How To Draw Ships that Enhance Your Character’s Identity - 3 Lessons From Star Wars

Clothes make the man, props, companions, and even environments supplement and say something about characters, and vehicles, are no exception. Let’s get in to the mentality behind designing iconic vehicles from Star Wars, Miyazaki and Nintendo, and how to design vehicles for characters of your own.
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[@CharacterDesignForge]

Just an fyi folks, the opening previously had the opening to Mr Roger’s Neighborhood playing- thought it would pair nice with the miniatures- was too quick to make live and realized that’s off limits for use- thus the little cut in dialogue at the beginning. For now, enjoy the uh- royalty free jazz 😊

[@DerpDerp3001]

Maybe you should redesign some Super Paper Mario characters and enemies (not the main cast). This is because a lot of the characters are ugly. They were going for the characters to look very un-Mario because they were from a different dimension but they poorly executed that idea. Maybe make the style to be very different from place to place.

[@DerpDerp3001]

It would be nice if you’d respond.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

@@DerpDerp3001 im not sure what youre hoping to do by requesting this but you can always reach out if you'd like to commission some art through my website!

[@DerpDerp3001]

@@CharacterDesignForge it’s just that you resigned Sonic, Crash, and Ape-Beak-Gorilla.

[@illegaltuna7755]

I mistook the title to mean ships as in romantic relationships lol but a ship is just as good :)

[@Bryce4Impact]

That's Tae's field...

[@Riodile]

Same, lol

[@illegaltuna7755]

@@Bryce4Impact Brooks X Tae forever XD

[@tonakuma]

The mandalorians ship as a dichotomous essence of moms minivan meets dad's midlife sportscar just made so many things click with how you analyzed it vis-a-vis a metaphor in the story and how it can be used to tell a story. That's a mind blowing realization right there.

[@elinorc]

In my drawings, everyone walks because heaven knows I can't draw a bike or a car to save my life. I never thought about vehicle design like character design, however. Drawing spaceships and the like was usually too intimidating for me but maybe I'll try it again after this. Thanks for the video!

[@salviwrites5325]

"Minivan essence" is going to be integrated into my vocabulary

[@shadowhenge7118]

Eau du Soccer Mom.

[@hyperionnova2854]

I’ll be honest when I first saw the title, I thought of a different kind of ship. Lol

[@Kyamusuku]

Oh that kind of ship Thank goodness 😆

[@bumblb1142]

This is PERFECT timing for winter break. I really wanna deck out my character roster with practical but functionally cool ships. Thanks for the tips!

[@GunGryphon]

"A ship that looks like their helmet." Slave 1 always looked like Boba Fett's armor.

[@kirkkerman]

I also feel like the front of the Razor Crest kinda has the same shape as the top of Mando's helmet. Not to mention the similar color schemes.

[@vex2960]

Yay, a video. Favorite KZbinr. All your videos are top notch

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Aw thank you so much Vex!

[@markguyton2868]

As a fan of SHMUPs, some of my favorite designs are the ships from Darius which all focus on a central theme which is sea vs air with the enemies looking like sea life and the player's ship in the shape of a bird. Also my goal is to one day make a SHMUP, so thinking of ships like individual characters is definitely a good way of thinking. Good vid.

[@graceoartyo]

Ooooh ive never thought of this as a thing to use for characters!

[@sylvanshroom]

This has me eager to work on the vehicles of my own story 👀👀

[@toadboydude5015]

I.... Didn't even consider this and I'm now realizing how silly i was being, also gotta say I loved the ship you drew at the end.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thank you so much!

[@a.j.morrow5533]

Brookse: Character looking a little bland? Give him a spaceship.

[@thelostmessenger]

When you mentioned how Samus's ship was like her head, I thought of Mario's ship from Galaxy 2 lol

[@wynautwarrior2161]

Thank you so much for this. I'm actually making a comic that takes place in space, and spaceships are something that I really srtuggle with.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Awesome!

[@vex2960]

Bagel! I got your character design course for christmas. Tysm it’s so thorough and indepth

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Fantastic!!

[@Kyamusuku]

Rip Razor Crest you will be missed

[@mollyaustin676]

Great thoughts on vehicle design Brooks! Loved the discussion on utility. Another great tip I heard (via the comiclab podcast from creator of the comic Drive, Dake Kellett) is that if you're struggling to find shapes for ships, find a piece of a machine (like the turbine for a specific boat, the propeller shaft for an airplane, or dishwasher parts) and use that as base for some good general ship shapes. I had some parts of the steering column replaced in my car and they gave me the leftover broken mechanical gubbins. Lots of fun shapes there that look like they have a basis in mechanical function.

[@slimetank394]

The more i watch your videos, the more I'm convinced that you're reading my mind and know what i need.

[@emmielaine7352]

Is nobody going to mention the Mr Rogers music, or the fact that it fits perfectly with panoramic views of toy spaceships?

