Introduction

Hello! 🐯

This is my first tutorial! I couldn't hold myself back after seeing this month's topics... Do you need some help creating fantasy characters? With this tutorial, I can help you carefully think about the character you want to create and its features. Plus, I can show you how to use 3D tools in Clip Studio to assist you in this process!

 

❤ Keep reading to learn about Clip Studio and about mermaids, demons, centaurs, fauns, werewolves... and how to make your own original characters! ❤

 

(All the drawings shown in this tutorial are my own work, and you can see more on my Instagram!)

The first step: research

 

First, the most important thing is to determine which creature you want to make. What kind of abilities and characteristics do you want it to have? For this, it's good to RESEARCH what features define the type of creature you have chosen.

Look for different examples to see how other artists, movies, series, and games have approached a fantasy creature like the one you want to make. Identify the elements that are used most frequently and are most representative of that creature; this way, you can choose which ones are best for your design.

 

Don't forget to consider the "percentage of humanity" your character has! Some magical creatures often look more human than others, such as elves, angels, and fairies; and others can vary depending on the artist's choice, style, and interest, such as vampires and werewolves.

Then, you should ask yourself what characteristics YOU want your creatures to have. It's good to balance the characteristics that make it easy to recognize the character's species and abilities with those that best suit your taste, story, or artistic style.

 

Half-Animal, Half-Human Characters

I prefer characters that have some animal characteristics, even when the body itself doesn't vary much from human. The most popular animal-human hybrid characters might be mermaids, centaurs, and fauns. The fun in these cases is in combining different animals! 🧜‍♀️

When you're thinking about your character's personality and the type of activities they perform, you can choose the animal that best conveys their behavior. For example, if your character is a fierce mermaid, you might want them to be half-shark... or perhaps a solemn jellyfish mermaid... Let me show you some examples I made:

 

 

I recommend incorporating animal elements into the human half of the character to reinforce the link between the two halves, such as ears, horns, fur, etc. 🐎

 

You might find it difficult to combine the proportions of both bodies when drawing a half-animal character. I suggest taking into account the proportions of each half and balancing them in a way that works well with your style and interests. You can see in the image above how I draw them, but you can try different configurations to find your own way of drawing these types of characters. Mainly for terrestrial characters, I usually draw the animal part with a height similar to what it would have if the character were entirely human.

Mixed Species and Character Transformation

 

The other type of mixed characters I love are those that transform from humans to beasts, or that have a more uniform blend of animal characteristics on a human-like base. The most popular types I can think of are demons and werewolves. When mixing species, always remember to consider the actual animal you are drawing from or copying abilities and characteristics from to modify your character's body accordingly. This will bring more precision and realism to your character, making them more credible.

 

DEMON 😈

In the case of demons, it's interesting to see such different interpretations, sometimes so close and other times so far from the human form. Nevertheless, you can still consider several common aspects for these characters: horns, red skin, red or yellow eyes, fire, bat wings, tail, claws, goat-like hind legs, black clothes, black hair, piercing weapons. The bodies of these creatures often have a wide torso with very strong arms, but hips and legs less imposing than the upper body. If you want it to have bat wings, you might find it helpful to think of them as human arms with very long fingers with a membrane between them. Compare the differences between a demon's body and a human body; the length of each limb is different.

 

 

As an example, I made a bat demon:

WOLF 🐺

 

A werewolf generally has a wide torso, fur, wolf ears, muzzle, tail, claws and paws, torn clothes, a gesture of anger or pain. Often, the link with the animal is reinforced through posture and body movements; for example, walking or running on all fours, which is possible thanks to long arms and the length of the instep. I also made an example for these, but you will see it later in this tutorial.

 

 

These are some of the most popular fantastic beings I've seen as characters, but as the creator you surely are, YOU have the freedom to modify them as you wish!

What if the centaur had bird legs? What if instead of a WOLFman they were half TIGER? or half HYENA? What if the mermaid had the half of any ocean animal except a fish? This can help you create a character with unique characteristics that make them stand out and differentiate them from others of their kind. Be brave and explore the possibilities!

 

 

Even stranger Hybrids and Mixes

 

I love human-beast characters! I find them very versatile because you can literally combine ANY type of animal to create a unique character. That's why many of my characters have animal features. To effectively mix beings from different species, research the basic anatomy of each to combine them better.

 

In the case of combining an animal with a human, it's good to study a bit of comparative anatomy, especially in the details that most identify the chosen animal. An easy way to do this is to count the number of bones or joints of each limb or part. For example, let's see how to combine human hands with animal paws and claws and observe how the number of bones is approximately the same:

 

 

But why stop there? Why not mix TWO animals AND a human? Centaurs and fauns usually mix a normal human with a horse and a goat respectively, but I find it more interesting when I mix a human with any other animal. Even when I'm drawing mermaids, I enjoy combining a human half with an aquatic animal AND also a terrestrial one.

 

It's also interesting to combine two animals directly, without the human part. Even if these resemble beasts more than characters, this can still add to your fantasy world-building.

Go further and create animal mixes to your liking! Dragons, demons, centaurs, mermaids... all of them can be modified and become unique thanks to your creativity.

 

How to use 3D to create unique fantasy characters

 

Clip Studio can help you create new body shapes for your characters with the use of 3D models!.

