How to UPGRADE your character designs

This is a character design critique/attempted roast for ‪@chashuu0‬! I was specifically asked for help with in adding detail to the character. There are many different solutions to the same problem, so I just want to showcase my approach to it.
I hope these tips and tricks will help you improve your concept art.
00:00 Intro
00:32 Start Critique
01:11 Posing
03:01 Why add detail?
03:39 Finding Reference
06:06 Adding Accessories
06:41 Balancing Detail Distribution
08:06 Start Detailed Sketch
09:08 Big, Medium, Small
10:44 Drawing shoes
11:55 Not all Character Design has to tell a story
12:33 Cel shading
13:01 Coloring Shadows
14:07 Finished
Streamed on / pikat
Editor
‪@chashuu0‬
BGM
2:23 AM by Sharou しゃろう
dova-s.jp/_contents/author/pr...
日曜の午後 by KK
dova-s.jp/_contents/author/pr...

[@CodesTheOtaku]

Roasting used to be a thing where a celebrity would be playfully mocked by peers, and it was all in good fun - even the person being roasted would have fun and laugh. Nowadays, “roast” is just a synonym for “insult”.

[@vaporean_boylove.0w083]

Yeah. Agree. At that point you have to listen and observe to catch what the vibe is to figure out if its freind fooling around or if this is just bullying.

[@chashuu0]

Imma roasted. Thanks for the crit!

[@Furdly]

Nice character man, love the concept for her :0. Will you be using this character for a webcomic you're making?

[@chashuu0]

Thanks@@Furdly ! Yep, that's the plan, anyway 😄 I'll get to it eventually

[@thatpizzaguy6840]

where will you find this comic

[@IamHattman]

If you roll with this setup for her actual character design, she's going to have a chronically sore right hip. Tools aren't light, and wearing a weight on one side all day hurts eventually. It's not the kind of thing that keeps you from doing stuff, it's just the sort of thing that bugs you at the end of the day when you take the tools off. If you wanna go to that level of characterization.

[@LovingLyn]

Great character! ❤️

[@suu696]

That beginning immediately made me give the video a like and a sub So many art videos focus on the negative things and that "you're doing it wrong" but you brought up the positive things right at the start! Also your 3d model in pixel art is really cute

[@Shayro]

I think it's a really well-made 2D model, not 3D...

[@suu696]

Oh yeah that's true, live2d gets me sometimes

[@pizza_36]

It's a live2d vtuber model. Not 3d :)

[@PainInhibitors]

Probably the first "tutorial" artist that i look forward to when they upload, great content 👍

[@iqzario4animations203]

Yeah, most of them are too cocky

[@RmhGames]

When you said "subscribe and like and ring the bell it is not a suggestion do it now!" I felt intimidated and without thinking did all of that

[@MarikoftheShadows]

But the most important word you left out, she also said "Draw" ♥

[@shazani18]

I have never had so much lighting in a single video, you really gave excellent keys for character design

[@MomoPrior]

Oh my GODD your pixelart avatar looks AMAZING

[@duckii1703]

Oh MY, this is exactly the kind of video I was looking for! Usually when I look for this stuff, it's usually just use reference and add clothing folds tysm

[@midorimodern_hochuumeret]

Gonna be the one to ask about colored line-art video. I like to do colored lineart, but I tend to overcomplicate it, and I didn't exactly catched that 'easy way of doing it' that you showed, but looking forward to!

[@Saji_0]

omg, omg, you're so UNDERRATED. you understand much more character design philosophy more than a certain gacha company, HOLY SH!T, ITS INSANE. (I'm not talking about hoyo) SUBSCRIBED

[@IamHattman]

The amount of time I've spent looking for all this advice in tutorials is wild. Thanks for doing this roast. Turns out its also a tutorial on how to embellish visual design.

[@TeabagsOnToast]

NEW PIKAT VIDEO LETS GO BABY

[@ReblazeGaming]

Finally Pikat making character design content, I need more!

