Me: *scoffs* I know how to use shapes to draw characters... Brookes: knowing how to use shapes like circles, triangles, and squares to draw characters is like learning the letters of the alphabet Me: *stares at Brookes intensely while Western showdown music plays in the background*
Oh my goodness, you’re amazing Brookes. 😂😂 Why didn’t I find your channel sooner?? TH-cam???!?!! 😂🤣 Ah well, Thank you for another inspiring video! :D *and the two lived happily ever after ending the staring showdown once and for all* 😂😂
@@CharacterDesignForge i just seen this was four years ago lol! but i basically was like *aggresive western music plays as i pull my sketchbook out to fix my characters*
My brothers an animator. Big name anime companies from japan will pay him $20 a cut, and no more even if they make him redo it for whatever reason. When he live streams, people on youtube will pay him $20 just to read their comment on stream. Pay your animators, please.
Don't forget background characters. For me, even background characters can have their own lives going on, like they're the main characters of their own stories. When I get to make a full scene, I wanna keep that in mind: What do these backgrounders do? Where are they going, what's going on in their lives? But I got off-track for a moment here. You're right, though, a cast of good characters is better than having just one.
What about Jojo characters? They are mostly semi-realistic in designs and the protagonists usually appear to have a squarish design. Yet some of them are.. quite different from being sturdy.
The difference with JoJo characters, is that Araki has showed many times that their body/face types are the same (most of the time, an exception can be Polpo, for example.) Araki replaces the lack of shape differences with crazy clothing, exotic hair styles, strange poses and diverse personalities. That's why even without that shape difference, you can still notice the difference between his characters.
With jojo, it’s all in the clothing and how characters hold and express themselves. Araki probably never concerned himself with the intricacies of shape language and just felt the whole thing out.
Jokes aside, though, this video's got me thinking about shapes again. A lot of my designs tend to be circular with few exceptions, and while that's fine'n dandy, I worry I suffer from same face a lot of the time. Plus, it'd be nice to have someone that isn't just "cute", y'know? In fact, I might set some time aside to try out the same thing you did during 5:25. That could be a real fun challenge.
You can also use shape language show how a character has changed though the story with out changing there design to much. During the main antagonist’s reformation arch his design doesn’t change to much other than the sharp points of his whiskers, beard, and ears being rounded off[yes he is an anthro cat] the toes of his boots going from triangles to half circles and the triangle that makes up his chest being borrowed down to lessen his blocky, imposing silhouette.
FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING (it's not like I hate those basic 3 shapes, I just think it'll worth it to make things more than what they should for experiment)
Interesting explanation on triangles. Ive been using them in my own character but without this kind of reasoning. I knew they represented energy and/or danger, but I never considered mood based on position.
Nope, these are NOT rules at all, but something that can be said by them. Making some sort of exhaustive list of everything that can be said with shapes would be like making... a dictionary. Spongebob's squareness falls under the namecalling we do when we call someone a square, they're odd, obtuse, and uncool. Spongebob's also incredibly unchanging, every episode, every arc, he's the same.
This was really informative! I really like watching this type of video, as I always strive to improve! Shape language is probably one of the harder things for me to do, as I almost always resort to round shapes unless I'm drawing hair or fur, where I do sharp. Drawing with different shapes will make for interesting results, so I'll try to experiment as often as I can. It's the reason I try to keep at least three noteooks and have a lot of folders on my computer.
That's great to hear, these kinds of videos don't usually do as well, so if you have the ability to support or share them if you'd like to see more, please do! That is definitely the trick with shapes, the interplay can get really interesting, but it takes a lot of experimentation!
Yes! I remember old videos about shape language! So glad to see you covering this again! Very helpful as always, which continues the helpful video streak ;)
I think shape language is one of those things that is a must to know especially if you have a heavily stylized style like mine. I use shapes heavily in my art. The main antagonist of the comic I’m working on has a triangle for a chest for peats sake
thanks for going beyond "a circle is... you know... circular." it's amazing how exact and on point you are. lovely examples too! i'm definitely gonna use this as a source in my written research.
Thanks Brookes, very informative - I think the Superman wood block episode was one of the first episodes I saw, brought a big smile on my face seeing it again!
Can mixing shapes be good too? I struggle with shape language to be honest ^^’ I do combine shapes though, and I’m not too sure if that reads clearly or if it muddles the character a bit
I'm not an expert but I do listen and learn a lot about this and the answer is: Yes. You can mix shapes, but try to not use too much shapes. For example, you can use triangular and circular shapes, if used well you can make a great design. The trick is to find a balance between the shapes you'll use.
me half asleep at 12 am browsing yotube: this dude's cool me sees hollow knight figures in the background: eyes widen, stares into the screen with excitement
Most of the time with my art style literally all my characters are round. Sometimes I do it intentionally, but mostly it's just because of my art style.
