So you want to design a Fantasy Race? Designing a whole new race can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ll show you my process of creating whole new creatures for fantastical worlds.

Step 1- Reference

Reference is an important aspect to any piece of art. Therefore, it plays a vital role in developing things like architecture, characters, and the topic of this tutorial; Fantasy Races.

You can copy your reference exactly or use it as a jumping off point, meaning you can either use it to make your race look exactly like what you’re referencing, but with a few minor tweaks, or you could use it as a way to simply get ideas for your race.

 

For the Fantasy Race I designed in this tutorial I went with a more exact replication of my reference. I like to base my Fantasy Races off of animals most of the time, but you can base them off of anything really, rocks, plants, or even cars, ( Think Transformers) are a few ideas that come to mind. The main thing behind Fantasy Races is to have fun with it and try new things.

 

One last thing about reference is that it’s okay to go a different route than what your original references were. It’s okay to find new ones and explore new ideas and design new things.

Don’t feel bound by what you originally chose.

I was going to use leather armor in my original idea and I had gathered reference for it, but later in the tutorial you’ll see I changed to a more tribal type of clothing.

 

Step 2 - Visual Design

Visual Design in essence is a type of storytelling, in character design you use it to clue your audience in to aspects of that character’s personality. For designing a Fantasy Race it’s used more to show an audience member where that person is from geographically. Are they from the mountains? Maybe the ocean? Is it hot or cold there?

Visual Design is also used to tell us about your Fantasy Race’s culture (assuming they’re smart enough to even have one). Are they more tribal? Nomadic? Or do they live in great cities? Surprisingly, clothing alone can tell us all of these things, but once you add accessories and hair (if your race even has it) you can really sell your design.

 

Visual design is also where you really get to mess around with how you use your reference like I talked about earlier. As you can see, I based my race off of a salamander, and even though I stayed relatively true to my reference, I still made him bipedal (walking upright or on two legs). Even as I’m writing this tutorial I’m thinking of new ideas for how I could design this creature. (Maybe I should make them walk on all fours, or maybe I should add more frills, or maybe both?)

Step 3 - First Idea

This is an easy step, just draw your first idea, don’t stop until you’re finished. Even if it starts looking bad, just keep going. This will help you see any major problems you had with your first idea. Don’t expect perfection, you probably won’t get that out of your first idea.

When you’re done with your first idea examine it. Try to see what you don’t like about it. Maybe you have too many little knick knacks dangling off of them, maybe their eyes are too small. When you’re done with that, find what you love, maybe you got those ears just right or you gave them the coolest nose known to man. Take these notes on to the next step so you can really get started on working out what you want this new Fantasy Race to look like.

 

You can see in my first design I had an idea for a sharkskin leather armor, thin limbs, and no tail. I didn’t like these things so I went a different route in my thumbnailing phase.

 

Step 4 - Thumbnailing

Thumbnailing is a key step in design. It lets you explore a lot of different ideas without spending too much time on them. The goal here is to really just go wild, any idea that comes to mind is fair game. Most of these ideas will probably incorporate some of the qualities you really liked in your first design, but don’t let that keep you from trying something completely new. Some of my best designs are wildly different from where I started.

 

Don’t be afraid to fill the page either. I usually draw a lot of thumbnails when designing and it isn’t uncommon for me to have multiple layers of little sketches.

 

This is the thumbnail I was happiest with so I took it on to the next step.

Step 5 - Rough Color

Rough Color is where we get to explore different ideas for color schemes after you’ve chosen your favorite design from your thumbnails, it’s similar to thumbnailing in that you can try a lot of ideas without spending a lot of time on them. Begin with a quick sketch that is close to what you think your final design will be. Then create a base layer under your sketch. I like using grey because it’s a good neutral color. From there you can clip multiple folders to the BASE layer which lets you have different color schemes you can look at by simply turning the folders on and off.

You’ll see that I only have two color options here. That’s mostly because I was already set on the color, but I wanted you to see another option as an example for this tutorial. I recommend that you try a lot of different colors. Look into color theory and use your reference for inspiration.

Step 6 - Clip Studio Tips

This tutorial is more about design than it is about how to use Clip Studio Paint, but Clip Studio is my program of choice. So, I’ll give you some helpful tips that I wish I knew when I started.I use these everyday.

1. Clipping Layers: This option can be found at the top of the layers menu and basically lets you draw inside the layer you just clipped to. This is helpful when you want to do shading or details.

Here's an example of two layers that aren't clipped.

Here they are clipped.

 

2. Clipping Folders: It’s the same idea as clipping a layer. In fact, you use the same button. The only difference is that all the contents of the folder will be clipped to the layer or folder you just attached them to. The nice thing is that you can clip the layers and folders inside the main folder to each other. This is useful for really detailed pieces

Here's an example of how you can use it.

Here's what it looks like in the layers menu.

 

 

Step 7 - Final Piece

Here I'll show you my process for creating the final piece you saw at the beginning of this tutorial.

1. Sketch: This step is simple, do a detailed sketch of your favorite design and get it ready for inking.

2. Tweaking: This step is optional. You’d use it to make any last minute adjustments, or even try a few new ideas.

You can see here that I tried out another clothing option. I eventually just went with an option that was pretty close to my favorite thumbnail.

3. Inking: This step is really about personal preference, so I don’t have much I can say. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to inking, so just do what feels good to you!

I will say that if you want nice smooth lines try not to draw with your wrist, try using your elbow or shoulder.

 

If you want some suggestions for pens to use, here are my favorite Clip Studio pens.

 

• Mapping Pen: The Mapping pen is excellent for changes in line weight, you can go from extremely big to really small almost instantly.

 

• G-Pen: The G Pen is more steady than the mapping pen because it holds its shape better. This makes it good for super clean line work

 

• Real G-Pen: The Real G Pen is exactly like the G Pen in function, but it has a nice texture to it that can add a lot of character to a drawing.

 

For inking this piece I used the G-Pen.

4. Base Color: This is the same thing we did in the Rough Color step.

Create a BASE layer under your line art. As I mentioned before, I like using grey because it’s a good neutral color.

5. Coloring: For this step it’s all on you. This character is yours so choose colors that reflect your vision. I do recommend that you use the Reference Other Layers option for the fill bucket tool. It will speed up the process. Just be sure that you’re on a different layer than your line work or it won’t work.

For painting I recommend that you use the watercolor brushes. They are very flexible in that they can be used for either painterly or realistic painting with little effort.

 

A good tip for coloring is adding a background color, it helps you identify spots you might miss while coloring. Just be sure to use a color that isn't in your piece. For me this helps me see any spots I might miss, while coloring.

Here you can see that I used a red brown color as my background color.

6. At this step you just need to sit back and take note of your work. You don’t have to write anything down, though that could be useful. Fix any problems you might find and touch up anything that needs a little work. This step is really a cool down, you’ve done a lot of work, so just sit back and make sure everything is in order before you wrap things up.

 

For example, when I finished this piece, I walked away for a bit and when I pulled it back up I realized I forgot to add highlights to the eyes, so I went in and fixed it.

Stepping away for a bit is also good for when you feel stuck. You shouldn’t feel like you need to get all of this done in one sitting. Take a break and come back when your head is clearer.

 

Here's my final piece with all the shading and highlights put in.

Now Go Design!

Fantasy Race Design can be a daunting process, so I hope seeing how I approach it helps you in your own design projects.

Now go have fun and start designing some awesome Fantasy Races!