 

If you modify the standard human model to adapt it to the shapes you are looking for your character, you can have a solid base and good perspective to draw that same character in different positions and from different points of view; without losing the body's structure and proportions. This resource has its limits, as you cannot change absolutely all parts of the model, but it is still very useful especially for more human characters and for use as a guide for postures and perspective.

 

Follow the steps below to add a 3D model to your canvas:

 

Let's look at the most important buttons for modifying the model's pose:

 

1) Camera rotation around the model

2) Camera movement: up, down, left, and right.

3) Camera movement: backward and forward.

4) Model movement: up, down, left, and right.

5) Model rotation in all directions.

6) Model rotation: left and right

7) Model 360° rotation

8) Model movement: forward, backward, left, and right, along the floor line.

 

A) Reset the model to the ground.

B) Save the model's pose as permanent material.

C) Save the body shape, modified and all, as permanent material.

D) Copy the body pose from an image (automatic)

E) Lock/unlock the pose of the selected joint or body part.

F) Rotate the model horizontally

G) Restore pose

H) Restore scale

I) Restore rotation

J) Adapt the model's shape to the parameter you set

 

 

To change body shapes, you must modify its measurements. When you press button (J), the following menu appears:

 

1) Restore default body shape

2) Save the modified body as permanent material.

 

 

Modifications are made by selecting the entire body or just one of the parts of the human silhouette that appears in the menu and moving the white cursor to change the length and width of the selected part. This cursor works within a Cartesian axis, allowing the combination of parameters (long and wide arms, or short and wide arms, or long and slender arms, etc.). Below this axis, you can see the numerical coordinates of the modification you made within the axis, in case you need precise information about those changes.

Next, I will show you how I modified each part of the body to create the base of what could be a fairy 🧚‍♀️ or an alien 👽 ...

 

 

In this way, you can change the standard model to create different, more diverse and interesting bodies for your character; you can also move them into specific poses and use them as a guide for drawing.

 

To save the modified body as permanent material, follow these steps:

 

See the model I made for the fairy body next to the normal model that comes with Clip Studio and compare the difference in proportions between the two bodies. Notice how a different body provides very interesting silhouettes for a character.

 

Once you have modified the body, change its position by moving the joint and changing the direction of the different sections of the body. You can select any of these modes by clicking on the parts of the model:

 

     -One click will show the joints. This allows you to move an entire limb as you move the joint and change its position. For example, if you want your character to raise an arm, if you lift it by pulling on the wrist, the entire arm will change position to follow that movement. The joint you are moving will change color and turn yellow when you move it.

 

      -Two clicks will show the angles of the selected part. This allows you to move each part individually, rotating them or moving them at an angle. For example, with this method you can extend the arm and move the palm of the hand up or down. Use the colored lines to change the position of the selected part! each of them moves that part of the body in a different direction. The line will change color and turn yellow when you move it.

You can save the model's position independently of the body shape. This allows you to place any other model in the same position whenever you want.

 

To save the pose:

How do you transfer that saved pose to a different model? Easy! First, drag the selected model to the canvas. Then, find the saved pose in the menu by following the steps in the next image, click on that material, and drag it onto the model that is on the canvas. Make sure you are on the model's layer and have the model selected (you should have the buttons to move the model visible, as in the image)

 

You can also change the light source if you need to, like this:

 

Once you have the perfect model in position, it's time to draw! First, quickly sketch the base of the drawing, keeping in mind the anatomy of the creature you want to make. This time I will draw a werewolf, so I need to change the human shapes a bit into wolf shapes. I changed the head shape, added a tail, large paws, and thicker legs and torso.

 

(In orange) you can use a vector layer for the lineart, and that will give you better control of your lines later on.

Then I made a second sketch on a different layer, refining the silhouette. I changed the direction of the elbows to better match the movement of a wolf's front legs, also adding a bit of muscle to the shoulder and forearm. I changed the length and thickness of the neck to make it more similar to a wolf's.

 

Then I did the lineart, refining it further and adding details such as fur, nails, teeth, etc.

 

 

 

Finally, I used vector layers to adjust the thickness of each stroke AFTER drawing! so I don't need to worry about it while designing the character. The vector layer converts your drawing into vectors, so you can change the thickness of the segments between nodes one by one, if necessary. Follow the steps below once you have done your drawing to make the lines thicker or thinner. ✏️

 

This is the result! Even if you want to put clothes, armor, or something like that on your character, I recommend resolving the full body first, so the armor doesn't interfere with the basic structure.

And in case you need a couple more examples with different body models:

 

 

 

Special Tips for Beginners.

 

🐯 When designing a character, I recommend making small sketches trying many ways to create the same type of character. These small thumbnails can help you gain confidence and variety in your designs. Here's an example for you:

 

Once you have explored the character, you can choose the characteristics you like best and make a completely new design. Here is the character I made after this drawing process:

 

🐯 Try to give your character at least one original feature, more if you are making a conventional design. Even a small detail like eye color can make your character more memorable!

     🐯 Explore creatures that other cultures, movies, series, and games have invented; this will open your mind to new possibilities.

     🐯 Try not to be afraid of failure... study, practice, and error are the best teachers.

Thank you for reading this far! Help me be useful to this community! Please comment your opinion on this tutorial... was it helpful? was it long? too much text? Did I forget anything?

 

If you liked my art, you can follow me on Instagram as @barbara_brutti_ilustraciones