[@mimthyss]

This was a really helpful video! I loved the way you talked through your process and explained things, and the comparisons like with the detailed & rest space vs no rest space were super useful to instantly see what a difference it makes. ❤

[@strangerinadarkalley]

I love this video. Your advice seems so genuine and is really helpful. The character comes out looking absolutely amazing. Thank you

[@tili__ayala]

I loved this video so much!! Your work is great ^^

[@OtherKirby]

I enjoy your approach and the fact that you hit that sweet spot between tutorial and casual conversation sharing your thoughts and process. =]

[@KAZUUUUMOM]

This is informative and fun to watch, would like to see more of this vid ♥️

[@syluct_ds]

great video! more of this type of content please 🙏

[@randomtatertot3085]

New to your channel and I'm loving all the videos. Gonna try and use the tips for my own art ngl. Great content, keep going I'm excited to see more

[@darkexe204]

Honestly this helped a lot especially when it comes to adding detail and shading👍

[@brunofrossard1148]

pikat your youtube videos cure my depression u are the best

[@fep1023]

Lots of great tips here, thanks!

[@arriettyal5126]

Wow this was actually very useful! I’m subscribing

[@chrone_co]

Bro becoming fulltime youtuber 😭😭😭

[@Antonioinho]

Amazing video. Please do more, it will help me a lot, Im learning character design.

[@starhalv2427]

I love pixel art, it's nice to see some vtubers use that style

[@victoriac7729]

RAAH ARTSTYLE YUMMY OMNOMNOM GRRRBAHAHABBBBRGRGRRR

[@shortstop-wt7bs]

Ey save some for the rest of us

[@Alyslay_jc]

Yo this is actually an underrated art channel 😮😮

[@cerustial6918]

It'd be pretty cool if when the character welds or works using the goggles, that the cowl she uses is pulled over her face as a way to avoid inhailing toxic fumes. and the cowl can be something like a face shield she uses to block sparks and heat. It would be cool if it were colored to look like it was made of leather cuz leather is used when welding as a barrier. Small suggestions my brain soup was cooking don't have to take it seriously. (-w-)

[@deadpan2866]

watching this live was pog

[@user-uz2hu2hg1q]

Details for the details god! Complicity for the complicity throne!

[@sheppin_]

Damn, with that personality... I think you are quickly becoming one of my favorite art content creators. Its seriously refreshing to see someone who isnt just mean and insilting :)

[@lofkii]

I wonder if some webtoon artists are scared to add too much detail to their characters because they'll be redrawn so much

[@skye387]

It's possible considering that a lot of accessories like ribbons and such look like it's stickers instead of being drawn. Something more specific that has to be personally drawn is probably being minimalised since they have time limit and everything has to be coloured.

[@Frog12349]

Taking notes 📝

[@postman6553]

NIce! Good vid!

[@beanceline]

super helpful video!! my only nitpick is the dark coloring of the tool belt and the pants in the final design. they are so similar in value that i can barely tell them apart so the details of the belt get lost in the pants a little

[@Dokoma]

Nice video, strangely enough i watched through it.

[@DehToadKing]

I absolutely love Freya's design

[@christianiliev3493]

i want to see pikat s reaction to my super deform proportions lmao

[@christianiliev3493]

I hope these roasts are not a vip thing. Tgat would ruin my plans lol

[@wegotguns3325]

How do we submit our monstrosities for review xD @@christianiliev3493

[@mactan_sc]

cool stuff

[@pizza_36]

6:58 the one you said is ok feels more cluttered

[@CushionSapp]

Hopefully you do another one of these sorts of vids.

[@pizza_36]

Remember that everything depends on the character! You may want to hide who they are!

[@liljatupsu]

Even better if you can _both_ make them mysterious and still sneak in some things that don't give it away but make sense for who the character is in context. Like they tried to disguise their identity but still defaulted to something without thinking because that's just how they are

[@adam7280]

on the coloured shadows at 13:00 , i think the grey shading worked quite well. since she's a mechanic, its reasonable to say she would be surrounded by a lot of grey at any given moment, so a grey shadow works to show that off. the grey also kinda gives it a kinda industrial, darker look as opposed to the brighter look of the coloured shadows, which ig in that case it comes down to preference but what im tryna say is a lot of people think grey shadows never work but its false! grey shadows can work super well in certain situations!

