hoofprint-is-spooky:

A LOT of artists, especially new ones, have a LOT of trouble when it comes to Complexity and Details. “But look, it’s got a dozen arms! What do you mean it’s not detailed?” 

The best explanation that can come to my mind is “Complexity is a maze while Details are a sheet of paper.” You can look at a Maze and it can have tons of twists and turns and be really big, but it can also just be black and white lines. A piece of paper can have writing on it, be curled up, be tossed around, maybe ripped, and it can STILL be identified as paper. You can have a white square and still call it paper, but if you have a square and call it a maze, nobody will get it. 

This is where a LOT of people screw up. They try to make a character with a ‘lot of detail’ but end up creating a maze instead of paper. A good character design is like paper. You can break it down to the most simple parts, and it’ll still be recognizable. 

Take for example… Jafar. This is a FANTASTIC Character design. If you just made the silhouette you’d still be able to tell who he is. The hat, the shoulders, the cloak. All are lovingly designed, and look great. But it’s not a maze. 

But on the opposite side… This is War, from Darksiders. (Personally, I love Darksiders, but the design for War is…) War is OVERLY Complicated. Flowing white hair, two different pauldrons and one has a face. A big gauntlet, a dozen belts, body armor under a red hood. A lot of people have said “It looks like they started designing him, and didn’t stop. If you simplified War to a silhouette, unless you’re familiar with the character, you might not know what you’re looking at. 

Even Marcus Fenix from Gears of War has good character design.

Simplify Marcus to his base parts, and he’s easily recognizable. Gloves, Bandanna, Armor, Chainsaw gun. 

A good test is to describe the character to a friend. If they start to get confused, you know you’re getting too complex, rather than detailed.