jackie Droujko

  • What is the main task Jackie is given by Adobe in this episode?

    -To create a hero or villain character that incorporates qualities Jackie likes most about herself.

  • What item from the box of goodies sent by Adobe does Jackie decide to incorporate into her character design?

    -Elf ears and charcoal sticks.

  • What personal hobby of Jackie's does she decide to include in the character's background?

    -Muay Thai kickboxing classes.

  • How long did it take Jackie to complete the sketching phase of her character design?

    -Over an hour, with about ten variations.

  • What was Jackie's initial struggle with the character's anatomy during the sketching phase?

    -She couldn't settle on a design that worked for her, switching between light and dark clothing, and unsure whether the character was a hero or a villain.

  • What feature did Jackie consider adding to her character to give a villainous look, but ultimately decided against?

    -Making the character's eyelashes white and the eye whites black.

  • How does Jackie use Adobe Stock to enhance her character design?

    -She finds a woven texture to add to the character's shirt and uses overlays to make it fit seamlessly.

  • What technique does Jackie use to handle the character's hair, which she admits she finds challenging?

    -She uses overhead lighting to emphasize the mood and partially cover the braids, avoiding detailed drawing of the braids.

  • What final details does Jackie add to the character to enhance the illustration?

    -Charcoal on the face and body as war paint, gradients, RGB split, noise, and additional sweat for a more realistic effect.

  • What is Jackie's final interpretation of the character's role in her society?

    -Jackie imagines the character as a noble in an elf society who must fight the main queen to save her father's land.

  • What does Jackie emphasize as important for setting the character in an environment?

    -The subtle background and the use of red bounce light to give the character a villainous glow.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Artistic Inspiration: Jackie's Character Design Journey

Jackie, a character designer for Disney TV with experience in Netflix, Warner Brothers, and Nickelodeon, receives a box of inspirational items from Adobe to create a character. She is tasked with designing a hero or villain that reflects her favorite qualities. Jackie selects elf ears, charcoal sticks, and a wooden mannequin from the box, drawing inspiration from her Dungeons & Dragons elf character and her passion for muay thai. She sketches extensively, going through multiple iterations to find the perfect design. The character evolves from a potential hero to an anti-hero with a villainous vibe, incorporating Jackie's traits of determination, passion, and ruthlessness. The final design features the character in a post-boxing state, exhausted and angry, with a sleek appearance and a touch of charcoal as 'war paint'. Jackie uses Adobe Stock for textures, focusing on form, texture, and mood to bring the character to life.

05:02

🌟 Final Touches: Crafting the Character's Story and Visual Impact

Jackie envisions her character as a noble elf who must fight a main queen to save her father's land, giving the character a backstory and depth. She emphasizes the character's environment and uses subtle background details to enhance the setting. The character is portrayed with a villainous glow from red bounce light and a contrasting blue rim light, adding pizzazz and tying in with the background's color. The character's hand wraps and sweaty appearance convey her emotional state, showing she is angry and determined. Jackie is pleased with the final piece, which encapsulates her creative process and the character's story. She invites viewers to watch more episodes of 'The Brief' and to try Adobe Creative Cloud for their own art creation, ending with a reminder to like and subscribe.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Character Designer

A character designer is a professional artist who creates the visual appearance of characters for various forms of media, including television, film, and video games. In the context of the video, Jackie, the speaker, is a character designer for Disney TV and has also worked for other major entertainment companies. This role is central to the video's theme as it showcases Jackie's expertise in designing a character that reflects her own qualities.

💡Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of software and services offered by Adobe Inc. that gives users access to tools for graphic design, video editing, web development, and photography. In the video, Jackie uses Adobe Creative Cloud to create her character design, which is a key part of the video's content as it demonstrates the capabilities of the software in the creative process.

💡Elf Ears

Elf ears are a common fantasy element often depicted as pointed and elongated, characteristic of elves in various mythologies and fantasy genres. In the video, Jackie mentions elf ears as part of the inspirational items she received and decides to incorporate them into her character design, reflecting her personal connection to her Dungeons & Dragons character and adding a fantasy aesthetic to her creation.

💡Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a form of martial arts that originated in Thailand, known for its use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins as striking tools. Jackie mentions her personal interest in Muay Thai classes and imagines her character also participating in kickboxing, which influences the character's design to reflect a strong and determined persona.

💡Sketching

Sketching is the act of creating rough drawings as a preliminary step in the design process. Jackie spends over an hour sketching her character, going through multiple variations before settling on a design. This step is crucial as it forms the foundation of the character's visual appearance and is a significant part of the video's narrative.

💡Anti-Hero

An anti-hero is a central character in a story who lacks conventional heroic attributes but is still considered the protagonist. Jackie decides to portray her character as an anti-hero, which adds complexity and depth to the character's personality. This concept is important as it shapes the character's visual and thematic elements in the video.

💡Lighting

In the context of art and design, lighting refers to the way in which light interacts with objects and influences their appearance. Jackie discusses using different light sources to create a dramatic and moody effect in her character design. Lighting is a key element in setting the tone and atmosphere of the artwork.

💡Textures

Textures in digital art refer to the visual and tactile quality of a surface, which can be simulated through various techniques. Jackie uses a woven texture from Adobe Stock to add detail and realism to her character's shirt, demonstrating how textures can enhance the visual interest and depth of a design.

💡Braids

Braids are a hairstyle where three or more strands of hair are woven together. Jackie expresses her difficulty in drawing braids, which is a common challenge for many artists. Despite this, she incorporates them into her character's design to add a sense of authenticity and detail, reflecting her character's cultural and personal attributes.

💡Sweat

Sweat is used in the video as a visual element to convey the character's physical exertion and emotional state. Jackie wants her character to appear sweaty and exhausted, which adds to the narrative of the character having just come out of a boxing round. This detail helps to tell a story and gives the character a more dynamic and active presence.

💡RGB Split

RGB split is a digital effect that separates the colors red, green, and blue in an image to create a surreal or dreamlike quality. Jackie uses this technique as a final touch to add visual interest and complexity to her character design. It's an advanced concept in digital art that contributes to the overall aesthetic of the piece.

Highlights

Jackie Droujko, a character designer for Disney TV, shares her creative process in a video series.

Jackie has worked on projects for Netflix, Warner Brothers, and Nickelodeon.

Adobe sends Jackie a box of inspirational items to create a unique piece of art.

The challenge is to create a hero or villain character incorporating Jackie's own qualities.

Elf ears and charcoal sticks inspire the character's fantasy and artistic elements.

Jackie's current obsession with muay thai influences the character's physicality.

The character is envisioned as determined, passionate, and ruthless.

Sketching the character involves multiple iterations and refinements.

The character's design evolves from a hero to a villain or anti-hero.

Jackie opts for boxing wraps over gloves for a sleeker look.

Lighting plays a crucial role in setting the dramatic and moody atmosphere.

The character's silhouette and colors are blocked out based on the original sketch.

Experimenting with eye color adds to the character's villainous appearance.

Adobe Stock is used to find textures that enhance the character's outfit.

Rendering focuses on form and texture to bring the character to life.

Adding details like ribbon and sweat emphasizes the character's post-boxing state.

Charcoal is used as war paint, adding to the character's edgy look.

Final details include gradients, RGB split, noise, and dust particles for a polished finish.

The final illustration combines elements of fantasy, muay thai, and a strong anti-hero personality.

The character's background and lighting contribute to her environment and mood.

Jackie invites viewers to create their own art with a free trial of Adobe Creative Cloud.