[@michaelbutmr1263]

That's a sweet Vtuber, the 3D pixel art looks sweet!

[@trasher534]

pikat is so cool

[@zeta4334]

Your vtuber model is awesome I love it so much

[@KlassAnimated]

holy just discovered your channel. My new favorite. Subbed!! Also who made your vtuber?!

[@JoshuHigashikata-NKC]

Yo this is epic! I can’t believe Maki got roasted just like that too! 😊

[@pawz212]

the almighty pureref

[@bladerdj3503]

Details~

[@artbyLutz]

hi there i really like your video and i learned a lot. hope to see more of these kinds of video. also what program did you use for your image board? i am really interested in it

[@Brandon999LFC]

pretty good

[@chkensammich]

what do you think is a good resource on learning how to draw clothing specifically

[@vitorcampos3427]

🤩

[@skullknight4579]

At art school we used to call it a “crit “

[@MakDivision]

Ethan becker mentioned, like given

[@ARatWithWiFi]

I like that VTuber model, pixel art is amazing.

[@Motusification]

Yua Serefu clip ! Good Job!-ko chashuu0.

[@matlevesque8944]

Poor* character with a supreme shirt is a reality check cause i can't afford that 😅

[@lunalilylover]

How do you get that hand cursor when you draw? I've been trying to figure out how for ages.

[@itself6529]

Wonder if this stuff will work for creature designs

[@doom4627]

Pikat

[@pieperson444]

damn genshin took a stray, i personally think the character design from the 2 latest regions (the ones with actually good stories) have top tier character design that tell you even more about the character than the dialogue and comment far into history, religion, and culture

[@shi_no_kurai_kage]

I gave all my characters hoodies and I wanted to use another clothes as I ran out of colour pallets oh and I gave the only Japanese delinquent I made a school uniform (I need to use more clothes)

[@nope6021]

Look, I know the hoodie says Supreme... but my own mind keeps editing it to "Soup" each time I look back at that detail.

[@isuckatusernames4297]

can we have a similar video but for robotic characters ? like for designing transformers in general ?

[@kaizin5585]

please elaborate on coloring lineart lmaoooooo

[@TajaianHaisnt]

5:15 5:18 this reminds me of the song bohemian rhapsody 😭

[@bayas1302]

The roasting started with Angel. He really was harsh with people's drawings, but he still gave good tips. New roasting videos are just insulting

[@adnagapot]

One thing I'm thinking is that she could have extra details, like a welding hood or extra gloves, but only when she needs them, and not wearing them when she isn't using them

[@DelBunny19]

HOW DID U DO THE COLORED LINEART YOU WIZARD???

[@Daria-Morgendorffer]

can someone explain what she was doing to colour the lineart? got confused

[@whataaryadoin]

LESSSGAURRRRR

[@ninjakateka]

What tool is that she uses for the references? I. NEED. IT.

[@niklogus9426]

Pureref

[@wulphsbane9126]

what art app do you use?

[@JADEN_THE_ONE]

Do u do pixel art too ?

[@Puvuk_UA]

Question: how did she add a picture following her mouse?

[@DigiLady926]

I understand about the posing, but it seems like a basic character sheet. Wouldn't you want a neutral pose to easily read the character then leave the poses expressing personality to an expression sheet or something similar?

[@chashuu0]

Ah yes, she actually did talk about this on the livestream, I just cut that part out in the edit. Here, she's specifically talking about posing in an initial concept sketch for a character, and not the character sheets or turnarounds for later reference.

[@DigiLady926]

@@chashuu0 Ah, okay XD Thank you for the reply. It does help quite a bit. I'm still learning and this kind of stuff always worries me.

