How To Make a COHESIVE Cast - Character Cast Design Finale!

UPDATE: Dang, we've come a long way since this video series! Biko, the main character, is available to give you healing as a plush, only until 11/6/22! Grab it to directly support the development of my animated series Stormfellers! www.makeship.c...
What is the difference between a cast and a mashup? How can you make a cast look more cohesive? In the final part of our character cast design series, we're finishing the last new character, revisiting Glangor, and making sure everyone looks like they go together, while figuring out how to balance the contrast and similarities in a cast's design!
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Character Design Forge has new videos every Tuesday.
The Shadow of Glangor looms larger each day.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

UPDATE: Dang, we've come a long way since this video series! Biko, the main character, is available to give you healing as a plush, only until 11/6/22! Grab it to directly support the development of my animated series Stormfellers! www.makeship.com/products/biko-plush

[@mattdoesstuff8987]

"Started making it, had a breakdown... Bon Appetit!" I'm dead

[@CharacterDesignForge]

😂

[@jowhy7243]

James Acaster is the best comedian on the planet and he should be protected by legal forces to eat weetabix and sell bananas

[@ethanbutler7866]

@@jowhy7243 yes

[@luckydragonwolf]

Am I the only one who thinks the old Glangor will become a running joke? Also, I love the design for Aecious, he fits in and stands out at the same time!

[@MightyGamingftw]

I think a snooty character was just what they needed to round out the cast. I love them! It was totally worth the wait 😂

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks so much Christopher!

[@timothymclean]

For some reason, he reminds me of Sir Pentious. The snake thing is part of it, but there are a lot of snake people out there...

[@Hikaru_SR-Omega]

Snake with arms. *SNAKE WITH ARMS.* I'm excited about this cast! I'm also wondering how Aecious and Quilver will interact with each other.

[@itisALWAYSR.A.]

snarms

[@AZUREPHOENIX777]

Ooh! Ooh! Lemmie talk about me and my stuff!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

😂

[@9Roswell]

am i the only one who LOVES glangor

[@CharacterDesignForge]

You're Gonna Hear Me 6:08

[@luckydragonwolf]

is he screaming in pain? is he struggling to exist?

[@mackenziediaz8780]

Jumpscare much?

[@salimaa9209]

sounds heard seconds before disaster

[@AJDoesTheFitThing]

Hello! Is there a way I can have all of these characters in keychains and plush animals? I love these designs so much. Adorable.

[@ilikepie4685]

Sounds like a fog horn.

[@victorhelm6515]

Really like Aecious's design! When I saw the first sketches I thought you were going for a giant mushroom hat for him but when you said it was based of on a cloud it made sense. Also happy to see Glangor improved as well! Great video , your time was well spend!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

YAY- Thank you Victor, I'm really glad! :D

[@HeartlessReaperKun]

To be fair, there are clouds that look mushroom shaped.

[@Silver01Son]

I thought it was a jellyfish xD

[@kirkkerman]

That first sketch I though he was just going to be a revision of the Gas Mask Mushroom guy from a while back.

[@rehnhuang1529]

@@HeartlessReaperKun ye, fall out clouds from nukes

[@sylvanshroom]

I love Aecious a ton!! He really stands out and his design inspirations synergize in a really cool way. I also think that the revisions to Glangor really made him shine and much more appealing. I love this crew & can't wait to see what you do next (except i totally can wait please pace yourself and take your time)!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks Cin! 🙌Pacing Myself 2020

[@sylvanshroom]

@@CharacterDesignForge A movement we can all get behind tbh

[@MythicalHex]

Aecious seems like the kind of character that would get into fights a lot purely by just being blunt

[@toadboydude5015]

Aecious looks really interesting, really starting to love this cast^^

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks!

[@mackenziediaz8780]

So we have the kind one, the wise one, the dumb one, and the edgy one. This isn't going to be very good for Biko...

[@nonbinarybastard]

what u did with his silhouette was rly smart never would have thought of that

[@flunkskunk]

Yes, some good reptile representation! I’m so sick of “SNAKE = EVIL”, glad Aecious breaks that mould while still keeping a somewhat “yeah, I’m better than you” look. Good stuff!

[@themorenajay]

I'm loving the cobra dude. He turned out pretty. Could you make a video on height chart/comparison for characters? Like - how important is it, how to measure the height, proper poses, etc? I've been trying to do some for my characters & their families but I'm SUPER confused.