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Itll be replaced with royalty free youtube music once it’s done processing, i messed up including that 😅 kinda worth it tho

[@emmielaine7352]

@@CharacterDesignForge Totally worth it. 😁

[@PokeDragoKnite]

This came out at the literal best time for me, I just designed some mecha pilots who were in need of fitting ships. Awesome as always!

[@straybard_art]

This will be super helpful when I am worldbuiling spaceships for my world 😊

[@RazKun]

Wow this is actually exactly what i needed right now! I need motorcycle like hoverbikes

[@wizardofarts1276]

Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario's new ship has quite a resemblance to him. And I was wondering if Howl's Moving Castle would show up in this video, cuz I know it's his home but it's also rather mobile. And very interesting. It's just chock-full of detail.

[@mattdoesstuff8987]

Mandalorian spoilers below 2:53 ironically enough, also the most recent _subtraction_ from Star Wars vehicle canon.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

TRUE

[@hideshisface1886]

One practical thing for designing a 'hero ship' - don't forget about more... mundane aspects of the ship. Ship is somewhat more than just a room with a cool external shape - you need space left for engines, fuel, storage, sufficiently thick walls and the like. Depending on tech levels you go with, you may want some additional bits as well - sensors, cameras, guns - and they will also need their own space externally and internally. This may also create an interesting layout for internal space, something you can use for further customisation. Also - when you have a team of characters, this may also reflect the status of a hero ship, so to speak. I can't think of a better example than Bebop... from Coboy Bebop. Not only is the design of it amazing, but it has this lived in feel and practicality to it and it fits the cast... not by being a reflection of characters themselves per se, but as a reflection of a situation they are in.

[@sparrow6424]

I dont know how you do it, but I was literally thinking about this today before I saw this video

[@extraordinary.9711]

Thank you for doing these types of videos, I’m a newcomer to this channel and I think I will be sticking around for a while because you make great content! Keep up the good work bro!

[@darklyo3784]

I know you kept joking about making the ship look like the characters head but what if you made the cockpit module basically look like a driver seat that is completely surrounded by a giant pickle jar that is the same color as her head that way it looks like she can just simply look down and up and sideways and have a complete almost 360° view of her surroundings

[@minicouples]

wow, i am blown away by what your incredible talent.

[@Gleamiarts]

I was just about to go to bed but I saw this :D

[@codedlAnguage]

Loving the Intro 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖. ✍️. 😃

[@nonnobisnon3204]

Your intro and thumbnails are looking good 👍🔥

[@lifeonthemark8210]

I would love a follow-up video about mounts as they could use design aspects from vehicles, creatures, and sometimes characters.

[@gabrieltheboy3598]

I’m currently making spaceships based off of sea life and have the villain’s ships be based on deep sea animals like the Angler fish and Vampire Squid. The original idea came from the idea of using whale-like ships for traveling long distances like an RV.

[@halo.x.cutie.x.cortana.x.2001]

I didnt know. I thought you were a vehcile ship design expert, I didnt know you did videos on character design!

[@Jeromy1986]

This made me think of how Sea of Thieves gave me a better idea of how sails can really affect the speed of sea ships as well as how a crew would work together to pilot them.

[@LocalGooberGoobs]

Hoho! Another video!

[@casualdreamer8543]

Ey! Great vid

[@Sammy_47]

I'm trying to wrap my head around designing ships; the process is easy to understand, but I have an issue with the details. I love the industrial style like Star Wars, but how do you know where to add the lines that are littered around the ship? I hope I'm making myself clear because I don't know how else to explain it. Thanks in advance.

[@lukeskywalker3085]

👾nice dude!

[@tach5884]

3:52 classic blunder. He could've had no kids and three money.

[@JMDurden]

But where's the StinkoWing fit in?

[@somethingelse5545]

I'm actually early for once🥰

[@marcbrasse747]

The sideview you decided to expand on reminded me of a bull. Does that mean she is a Taurus? 😄

[@Vanyx1000]

#ContainerGang

[@whocoulditpossiblybe5865]

U prove no one is too old for legos

[@Jay.B.2046]

For the algorithm.

[@TalmoTheSell]

*cough cough* Battleship Halberd *cough cough*

[@mysterymaiden]

The opening song made me squeal

[@MillywiggZ]

[Frank Stephenson would like to know your location]

[@andtheniforgotit]

About ships that look like a characters head or face, should've also shown Meta Knight's The Halberd from Kirby. Literally just stuck his face on the front.

[@malvicodraw-er7814]

What about drawing your own characters weapons and make it look convincing that it's not from this world

[@IntergalacticStudio7]

This didn't age well... Considering Din's new N-1 Starfighter. lol

[@CharacterDesignForge]

The Razor Crest having existed hasn’t changed!

[@twinightshifter239]

* Cough * insert transformers

[@twinightshifter239]

Literally the vehicles, planes etc are the characters 😂

[@CharacterDesignForge]

my mistake, I didn't see that the word Transformers was in the title of the video. Apologies profusely for that.

[@carlosroo5460]

Seriously? No Star Trek or Power Rangers?

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Can you explain what the problem with me not including something was while still getting the main point across?