How to Design Unique Characters from Everyday Shapes
Welcome, my friend!
If you’ve ever stared at a blank canvas or screen and felt that your characters all look the same, let me show you in this post how you can discover magical inspiration from everyday objects and shapes! It can be tough to find fresh, unique ideas that truly spark joy. But what if I told you that unique character ideas are hiding in plain sight, just waiting for you to discover them?
In my new Creative Character Series, we explore exactly that. We discover hidden characters within everyday objects and shapes, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. It’s a wonderful way to challenge your creativity and find inspiration in the world around you!
What is the Creative Character Series?
This entire series started with my favourite exercise from the course "Character Design Made Easy" I took with Isaac Jadraque on on 21 Draw. It genuinely sparked my imagination to a whole new level!
I’ve always been an observant person, constantly seeing faces and characters in random objects, but this exercise felt like someone finally gave an official term to what I was doing. He called it Pareidolia.
Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon where we see familiar patterns—like faces or figures—in random stimuli, such as clouds, rocks, or, in our case, everyday shapes and objects. Embracing this concept can utterly transform your design process.
In the video below, you can watch my creative process and see the character I found in the shape, along with some brilliant ideas sent in by the community!
Your First Pareidolia Challenge
The core lesson here is to stay observant, change perspective, play with proportions and let the shape guide you. I’ve been accumulating so many fun, inspiring shapes from houses, trees, tools, and so many other objects that were sparking my imagination. Once you realise that inspiration is everywhere, your creative well will never run dry.
For this first challenge, we used a specific random shape to see what character was hidden inside. You might find an entire narrative and personality tucked into a simple outline!
The response to these challenges has been truly magical, showing me just how much creativity is out there. It’s all about training your eye to break down the object into something new. I've created a dedicated Discord channel to exchange our creativity. Find out more on how to participate here.
Elevating Your Character Design Process
All that joy and creativity got me thinking: how can I help you discover characters in your own time at home?
I decided to create Character Design Kits to give you the exact tools and shapes I use for this exercise. This resource is designed to help you create unique and dimensional characters and truly test your creativity.
Getting Unstuck with Deconstruction Layers
To give you a taste of what’s to come, I currently have a Free Character Design Kit Sample available on my website. It’s completely no strings attached and contains these different inspiration options:
- An isolated object image
- A basic shape
- 2x types of outlines
- 3x deconstruction layers
The deconstruction layer is the real secret sauce. If you ever get stuck, this layer helps you break down the shape with simple lines, helping you play with dimensions and proportions to create something truly unique.
I also hope you’ll help me build these kits! Make sure to check out the link below for more context on the help I need to make the perfect kit and to grab your free sample. I’ll see you there for an exchange of inspiration!
Get your ideas featured in upcoming videos
The above symmetric shape will inspire the next Creative Character Series video. Share your creative character ideas directly on the YouTube video or the dedicated Discord channel and it might get featured.
For even more inspiration to fill that blank canvas, check out the Creative Idea Generator Demo. Happy creating!