I find it best to use the same shapes and patterns to flesh out my whole character. I start my patterns with its eyes and face profile, then work downward. When I show my drawings, the patterned out characters prove to be more appealing.
_Can't you tell Zote is such an in-depth and developed character? It takes a high IQ to understand the subtle nuances and qualities of his caricature, that I'd hardly expect you to understand_
This is probably the nicest, most informative instalment I've seen you do yet. Maybe cause this time I properly paid attention, rather than drawing during the videos duration, but I'd still like to say that its improvement.👍
I've started the book I was planning! The main character Rocky is a very broad but childish character however you can't really connect with him because everything is uncertain with him. Do u have any tips or tricks that could make him visually connectable?
Damn, I thought this was about improving the way you write dialouge to better express a character's personality. I have a realy bad habit of writing what _I_ would say instead of writing what the actual character would say. I get really frustrated when I write some dialouge and they both sound like they have the same personality; mine. And my personality is not the best to have. Help
So it's less of Circles, Squares, and Triangles, but rather Curves, and Obtuse and Acute angels. And even more, the angles and degrees the shapes, made by the different lines, have?
Question here ..well maybe 2 Are all shape langu based characters intentional or is it just some coincidence. In a way And un does shape language always have to be applied in all character designing or can it be left out and still have a equal looking design without shape language being the. Main look of the design
A lot of efficient methods for learning involve drawing things that you don't want to draw, like life drawings or trying to mimic someone else's art. I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering if there are any ways to practice drawing and improving while also flexing your creative muscles?
If squares are sturdy and serious, triangles are quick and unpredictable, and circles are cute and friendly, what vibe to octagons and hexagons give off
Me: *scoffs* I know how to use shapes to draw characters...
Brookes: knowing how to use shapes like circles, triangles, and squares to draw characters is like learning the letters of the alphabet
Me: *stares at Brookes intensely while Western showdown music plays in the background*
I hope its Once Upon a Time in the West
@@CharacterDesignForge 😂😂
Oh my goodness, you’re amazing Brookes. 😂😂 Why didn’t I find your channel sooner?? TH-cam???!?!! 😂🤣 Ah well, Thank you for another inspiring video! :D *and the two lived happily ever after ending the staring showdown once and for all* 😂😂
@@CharacterDesignForge i just seen this was four years ago lol! but i basically was like *aggresive western music plays as i pull my sketchbook out to fix my characters*
My brothers an animator. Big name anime companies from japan will pay him $20 a cut, and no more even if they make him redo it for whatever reason. When he live streams, people on youtube will pay him $20 just to read their comment on stream.
Pay your animators, please.
Woah your bro sounds cool
Hope he atleast is doing ok
@@itsme7336 your profile picture is literally everywhere. where did you get it from
Do it.
a cut?
1:10 "Pay your animators!"
But... what if *I* was the animator? What happens then?
guess I gotta pay you.
Pay yourself
you get paid
Give your friend some money and tell them to give it back once you have created a complete work of art
AreoAnts TREAT YOSELF
I just realised I'm gonna have to make a cast of good characters and not just one overdeveloped character
Don't forget background characters. For me, even background characters can have their own lives going on, like they're the main characters of their own stories. When I get to make a full scene, I wanna keep that in mind: What do these backgrounders do? Where are they going, what's going on in their lives?
But I got off-track for a moment here. You're right, though, a cast of good characters is better than having just one.
REAL SHIT
I think that I should instead focus on a smaller but deeper cast often, and still I'm doing the opposite
I’m surprised how much shape language I was already doing subconsciously
Yes, she is. XD
MATE SAME
"the upper triangle can feel hopeful and positive" mmh *bill cipher* me:"oh"
Well, he's exception 😅. But he's still a villain to Gravityfalls 😅.
I T ' S F U N N Y H O W D U M B Y O U A R E
- Bill Cipher
He's not easy to deCYPHER
I think they did that so he looks less obviously evil so we can see how Ford might’ve trusted him once
Gravity Falls’s character designers wanted to play with his shape language. It’s a good design tho
What about Jojo characters? They are mostly semi-realistic in designs and the protagonists usually appear to have a squarish design. Yet some of them are.. quite different from being sturdy.