[@DennerBob]

Aecious with the hard carry, Literally has the power to carry the team in his shoulders. And new big dumb crab baby with a chonky shield! Loving both, feels like a cool team had come together here 👍

[@sabersquid2523]

They all look really good together! I love the diversity in shape, colour, contrast etc in the cast :)

[@ArtOfShannonLee]

Oooh Glangar looks awesome now and oddly adorable. I love the asymmetry and those tiny limbs make the rest of him look huge by comparison. Awesome iteration.

[@monkey0180]

I like the idea of Aecious potentially being the most antagonistic to Beko but having more similarities to him in their abilities and or function in the group. Also seeing how well Aeciuos turned out with his very snake like body made me realize I think at least my personal issues with Glangor's design may be his torso and legs. Maybe playing with making him less humanoid or just adjusting his proportions may make him fit better. Loved the video and I enjoy watching this process.

[@areoants9453]

Didn't realize how "meh" Glangore's design was until you went and reenforced that design a bit more. Yeah, that looks a lot better compared to before. Can't wait to see what all you do with these fellas, they seem like characters who all best play off of each other! (Side note, I love me a good naga. That's some good shit right there boss.)

[@KingTwelveSixteen]

I'm LOVING the new guy. The mask and the silhouette in particular are just so good.

[@lewisoliverleo]

I feel like Glangor's old design should get a cameo in Stormfellers. To honor him😪🤘

[@dualscreen8789]

I'm gonna have to watch this series from the beginning because 1. The characters look cool and 2. I have my own ideas and Characters that I've had for nearly half a decade, but have never fleshed out their story.

[@Chill1332]

I really love the snake-like design! But I love that the 'hood' is not attatched and can float up behind him like that! Super cool idea. AND I always appreciate it when characters that resemble the "scary" (i.e. spiders, bats,. snakes ect.) animals aren't portrayed as villains. It's a nice change.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thank you so much!

[@RileyBreww]

Love the design on this one. Easily my favorite of the cast.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

🎩Thanks man!

[@wizardofarts1276]

Awwwww Glangor's new face just makes me smile. I mean, it's the same, but it's different, probably in the way it's framed by his body now

[@SoulSlugArts]

Biko: boy is this a good day Rest of the cast: I'm about to ruin is whole man's career

[@a.j.morrow5533]

People who like to talk about their creations in relation to the topic is the heir way of showing that they relate to the topic. It's pretty common on videos like these. I wouldn't necessarily say that you're art work is being ignored. However, there is a more effective way to show this. Normally I create one big comment where I first discuss what I like about the the character(s) in the video, any additional information I can add to the topic, and then aome similarities I have in my own work. This shows the creator that I enjoyed the video and what they're trying to do and that I relate to it.

[@zeatehkcasualaccount]

Heyo! I missed you this Tuesday ^^

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks for your patience, a lot of work went into this one, sort of explained in-video!

[@luna4s]

I think Aecious really rounded up the cast well. And I like how you started out with this general cloud idea and then later moved to a more animal design. Considering all the other cast members have clear animal traits you'd expect one would start with the animal. But seeing you do it the other way around gave me this lightbulb sudden realization moment that... You don't need to follow the order of traits you know they will need to have to be cohesive. It seems to obvious now, but I genuinely wouldn't have thought of starting elsewhere and probably would've gotten tunnel vision focusing on what animal the character should be based on first.

[@pocketlint6567]

Most times when I look at other people who are more advanced than me I feel really stupid for not being at their level but you just inspire me to try and get better, I love your videos and thank you for making my day a little brighter.

[@gyoonri]

Glangor's development was seriously so motivating to see, thank you so much for these lil series

[@joaomarcosalvesaude1907]

Awww, I love this cast. Aecious and Beeko are my favorites haha. Can't wait to see more of them.

[@kakao-katze]

Can I just say how much I love your first sketches of that character? Just from the perspective of understanding their personality and relationship with the cast at first glance. Like, I could tell from one of the first sketches that he looked down upon Biko and seemed to have Zeus like features that stood out and possibly hinted further to his character. Having that said, I still really like what you ended up with and I absolutely love your concepts for these characters and how they shine into the crucial parts of the design. You sir, are pretty darn great at character design... And that ain't just visuals.

