Chris Ayers: »I try to give many of my characters at least a subtle comedic sense »

Interview Chris Ayers by Julie Cadilhac– Bscnews.fr/Eye on the translation: Audrey Johnson/

– You cummulate three different jobs ( character design, visual development and illustration) : could you tell us what each consists of?

Character design, visual development, and illustration are similar in many regards and sometimes they even overlap. The difference between them is mostly what the image is going to be used for.

Character design is when I help to give visual form to a character or creature based on a description in a script or notes from a production team. Character design happens in many fields such as the film/tv industry, video games, and even logo design if a company wants to develop a character to be their mascot. Though it varies on each project, character design can cover everything in the design process from initial loose sketches all the way through to working with a team of CG modelers, painters, and animators to arrive at the final shapes, colors, textures, expressions, and poses of a character.

Visual development usually refers to the early pre-production period of a project in the entertainment industry. The main goal of a visual development artist is to explore possible visual solutions to the characters, environments, vehicles, props, etc. that will be seen in a film or game. It helps to discover the overall look of the world and its inhabitants. A specific style is sometimes less important in this phase than just brainstorming interesting ideas. Ideas produced in this phase can then later be refined and detailed for the final film or game. Illustration usually refers to a single image, or series of images, used for a specific purpose. An illustration is usually the end product where the images produced in character design and visual development are just stepping stones used to arrive at the final product such as a film or game.
– When we know about your attraction for aliens, we imagine that …