The difference with JoJo characters, is that Araki has showed many times that their body/face types are the same (most of the time, an exception can be Polpo, for example.)
Araki replaces the lack of shape differences with crazy clothing, exotic hair styles, strange poses and diverse personalities.
That's why even without that shape difference, you can still notice the difference between his characters.
With jojo, it’s all in the clothing and how characters hold and express themselves. Araki probably never concerned himself with the intricacies of shape language and just felt the whole thing out.
Jokes aside, though, this video's got me thinking about shapes again. A lot of my designs tend to be circular with few exceptions, and while that's fine'n dandy, I worry I suffer from same face a lot of the time. Plus, it'd be nice to have someone that isn't just "cute", y'know?
In fact, I might set some time aside to try out the same thing you did during 5:25. That could be a real fun challenge.
aaaaaaaa literally was boutta rewatch your old ones about shape language :o
Now with TWO Audio channels! XD
Nice! Ha ha.
You can also use shape language show how a character has changed though the story with out changing there design to much. During the main antagonist’s reformation arch his design doesn’t change to much other than the sharp points of his whiskers, beard, and ears being rounded off[yes he is an anthro cat] the toes of his boots going from triangles to half circles and the triangle that makes up his chest being borrowed down to lessen his blocky, imposing silhouette.
FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING
(it's not like I hate those basic 3 shapes, I just think it'll worth it to make things more than what they should for experiment)
Okay, I looked up shape language yesterday. What kind of witchery is this?
Me: Sees hollow knight merch in the background
Also me: “Imma watch the entire thing now”
Interesting explanation on triangles. Ive been using them in my own character but without this kind of reasoning. I knew they represented energy and/or danger, but I never considered mood based on position.
I learned that "tiny silhouette" method from one of your older videos and I use it almost every time I design a character
Awesome!
3:27 Is that Zote?
Yo, Zote is my Dad. He's a knight of great renown.
Do you think you could do a case study or a video dissecting some examples of different basic shapes being used together?
Man, I remember the left-only audio! I laughed so hard at that!
we've come so far! XD This is actually the first video with a new mic, slightly better!
Literally came up with a new character yesterday. So excited to practice this
So spongebob is supposed to look "stoic, bulky, heroic, stubborn, and static"?
Nope, these are NOT rules at all, but something that can be said by them. Making some sort of exhaustive list of everything that can be said with shapes would be like making... a dictionary. Spongebob's squareness falls under the namecalling we do when we call someone a square, they're odd, obtuse, and uncool. Spongebob's also incredibly unchanging, every episode, every arc, he's the same.
This was really informative! I really like watching this type of video, as I always strive to improve!
Shape language is probably one of the harder things for me to do, as I almost always resort to round shapes unless I'm drawing hair or fur, where I do sharp. Drawing with different shapes will make for interesting results, so I'll try to experiment as often as I can. It's the reason I try to keep at least three noteooks and have a lot of folders on my computer.
That's great to hear, these kinds of videos don't usually do as well, so if you have the ability to support or share them if you'd like to see more, please do! That is definitely the trick with shapes, the interplay can get really interesting, but it takes a lot of experimentation!
Calling round characters 'feminine, children and cute animals" is fat monk erasure. 😶
Bruh, my mascot the Wanderlumin though 😝
Yes! I remember old videos about shape language! So glad to see you covering this again! Very helpful as always, which continues the helpful video streak ;)
I think shape language is one of those things that is a must to know especially if you have a heavily stylized style like mine. I use shapes heavily in my art. The main antagonist of the comic I’m working on has a triangle for a chest for peats sake
thanks for going beyond "a circle is... you know... circular."
it's amazing how exact and on point you are. lovely examples too!
i'm definitely gonna use this as a source in my written research.
Thanks Brookes, very informative - I think the Superman wood block episode was one of the first episodes I saw, brought a big smile on my face seeing it again!
Can mixing shapes be good too? I struggle with shape language to be honest ^^’ I do combine shapes though, and I’m not too sure if that reads clearly or if it muddles the character a bit
I'm not an expert but I do listen and learn a lot about this and the answer is: Yes.
You can mix shapes, but try to not use too much shapes. For example, you can use triangular and circular shapes, if used well you can make a great design.
The trick is to find a balance between the shapes you'll use.
@@lovecatsniyumi7732 thank you so much!
Sure. If you look at child animation characters all characters have a bit of roundness to them, specially in their eyes
Your channel is such a big help, ever since I found it I've been hooked. Thank you!
Really appreciate that, thanks!
Man, this is my favorite channel ever.
