Overview

The ultimate guide to fantasy character design from renowned illustrator, Meng Zi. This comprehensive manual, packed with breathtaking illustrations, is your key to crafting the most extraordinary beings in the realm of fantasy: it is an essential tool for game and animation designers, hobbyists, art students and teachers alike. Astonishing in detail and meticulously conceived, Meng Zi's fantasy characters are a masterclass in conceptual design. Whether you're looking for an inspirational reference or an idea generator, this book will spark your creativity. Filled with artistic insights and practical exercises, this comprehensive guide will teach you basic anatomical structure, help you to finesse your own design ideas, and then improve your aesthetic prowess through observation and practice. Inside you'll find: Design and drawing: A technical overview of conceptual design and drawing, including point, line and plane, geometry and various forms of perspective, all explored visually, and critical for breathing life into your characters. Human anatomy and kinetics: Understand the structure and movement that serve as the foundation for all character design. The skeletal and muscular systems are explored in a number of ways, from traditional musculo-skeletal illustrations to line and cube forms. Also included is a guide to creating hands, feet, limbs and facial features full of character and expression. Animal anatomy: Discover the real-world building blocks that will shape your mythical creatures, including skeletal form and musculature as well as features such as wings, spines, horns and tails. Fantasy fusion: Merge reality with imagination as you design fantastical beings, from fire-breathing dragons and elegant centaurs to robots, aliens and demons. Conceptual design for game and animation: Develop unique characters with guidance on body shapes, lines, and personality-infused accessories. Practical exercises throughout: Hone your skills with practical exercises that reinforce each lesson and inspire growth throughout the book. A huge range of illustrated characters: Learn from detailed archetypes, including ghosts, demons, goblins and mechwarriors, to inform and enhance your own designs.

Full Product Details

Author:   Meng Zi
Publisher:   Search Press Ltd
Imprint:   Search Press Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 21.00cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 28.50cm
Weight:   1.570kg
ISBN:  

9781800922679

ISBN 10:   1800922671
Pages:   292
Publication Date:   15 April 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Introduction to conceptual design and drawing; 1.1 The world of fantasy 10; 1.1.1 Mastering structure and dynamics of human body 11; 1.1.2 Conceptual design 11; 1.2 Painting tools 12; 1.3 Basic knowledge 15; 1.3.1 Technical terms 15; 1.3.2 Uses of lines 16; 1.3.3 Combination of point, line and plane 17; 1.3.4 Combination of geometry 18; 1.4 Perspective 19; 1.4.1 One-point perspective 19; 1.4.2 Two-point perspective 19; 1.4.3 Three-point perspective 20; 1.4.4 Cavalier perspective 20; 1.5 Sketch 21 Chapter 2: Structure and dynamics of human body; 2.1 Human skeletal system 24; 2.1.1 Main joints of human body 24; 2.1.2 Proportion of skeleton 28; 2.1.3 Characteristics of skeleton 29; 2.1.4 Spatial relationship of skeleton 36; 2.2 Human muscular system 38; 2.2.1 Three views of muscles 38; 2.2.2 Head 40; 2.2.3 Facial features 42; 2.2.4 Drawing exercise of head 51; 2.2.5 Muscles of neck 56; 2.2.6 Muscles of trunk 58; 2.2.7 Muscles of limbs 64; 2.2.8 Drawing exercise of whole body 76; 2.3 Character dynamics 79; 2.3.1 Matchstick man 79; 2.3.2 Cube man 81; 2.3.3 Display of human dynamics 83; 2.4 Sketch of human body 91 Chapter 3: Animal structure; 3.1 Structure of animals 96; 3.1.1 Structure of gorilla 96; 3.1.2 Structure of horse 98; 3.1.3 Structure of antelope 100; 3.1.4 Structure of dog 102; 3.1.5 Structure of lion 104; 3.1.6 Structure of bat 106; 3.1.7 Structure of eagle 108; 3.1.8 Structure of fish 110; 3.1.9 Structure of western dragon 112; 3.1.10 Structure of dragon hawk 114; 3.1.11 Structure of endosaurus 116; 3.2 Animal structure in details 118; 3.2.1 Head 118; 3.2.2 Horns 118; 3.2.3 Limbs 121; 3.2.4 Wings 122; 3.3 Drawing of animal structure 123; 3.3.1 Drawing of geometry 123; 3.3.2 Drawing of muscular structure of animals 126; 3.3.3 Combination of different animal skeleton 128; 3.4 Detailed explanation of creation and drawing 131; 3.4.1 Hou 131; 3.4.2 Three-headed dragon 133; 3.5 Appreciation of fantasy species 135 Chapter: 4 Conceptual design for game and animation; 4.1 Style 142; 4.2 Design idea 147; 4.2.1 Exaggerated modeling 147; 4.2.2 Symmetry of modeling 149; 4.2.3 Symbolization of modeling 150; 4.2.4 Silhouette of modeling 151; 4.2.5 Line matching 153; 4.2.6 Expression of decorative elements 154; 4.2.7 Contrast of multiple characters’ body 156; 4.3 Design scheme exercise 157 Chapter 5: ; Applied elements in character design; 5.1 Pattern design 168; 5.1.1 Classification of pattern 168; 5.1.2 Creation of pattern 170; 5.2 Armor design 175; 5.2.1 Form of armor 175; 5.2.2 Chinese armor 176; 5.2.3 Japanese armor 178; 5.2.4 European armor 179; 5.3 Other prop design 180; 5.3.1 Weapon design 180; 5.3.2 Mount design 186; 5.3.3 Other accessory design 190 Chapter 6: ; Character setting hand-drawn practice; 6.1 Male character - Guardian of Stone of Destiny 192; 6.2 Female character - Unruly Girl 196; 6.3 Goblin - Midnight Princess 199; 6.4 Mechwarrior - Destroyer 202; 6.5 Monster design - Hellcaller 205; 6.6 Merman - Deep Sea Warrior 210; 6.7 Sorcerer - Sheeta 214; 6.8 Ghost - Archer 218; 6.9 Demon - Horned Demon 222; 6.10 Mercenary - Gold 226; 6.11 Display of conceptual design scheme 230 Chapter 7: Model reference collection; 7.1 Portrait 242; 7.2 Line art of character modeling 249; 7.3 Marker performance of character modeling 268

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Author Information

Meng Zi is a freelance illustrator and art teacher, who specializes in character design and development. Renowned in the world of design for gaming and animation, he has contributed to numerous 3D animation projects; his particular eye for combining real-world figures and creatures into convincing fantasy designs mean he is in high demand. The Art of Fantasy is his first book, providing an insight into the creative experiences and techniques of an expert practitioner within this highly competitive creative industry. A bestseller in Meng Zi's native China, the book has also enjoyed huge international success.

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