For our first week, we studied Form and shape, specifically the form of our favourite characters. The underlying form of our characters essentially being the bones of how they were designed and created, and us using their reference sheets to find how through the use of shapes these characters are designed and how that can affect, not only their clothing but possibly how they are animated

The first one I chose was Kaiji Ito from the series Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor. In the show, Kaiji is considered a NEET ( Not in Education, Employment or Training ) and as such he’s thin for a man his age. However the use in well-proportioned clothes means that Kaijis model sheet looks accurate, and he has a clear structure to him, as well as a realistic build for a man his age, he’s not overly muscular, but he isn’t unhealthy thin.

The next character I chose was Shinji Ikari, from the series Neon Genisis Evangelion. In the show Shiji is a 14-year-old boy, the sheet reflects this, with noticeably shorter proportions and little to no muscle mass, with the use in larger eyes emphasising his age. In this sheet I noticed how large his shirt is compared to his actual body, with the sleeves barely fitting him, making his arms look smaller, but still in proportion to the rest of his sheet

The final character I chose was Trunks From the series Dragonball Z. Being drawn by Akira Toriyama, most if not all the masculine characters in Dragonball have a large muscle mass that could continue to grow over the manga/shows run time. In this sheet, this is when Trunks is first introduced, but his outfit and design show off little to no of his figure, with the exception of his tank-top which shows a bit of his chest, in which we can already see the DBZ Influence. His clothes are noticeably less form-fitting, however, there are still enough clues in his reference sheet to show how loose his clothes are, with his trousers being the main indication.

With all the studies finished off, there was the re-draw, in which we needed to redraw one of the characters using a new pose and the characters reference sheet. In the end, I decided to do Trunks as not only did he most resemble my current drawing talents, but I felt as though I could easily experiment with the simpler proportions.