Illustration and Visual Narrative - Task1 - Character Design

Illustration and Visual Narrative - Task1 - Character Design

23.9.2025 - 31.12.2025

week1 - week14

 HIYORI HYAKUICHI / 0373128

Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Taylor's University

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INSTRUCTIONS

2. PROCESS WORK

　-Sketches

　-Final output

    -Techniques

　-Self-reflection

3. REFLECTION

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1. INSTRUCTIONS

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2.  PROCESS WORK

Task 01：Character Design

<Sketches>

fig.1

fig.2

fig.3

fig.4

Character #1 fig.5

Character #2 fig.6

Character #3 fig.7

<Final Output>

silhouette fig.8

Character Design 1 fig.9

Character Design 2 fig.10

<Character Introduction>

#1 Mysterious Neighbor

・Age: ?

・Species: ?

・Occupation: ?

・Favorite Food: ?

・Hobby: Watering Flowers?

・Traits / Personality:

    - It's hard to tell what they're thinking.

    - They don't talk.

<Episode>

・I don't know anything about my neighbor, but I see them every morning when I leave the house.

They always water the flowers in the garden. When I greet them, they give me a small nod in return.

・They always wear the same clothes and water the flowers at the same time every day.

・Once, when I gave them an apple pie, they gave me a lemon pie in return.

#2 The Mail Carrier

・Age: 5 years old (equivalent to 18 in human years)

・Species: Cat-Raccoon

・Occupation: Mail Carrier

・Favorite Food: Dandelions

・Hobby: Searching for dandelions

・Traits / Personality:

    - Easygoing but loved by everyone

    - Absolutely loves dandelions

<Episode>

・From noon to evening, they deliver letters all around town.

Sometimes, they're seen delivering mail with a dandelion in their mouth.

・When I once gave them a dandelion seed as thanks for delivering my mail, they were overjoyed.

・It's said that when they sleep, their body melts into a liquid-like shape.

#3 Regular Walker

・Age: 15 years old (57 in human years)

・Species: Duck-Platypus

・Occupation: Library Clerk

・Favorite Food: Cotton Candy

・Hobby: Taking walks and wearing stylish hats

・Traits / Personality:

    - Wears a different lovely hat every day

    - Always greets people kindly

    - Has soft, fluffy feathers

<Episode>

・A familiar face I pass by every time I go for a walk; sometimes they give some sweets.

・After finishing their walk, they often read books on a park bench.

According to them, their goal is finish reading every book in the library.

Reference fig.11

<Reference>

I used chibi-style or simplified character designs as references. The reason is that when the shape and silhouette are simple, the character is easier to recognize at a glance and leaves a stronger impression.

<Techniques Applied>

By studying a wide range of character reference materials, I focused on how different silhouettes-such as circular, square, triangular, and diamond shapes-influence the viewer's impression. I designed the characters with an emphasis on creating memorable shapes and strong visual identities.

<Self Reflection>

I created various types of characters, including ones that are closer to realistic proportions, ones adapted to more human-like forms, and others that combine elements different from the original animal designs.

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3. Reflection

In this assignment, I focused on character creation. I learned that a character’s silhouette plays a major role in shaping the overall impression of the character. In addition, personality and mood can be conveyed through the overall form and dynamic poses. Although this was not my first time creating original characters, it was challenging to design them while considering both the creator’s perspective and the viewer’s perspective.