Stylized Characters for Freelance Projects

On July 30, 2021

Release date:2021, July 17

Duration:08 h 06 m

Author:Maria Lia Malandrino

Skill level:Intermediate

Language:English

Exercise files:Yes

Are you excited at the thought of drawing for a living, being paid to do what you really love?

While it is definitely thrilling, being a freelance artist involves A LOT more than just drawing. All the various responsibilities that come with being your own boss, such as pricing, client communication, and review rounds can have a big effect on the final artwork, time involved and even your income! The practical aspects of working with clients can often be overwhelming for those starting out, but it doesn’t have to be for you.

In this course, you’ll discover the workflow of a professional freelance artist, Maria Malandrino, who has worked on a host of various art projects throughout her career. She will share with you how to structure your workflow, deal with clients, create an art style for a brief, write up a contract and more. PLUS she will also walk you through an entire character design from start to finish just as if it was a real-life project for an actual client!

Learn her thought process, tips for boosting creativity, the stages of production and in-depth character stylization. This course sheds light on the daily routine of a freelance artist, with the aim of helping you find your own path as a professional in this industry.

What you’ll learn

Work effectively with clients, from price setting to file sharing
Identify your target audience and develop a style that best suits them
Discover Maria’s coloring methods in Adobe Photoshop
Develop the core features of your style and replicate it with other characters
Understand the importance of visual communication and how it relates to illustration style
Draw a range of characters in one style: children, adults, older people and animals
Create a style bible for you and your team

Who is this course for

Intermediate artists looking to become freelance professionals – developing characters for comics, videogames or animated feature films.
Artists who want to understand the process for creating artwork for clients

Requirements

Digital drawing software, eg: Photoshop (used by instructor) or other drawing software
Some knowledge of shape language and art fundamentals
A good grasp of sketching

Watch online or Download for Free

1. Introduction
1. Introduction to course

2. Visual Communication
2.1 Communication Theory
2.2 The Relation Between Style and Content
2.3 Assignment

3. Finding Your Audience 8: Style
3.1 Delivering style samples to clients
3.2 What is the Target Audience?

4. Creating a Marketing Persona
4.1 What is a marketing persona?
4.2 Introducing a mock brief
4.3 Persona Walkthrough and Assignment Example

5. Working with Clients
5.1 Setting your prices
5.2 How to write a pro-forma quote
5.3 Your work has value

6. Tools of the Trade
6.1 File Sharing and Hosting
6.2 Task Management Tools
6.3 Software for Reference Collection
6.4 Communication channels

7. Reference Collection
7.1 Collecting Reference Material
7.2 Using Pinterest to collect references

8. Style Finder Tools
8.1 What is Stylisation RECAP?
8.2 Using the Style Finder tool

9. Working with Shapes, Step 1
9.1 Style development: Where to start?
9.2 Iterating quick shapes
9.3 Presentation poses and silhouettes

10. Working with Shapes, Step 2
10.1 Adding Secondary features to the original thumbnails
10.2 Iterating pose 18
10.3 Iterating pose 13
10.4 Delivering to Client or working for your portfolio

11. Outfits and Hairstyles, Step 3
11.1 Finalising the Primary and Secondary Features
11.2 Creating outfit and hairstyle options
11.3 Introducing lineart