Character Design Mentorship with Carlos Grangel

A 5-week intensive character design mentorship under the guidance of a renowned industry veteran. (Application required—see overview for details.)

OVERVIEW

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COURSE OVERVIEW

Learn from the best!

THIS COURSE WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE FALL TERM 2022

PLEASE NOTE: An application is required for acceptance into this course.

In this course, students will be mentored by award-winning character designer Carlos Grangel as he shares the methods he has developed over 30 years in the industry. Carlos won an Annie Award for his character designs for Spirit at Dreamworks Animation, and he has worked on several Oscar and Annie Award nominated projects–including Hotel Transylvania, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. In this limited-seat mentorship, students will begin by determining, under Carlos’ direction, what art style and shape language best tell the story. With Carlos’ guidance, students will then explore their characters through rough sketches, expressions, and poses, and then take their designs all the way to a finished presentation and model packet. This is a rare opportunity for students to work closely with an industry veteran to craft memorable characters while developing a style that suits their storytelling goals. Live group sessions are held twice a week, and all student questions will be addressed during these live sessions.

Course Format:

Live group sessions; all questions addressed during the twice-weekly live sessions

Duration:

5 weeks

Materials:

Photoshop (or equivalent) and Wacom Tablet, plus student choice to explore ideas: paper and pencils, markers, gouache, watercolors, etc.

Lecture Type:

Live group sessions (sessions are recorded and available afterwards)

Assignment:

Ongoing work each week (Expect to spend 8-10 hrs/wk)

Skills Level:

Intermediate to Advanced

Feedback:

Live (sessions are recorded and available afterwards)

Q&A:

Live group sessions (sessions are recorded and available afterwards); all questions addressed during the twice-weekly live sessions

Prerequisites:

Students should have a good sketching and drawing foundation, basic knowledge in color techniques, and familiarity with the character design production pipeline. Course prerequisites: Character Design for Animation, Character Design for Production.

Course Format:

Live group sessions; all questions addressed during the twice-weekly live sessions

Duration:

5 weeks

Materials:

Photoshop (or equivalent) and Wacom Tablet, plus student choice to explore ideas: paper and pencils, markers, gouache, watercolors, etc.

Lecture Type:

Live group sessions (sessions are recorded and available afterwards)

Assignment:

Ongoing work each week (Expect to spend 8-10 hrs/wk)

Skills Level:

Intermediate to Advanced

Feedback:

Live (sessions are recorded and available afterwards)

Q&A:

Live group sessions (sessions are recorded and available afterwards); all questions addressed during the twice-weekly live sessions

Prerequisites:

Course Format:

Live group sessions; all questions addressed during the twice-weekly live sessions

Duration:

5 weeks

Materials:

Photoshop (or equivalent) and Wacom Tablet, plus student choice to explore ideas: paper and pencils, markers, gouache, watercolors, etc.

Lecture Type:

Live group sessions (sessions are recorded and available afterwards)

Assignment:

Ongoing work each week (Expect to spend 8-10 hrs/wk)

Skills Level:

Intermediate to Advanced

Feedback:

Live (sessions are recorded and available afterwards)

Q&A:

Live group sessions (sessions are recorded and available afterwards); all questions addressed during the twice-weekly live sessions

Prerequisites:

COURSE OVERVIEW

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

EXPAND ALL COLLAPSE ALL

The more you know, the better.

Week 1 | Inspiration & Exploring Characters

Develop the characters: Introduction to Carlos’ method for beginning to explore the character design for a film or any project. Focus on the 3 essentials: passion, imagination, and discipline. How to utilize nature and art as the main sources of inspiration. Start on rough character designs

Week 2 | Finding Your Characters

Focus on one character to explore further: How a character designer fits into a production environment; Effectively using the story, script, and director’s notes to create the best possible design to reflect the character’s personality. Finding main characters, secondary characters, and miscellaneous or incidental characters.

Week 3 | Thinking Differently: Breathing Life Into Your Characters

Give life to your characters! Think about acting, movement, and staging. Explore the full range of facial expressions and dynamic poses for the main character.

Week 4-5 | Preparing Your Characters for Final Presentation

Great work deserves great presentation: Cleanup, turnaround, color, and final presentation. Put together a model packet that’s ready to present to the production team! (Students will have 2 weeks to complete their final projects).

Character Design Mentorship with Carlos Grangel

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Instructor

Prepare to meet your master.

Carlos Grangel

/Grangel Studio

LECTURES BY Carlos Grangel

Carlos Grangel has been working as a Character Designer for the past 30 years, having helped design 18 feature films, including: The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Madagascar, Corpse Bride, Kung-Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Pirates, and Hotel Transylvania. He has also helped develop film shorts such as The Periwig Maker, Alma, and Nina, The Little Bulldozer. His work has been exhibited at LACMA (LA), MoMA (NY), Katzen Arts Center (DC), ACMI in Melbourne, the Toronto Bell Lightbox, The Seoul Museum of Art, and La Cinematheque Française in Paris.

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Character Design Mentorship with Carlos Grangel

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”

Allen Fatimaharan

Great instructor! Felt I learnt a lot within a month. I could see the improvement in my work and the methods that I use.

”

Hollie Mengert

[This course] really helped me to push things and look at things in a new way. It was also incredibly helpful to to see my classmates feedback during feedback session, as that feedback was applicable to my own work.

”

Adam Waters

[This course has] vastly opened my eyes to all the new things I can do. I have learnt so much and can already see a noticeable difference.

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