Oh wow, thank you Carlos!
Same!
There needs to be more channels like this.
“Pay your animators” silly, I AM my animator.
haha that quality comment at the start made me lol
Great tips and analysis as always, ty :D
me half asleep at 12 am browsing yotube:
this dude's cool
me sees hollow knight figures in the background:
eyes widen, stares into the screen with excitement
What about SpongeBob? He's square yet jolly, fun, and happy!
his design does have many cirlces in it to accompany it however
They probably weren't considering that, and more just to make him look like an actual sponge for simplicity's sake
2:28 I too like it.
Everyone loves kirby 🍝🥺
Your a great person to learn from.
wow pro
Do you have a video on how to emphasize certain parts of a character?
Most of the time with my art style literally all my characters are round. Sometimes I do it intentionally, but mostly it's just because of my art style.
3:52 ramiel
u deserve better recognition
Hehe thanks! Sharing and supporting always helps where that's concerned!
Watching these type of videos made me redo my characters. Well some of them.
Glad I found your channel dude
So what shape language would a tesseract describe?
I just found your channel, and I really like your videos they help out a lot!
I think you're super underrated!
thanks so much!
@@CharacterDesignForge You're welcome!
Phineas and Ferb took it to an extreme?
There's lots of shows with incredibly graphic shape language like that, yeah!
I find it best to use the same shapes and patterns to flesh out my whole character. I start my patterns with its eyes and face profile, then work downward. When I show my drawings, the patterned out characters prove to be more appealing.
Very helpful! Thank you!
and what is hexagons? Triengle group or circle?
It would definitely be triangular, there arent any curves in hexagons
Is that the Hollow Knight character in the background (on the right side). My brother plays the game :v
3:28 ZOTE THE MIGHTY
Thank U! :D
With all of that it appears like the square will always be boring. Or at least that's what I can't stop thinking
"Stoic". Shows Zote. Seems legit.
*twelve paragraph response*
_Can't you tell Zote is such an in-depth and developed character? It takes a high IQ to understand the subtle nuances and qualities of his caricature, that I'd hardly expect you to understand_
This is probably the nicest, most informative instalment I've seen you do yet. Maybe cause this time I properly paid attention, rather than drawing during the videos duration, but I'd still like to say that its improvement.👍
i really enjoyed this video!
Oof I love that paper mario shirt
Great advice!
I've started the book I was planning! The main character Rocky is a very broad but childish character however you can't really connect with him because everything is uncertain with him. Do u have any tips or tricks that could make him visually connectable?
I think a few things in... this video... could help!
Everyone: you need shape language for good character designs
Minecraft: *hold my honey cube*
What the heck are the Hollow Knight models in the background
Unrelated to the video but man I remember when you were such a small channel, I'm so happy to see your advice getting to more aspiring artists!
Damn, I thought this was about improving the way you write dialouge to better express a character's personality. I have a realy bad habit of writing what _I_ would say instead of writing what the actual character would say. I get really frustrated when I write some dialouge and they both sound like they have the same personality; mine. And my personality is not the best to have. Help
“circles are circular”
ah yes, the floor here is made out of floor
what about rhombus
Is that a serious question or a joke.
@@CharacterDesignForge serious
@@JDSigma It would fall under the general shape language of square or triangular shape language, as talked about in the video.
Can someone please tell me what is the Outro Music Theme? at 7:04-7:05 to 7:25
Hmm good good
So it's less of Circles, Squares, and Triangles, but rather Curves, and Obtuse and Acute angels. And even more, the angles and degrees the shapes, made by the different lines, have?
Question here ..well maybe 2
Are all shape langu based characters intentional or is it just some coincidence. In a way
And un does shape language always have to be applied in all character designing or can it be left out and still have a equal looking design without shape language being the. Main look of the design
Shapes are not used for drawing but drawing means shapes
A lot of efficient methods for learning involve drawing things that you don't want to draw, like life drawings or trying to mimic someone else's art. I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering if there are any ways to practice drawing and improving while also flexing your creative muscles?
Could you talk about Undertale characters? I think they are pretty great and they feel so real to me!!!
Humans are too complicated, I don’t like them, they threaten me
Can you talk about how water and ice are shape around a character and landscape
can I get this in stupid, so I understand easier? 🙏
Is there something you have a question about?
If squares are sturdy and serious, triangles are quick and unpredictable, and circles are cute and friendly, what vibe to octagons and hexagons give off
That’s giving literal shapes a bit too much credit- those are essentially triangular squares- a combo of those two languages
Will he ever finish his crowbar? :(