A huge thank you to the staff of Discovery Isle San Marcos for inviting me to visit their school-age class! The focus of my talk was character design. I brought several pictures of popular cartoon characters, and showed the kids how they are constructed using large, basic shapes.
Basic shape construction. Photo Credit Jamie Penn
From there, we designed a brand-new character together. The kids acted as the client, brainstorming the specifics, and we quickly settled on “a fish who loves chicken and is afraid of cows.” I thumbnailed several variations using different basic shapes, then drew a refined version of the client’s favorite.
Designing a character together. Photo credit: Jamie Penn.
For the last half of the session, I set the kids up with a ream of paper and a fistful of crayons, and watched them design their own characters. I tell ya, nothing beats the collective energy of a room full of kids. What fun we all had!
If you are interested in having me talk at your school, please feel free to contact me!