[@HeartlessReaperKun]

Hehehehe even his name sounds snooty. I love it. I also really like the little spiky bumps on Aecious' tail.

[@iratami]

I like the colors when they are all in a group. Reminds me of KRGB. Makes them all stand out even more and the bodies being what amounts to noodly, sharp, solid, and soft.

[@darrenleckie7570]

It was nice to see how much design process went into your characters with a multitude of different ideas. Even though it was just a glimpse, i could see it took time to settle on the design. I was designing one of my characters and went through dozens of ideas for him, so it was reasuring to see a longer process than a four-sketches-and-done design. Haven't yet watched the videos creating the others yet, this one was next on the play list, but i do really love how srtong the designs are for Beeko and friends.

[@AliceLJones]

Aecious's design looks fantastic! The wielder mask is a very awesome idea.

[@BMoArtist]

For what it's worth, I am way more interesting in YOUR art. I don't catch all your videos, always, but when I do it's those original pieces that pull me in. Keep up the great work.

[@lewisoliverleo]

Fantastico, nothing like a fun, contrasting cast of characters to get excited for! 4 Man Band Adventures here goooooo

[@meleboo6072]

I love glangors little double arm things it just so cool

[@concordforge8410]

Aecious is definitely my favorite of the bunch! Excellent work as always.

[@kirby282]

Thank you, Brookes Eggleston! ^_^

[@ItssMelissa]

I can’t wait to see more of them and how their dynamics work!

[@Stephen-T-Clark]

I thought that with Clangor you should have made one arm (IMO the one without the pauldron) have a much LARGER forearm similar to the way a fiddler crab is, but this works as well. I like the cast. Looking forward to seeing some finished works of them interacting. Peace!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks Stephen, I wanted to be careful that I don't make him too crabby, but the uneven nature of a fiddler crab's arms did inspire the one arm-two arm- Biko's also already got larger fore-arms than upper arms, so I wanted his strength to come off as brutish and un-finesse-able :D

[@fmbray_]

I love Aecious snake and Glangor crab!

[@ange100arteaga]

Wow your cast of characters are actually been very cool together I hope I have the skills like yours someday thank you for some tips

[@ashm9952]

First comment! And, I'm loving this cast series. Keep it up! I'm a big fan! Also, could you possibly at some point do a character design of a dragon-like character? Thanks if you see this!

[@zeatehkcasualaccount]

I grabbed that first comment title from ya mate >wo

[@ashm9952]

Lol, nvm

[@TsulaAngenati2292]

This’ll help, I’m well working on the group with a shy shaman, a gentle giant that is basically Mother Nature, a Fire porcupine based on the pukwugie, a four armed eagle, and a lightning ram so far

[@planetaryaiden106]

I love how aecious looks like a lightning coming down from a storm cloud a really good reference to me

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks Aiden!

[@planetaryaiden106]

@@CharacterDesignForge no prob bob

[@Michael9635]

Awesome vid Brookes! I’d definitely watch a show with this cast! Poor Biko has so much to put up with now

[@squesh5974]

Glangor screams silently with his new mouth for he can never forget what he was. despite his new found appeal and individuality. with what little sentience has been bestowed upon him he knows what it cost to get here. Glangor still screams. actually I kind of love him now idk what does it for me most his little arms or just that face but now I find him weirdly endearing and I don't understand. I was gonna ask about the earlier sketches for Aecious and the sort of jellyfish/ man-o-war angle but I am haunted is he ok

[@matiasnl]

I'm really anticipating where these characters go! Their designs are distinct and effective, this is a helpful series, as with every video you make.

[@HaywireRuckus]

So so so excited to see the dynamics between all these characters! I've got some preconceptions and ideas in my head but am also super curious and hungry to see their antics. _Also when you whipped out that downward triangle fact I lost my mind, look at them, little nightmare downward trianGLE TRIO HERE TO MAKE BIKO'S LIFE TRICKY ;O;_

[@WaluigiTimer]

Glangor looks so much nicer now! I'd have given Glangor a sort of gladiator, barbarian/viking, or caveman look, fur/seaweed toga or something instead of overalls. It gets the whole big, tough, stupid guy bit across and fits the whole tribal thing. It also creates a "high tech-primitive" contrast between him and Biko, but that's just me. Other than that, it's a fun twist on the cleric (Biko), fighter (Glangor), thief (Quilver), and wizard (Aecious) set-up.

