REVIEW: Character Design Quarterly, 25 (magazine issue)

Character Design Quarterly is a magazine, although each issue has its own ISBN and it's possible to purchase individual issues, which is how I ended up with this one.

Review:

If you have any interest in how artists progress from a prompt or an idea to a completed character design and illustration, I highly recommend this. The artists in this issue include Lynn Chen (the creator of the issue's cover art), Simone Grünewald, Cam Kendell, Aurélie Lise-Anne, João Moura, David Navarro, Roger Pérez, Anastasiia Platoshyna, Alex Relloso, and Jennifer Voigt. There's also a creature teeth tutorial created by Lorenzo Etherington under the cover flaps.

The issue includes:
- a detailed step-by-step look at the creation of the cover art,
- a step-by-step look at the creation of "a family of circus performers on vacation,"
- some info on the creation of an owl character, an interview with Simone Grünewald (who was involved in the games A New Beginning, the Deponia series, and The Pillars of the Earth),
- a detailed look at the creation of a wizard character,
- some tips from Jennifer Voigt,
- a gallery of art by Eunbi Kang, Ben Eblen, and Shannon Hallstein,
- a step-by-step look at the creation of an illustration using the prompt "wind, adventure, youth, light,"
- an interview with Cam Kendell,
- some tips on using lighting to create different moods,
- and a detailed look at the creation of an "embittered, eccentric old man and his animal sidekick"

Not only is the artwork a treat for the eyes, the detailed process information is fascinating and makes me itch to play with my art supplies.