[@Starmonger26]

How often do you do these character critiques/upgrades? 👑🤔

[@thepopo592]

Noooooo shes gone to the dark side 😭

[@pietroalessandrini]

Now that I think about it genshin inoact character disegns don't tell any story because they are all supposed to be interchangable in order to sell more. Interesting

[@daniplaysdrums8678]

Can someone please explain how she did the line art color change at @13:48? Something about setting layer to color and grouping and multiply?

[@roberthsucre9837]

I want to know as well, so gonna spam myself here to get a notification.

[@Takukou]

she mentioned it once on stream but I haven't try it out myself, goes smth like this: 1. duplicate your colors to a single layer 2. adjust the hue and saturation (or curves) of that to something else (darker usually) 3. gaussian blur to the layer 4. clip to line art

[@contagiousstorm]

7:40 "A good example of really detailed designs without looking cluttered is Final Fantasy 14" Me actively playing FFXIV while watching this video: :O

[@itself6529]

aw yeah... its designing time...

[@eZeero]

I do not know how nor want to roast mine though. Oh wait never mind, it's not something I drew exactly... I think the only thing would be about her "chest size".

[@alexmiller8177]

I can help you edit!

[@SuperMagicUnderwear]

Me, an FFXIV player: Why am I getting recommended this? Me at 7:50: Ooooooooh.

[@dante-1t]

So does she has a discord server or?

[@MALICEM12]

>shes from a newr future sci-fi You don't say? The urban punk "drip" look is sci-fi? Noooo Also nice waki on your character art, Pikat! Your avatar definitely looks like a stinky nerd and it's adorable Also tinker sci-fi goggles are super cliche and it was kinda funny that youu didn't know what tools look like

[@user-ue8ec8ew8b]

hey, i dunno if you would respond or not but i have this oc yeah? (like everyone else) i like my drawing to be in between detailed and simple, i love drawing body parts be it feet's hands or torsos but i tried COUNTLESS times where when i tried to draw her body detailed she would look older than she should be. can you like, draw a pattie character while somehow not making it look too "mature". either u wanna make it a boy or a girl, i dont really mind. I just wanna know how to make my oc more realistic while keeping it simple but doesn't make it look older than it supposed to be. A tutorial on "Loli" some would say.

[@FlamingFoxProd]

1:15 "Not the most interesting, doesn't have the most personality" I think that's because... it's not *supposed to?* That... isn't the point of a model sheet. A simple character model sheet/turnaround like that is made for getting the design and proportions of your character down. It's to say "Hey, this is what the character looks like by default". It is NOT meant to have any kind of expressive posing because that would completely defeat its entire purpose. If I was using that image as reference for a drawing or especially for a model of that character, I would want the pose to be as simple and clear as possible, because that gives me all of the details I need for the character, and it's up to *me* to add the posing. If the model sheet had some kind of pose, it makes it harder to read and get the details right, and would be a pain to work with. That's not to say *everything* in the sheet should be simple and default - there SHOULD be extra poses that *do* show off the character's personality ( y'know, like the one that's *already there on the left* ). And the poses that you added would be great *additional* poses to go *alongside* the turnaround that's already there. But if a client went to me with just that as my reference instead of an actual turnaround, that would just be way more inconvenient than if I just had a model sheet to go off of. That said, I think the rest of the video and the advice you give is great. You make cool stuff! I just had a gripe with that one bit of advice due to my 3D modeling background.

[@LuluZia2]

Nah fudge all that makem detailed draw everyday

[@marrian.b4772]

Bacon

[@kayabafoxy0975]

The only vtuber that I can look at and not cringe

[@Megamoongaming]

“Here’s my fun character who likes working on engineering” so anyways she’s poor and hates capitalism.

[@dontyaknow2398]

i'll roast your avatar, the top teeth keep being weird :P

[@cwillcorleone5810]

New here but i love the way u jus casually threw shade @ Genshin while segwaying into the shading process pure artistry 🤌🏿 lol

[@Envy_Level_Zero]

dope character design though