[@Drakull_Art]

im here for Glangor

[@acegamereviews9350]

Gotta say new Glangor’s my favorite.

[@Meowkid1000]

This series has actually helped me finally come around to making a cast of characters I’ve had in my head and finally get around to actually designing them :)) also he sounds beautiful, 10/10 lorge boi

[@KanekiKen-vu3lo]

I was wondering what happened yesterday, but it was worth waiting for. Loved the video as always and the cast looks awesome.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Appreciate your anticipation ☺

[@RobertJohnson-db3xr]

Oooooh I've always been a huge fan of Naga-like body types for characters! Really like the redesign of Glangor as well!

[@daegan_ftw]

I appreciate your original characters. They likely resonate more than the comments would lead you to believe.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

hopefully!

[@daegan_ftw]

@@CharacterDesignForge I've been working on character designs of my own, and a lot of the advice you give has helped me. In particular, giving characters a physical build whose geometry is a reflection of the theme that character represents.

[@inspectorspinda]

If I were to guess I'd think it was because quilver is a cat-type character. the internet eats that up. I love aecious though. i think he's one of the best designs you've done so far on your channel. don't feel too bad about all the commenters talking about themselves. sometimes it's hard to find anything to say when we dont really know these characters like you do. so far most of their lore is purely in your head.

[@bagandtag4391]

We accept new Glengor. You will hear from our benefactors soon.

[@TBG1]

I love your cast of characters! They're all so interesting!

[@MidnightCapricorn2696]

I might be a bit late to the party here, but all four of these characters look amazing and fit together really well in a line-up! Honestly, I'm inspired to try this with one or two of my own characters.

[@brassjunk]

Very cool video! I love picking out elements of your character design that you've made videos on in the past. It really gives a great understanding of the entire process from start to finish!

[@maraflanagan6354]

This series has been so helpful! I love the variety AND cohesion in this crew. Is it ideal to have them all at different heights visually or is it just how these 4 worked out?

[@lukedoglt]

Love the designs, can't wait to see more

[@Lunar-Imagination]

Hi! I wanna say that I love this whole cast of characters! They all look so different from one another, with some similar points, I love the colours (especially on Aecious) and it just looks like a great cast! These three videos inspired me to go back to one of my cast of four to make them better. Thank you for that and these videos! It was a great help to also see your process in going through each character, the sketches and features you kept and discarded, the messiness coming together in the end. It's great! I look forward to seeing what these four get up to!

[@AloeWing]

This inspired me to fix up my story cast thank you!

[@tzendere]

This is a good vid, and I'm liking the whole cast so far. I'm looking forward to seeing some of their interactions. Keep it up :)

[@veronica7426]

Thank you! This was amazing!!

[@dualscreen8789]

I think my favorite character design-wise is Aecious.

[@Author_SoftwareDesigner]

Awesome cast!

[@grahamwelch5011]

Love it, great to see more of your process, I love how the characters are coming.They really remind me of sort of if zootopia met like islander/tribal. Really cool, can't wait for more.

[@timothymclean]

I'm surprised that this wasn't two videos (one where Aecious was designed, one where everyone was tweaked).

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Me too :D But trying not to draw it out and reward folks that have stuck with the series. Aecious design alone was 11+ hours of drawing according to Procreate

[@GomesBrown]

Amazing!

[@alicepow593]

Great video and worth the wait! :)

[@twig_snap]

Thanks! you have some cool characters

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Appreciate that!

[@rachellynncreates2703]

I really think this video could’ve been twice as long!! Aecious if delightfully snooty.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Considering I whisked through 11+ hours of just Aecious drawing in like a minute, yeah XD

[@aziebites]

i love all these funky dudes omg

[@LunaBianca1805]

I really enjoy watching your videos and that is mostly because I really enjoy your style, love the characters you come up with and just overall like hearing your voice (really soothing) and the ideas you come up with 🥰. The things I might.take away for my drawings is just the cherry on the top 🍨

[@benjaminlee63]

o my gosh such a great vid! thanks for making this small series it helped so much with practicing my own designs! Also, do you have like a download link for your outro music?

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

Great stuff

[@naletteJohnMichael]

Love the video!!!!

[@LuckySketches]

So we know that the rest of the team will grate on Biko, but how do they interact with each other? Does Aecious hate Glangor's stupid guts? Is Quilver always stealing Aecious' lunch from the office fridge? Do Glangor and Quilver play Trivial Pursuit together on the weekends?

