Anime Expo - Character Designers
- Sunday, July 7, 2002
Character designers
have a big impact on the look of anime series, and they draw plenty of
attention at North American conventions. At a panel discussion on Anime
Expo's final day were character designers Hidenori Matsubara, who reworked
the Sakura Taisen and Oh My Goddess characters, Masashi Ishihama, who created
Read or Die's characters, and Toshiharu Murata, who drew Hellsing's characters.
While American fans might see big differences in the way the characters
are drawn, murata sees few differences between U.S. and Japanese character
design. "The difference is in animation style," Murata said. "Characters
in anime are designed to move properly in the limited animation style."
Many anime
series are adapted from manga originals. "The rules are slightly different
if you're adapting an existing manga work," added Murata. "If you're creating
a new design you can do what you want, within what the producer and director
let you do. If you're adapting an existing work, you have to stay true
to the spirit of the original." Matsubara said "I hate it when the anime
verison looks different from the manga version. I work my designs so the
anime version doesn't look like a fake version of the manga version." When
a fan asked what to avoid in character design, Ishihama answered "Personally
I have no rules. I will will design what I have in mind, and what is rejected
will be redone."
So how do you
get a character designer's job? "An anime character designer needs to establish
himself through his work in various styles," Matsubara said. "He needs
to be able to show that he can deliver the goods then he'll be offered
the job. You need to brush up on your daily drawing skills. Animation is
2d but you need to be able to draw 3d objects." Said Ishihama, "You need
to become a noteworthy animator so you'll be trusted with the the responsibility
of the job." and Murata recommended that artists learn how to work with
a lot of different styles."
Character designers
have a big impact on the look of anime series, and they draw plenty of
attention at North American conventions. At a panel discussion on Anime
Expo's final day were character designers Hidenori Matsubara, who reworked
the Sakura Taisen and Oh My Goddess characters, Masashi Ishihama, who created
Read or Die's characters, and Toshiharu Murata, who drew Hellsing's characters.
While American fans might see big differences in the way the characters
are drawn, murata sees few differences between U.S. and Japanese character
design. "The difference is in animation style," Murata said. "Characters
in anime are designed to move properly in the limited animation style."
Many anime
series are adapted from manga originals. "The rules are slightly different
if you're adapting an existing manga work," added Murata. "If you're creating
a new design you can do what you want, within what the producer and director
let you do. If you're adapting an existing work, you have to stay true
to the spirit of the original." Matsubara said "I hate it when the anime
verison looks different from the manga version. I work my designs so the
anime version doesn't look like a fake version of the manga version." When
a fan asked what to avoid in character design, Ishihama answered "Personally
I have no rules. I will will design what I have in mind, and what is rejected
will be redone."
So how do you
get a character designer's job? "An anime character designer needs to establish
himself through his work in various styles," Matsubara said. "He needs
to be able to show that he can deliver the goods then he'll be offered
the job. You need to brush up on your daily drawing skills. Animation is
2d but you need to be able to draw 3d objects." Said Ishihama, "You need
to become a noteworthy animator so you'll be trusted with the the responsibility
of the job." and Murata recommended that artists learn how to work with
a lot of different styles."