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Very very good questions 😂 I love it

[@lorendaemon7945]

oo! i like these!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks! You’ll be pleased I’m releasing an animated pilot either them soon then

[@timothyblack4333]

I’m struggling with my 4th character too XD

[@butter4104]

I just noticed that most of these characters have complementary colors

[@ValoreReviewsAndMore]

love your videos i would love to see more if them

[@CharacterDesignForge]

I do as much as I can right now, it would require a lot more support from the audience in order for that to be possible!

[@WaluigiTimer]

The group of four thing sounds like a good process. But would the process change any way if you're doing a group of say, 5 or 6?

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Nope! Just gets harder!

[@WaluigiTimer]

@@CharacterDesignForge Yeah, that sounds about right. The opposites outline is a good way to get the groundwork done though. Make the others the opposite of the hero in appearance, personality, and abilities in one way and build from there.

[@KaelannPRO22]

has anyone ever told you you look almost exactly like Holden Ford from Mindhunter?

[@BologneyT]

You can't put a Tommy sticker in Biko's Backpack. Tommy is a copyright. Do not steal.

[@fossilco.artrelateddocumen331]

I was almost first

[@CharacterDesignForge]

I TRIED SO HARD, AND GOT SO FAR

[@Jay.B.2046]

For the algorithm.

[@Ellis1342]

I think Aecious is my favorite of the lot. I really like his vibrant color scheme. What works really well is both the similarities and contrasts between him a the main character. Both have vibrant and cool color schemes with a somewhat fluid motion to them. Where Biko is sort of short and squishy, Aecious is long and stretched out. It feels like he is purposely placing himself above the others. The small dark one is edgy and dark, sort of like "dont notice me or I will kick your butt." I wonder if that is why Glangor feels so out of place. While the redesign is an improvement, his colors seem to have some issues. The orange is fine, but the greenish teal pants kind of feel too close to Biko making it confusing as to what he is doing here. I really hope you continue this train of thought in your videos. Whether it is looking at existing casts or expanding on designing casts. I'd love to see something regarding characters in uniforms where colors are predetermined like Hogwarts or military. Thanks for all you do.

[@BologneyT]

Old Glangor looked... not-good... New Glangor looks... edible? I'm... not 100% comfortable with Glangor still. XD Quillver and Biko are just too much better. I'm interested in Aecious's iterations because I bet he'll look better in the future to me than he does now. I also love the fact that you made this 3 parter more than you could possible know. It's so helpful and educational, and I really like what Biko does!!

[@dashad1099]

Hiya! I have a critique, read if you want. (I don't have any intention of hurting your feelings or insulting you in any way) Your characters are incredible! :D Alone on a white screen or in a favored background... Red, green, blue and purple "theoretically" combine, but together... This colors are considered eyebleeding even being the "primary" colours for certain color theory (without purple) How about using tetratic, square, complementary or analogue colors? I think it would help a lot to create a good harmony but that is my opinion. Btw, i love your drawings and your style 💗

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Are you referring to the thumbnail or the actual finished assets? As much of a fan I am of color theory, and have multiple videos on it, adhering to simply stated rules can be incredibly limiting. If anything, value is a much more important thing to worry about than hues- i dont believe there are any hues that cant successfully be used together or at least have a purpose. The color choices here for example, while vibrant, aren’t the pure versions of those colors, but are mostly muted, desaturated, and midrange values. I’m incredibly curious what standard or bar you’re measuring against.

[@deathcrave3021]

I'm not sure if this is because of your intent for the character... or my own weird biases, but I imagine Aecious to be Indian / Middle eastern. He also kinda looks like he might be a genie / djinn, what with being blue and having Arcane / Lightning powers and all. He looks cool for a Snake based character... but I still hate snakes lol. Aside from that the cast seems decent overall, even if they do fit the bill as a typical RPG party. Healer, Tank, Rogueish / Archery / DPS, and a Mage filling the Final spot. They seem goofy and quirky enough to work as Comic Book or Saturday Morning Cartoon characters. And are detailed enough to work as Video Game characters, or as 3D animation characters. And I totally can imagine Aecious and Quillver constantly fighting among themselves. For Quillvers sake I hope he has some Mongoose or Badger Blood in him...