The Art of Fantasy

The ultimate guide to fantasy character design from renowned illustrator, Meng Zi.

This comprehensive manual, packed with breathtaking illustrations, is your key to crafting the most extraordinary beings in the realm of fantasy: it is an essential tool for game and animation designers, hobbyists, art students and teachers alike.

Astonishing in detail and meticulously conceived, Meng Zi’s fantasy characters are a masterclass in conceptual design. Whether you're looking for an inspirational reference or an idea generator, this book will spark your creativity. Filled with artistic insights and practical exercises, this comprehensive guide will teach you basic anatomical structure, help you to finesse your own design ideas, and then improve your aesthetic prowess through observation and practice.

Inside you’ll find:

• Design and drawing: A technical overview of conceptual design and drawing, including point, line and plane, geometry and various forms of perspective, all explored visually, and critical for breathing life into your characters.
• Human anatomy and kinetics: Understand the structure and movement that serve as the foundation for all character design. The skeletal and muscular systems are explored in a number of ways, from traditional musculo-skeletal illustrations to line and cube forms. Also included is a guide to creating hands, feet, limbs and facial features full of character and expression.
• Animal anatomy: Discover the real-world building blocks that will shape your mythical creatures, including skeletal form and musculature as well as features such as wings, spines, horns and tails.
• Fantasy fusion: Merge reality with imagination as you design fantastical beings, from fire-breathing dragons and elegant centaurs to robots, aliens and demons.
• Conceptual design for game and animation: Develop unique characters with guidance on body shapes, lines, and personality-infused accessories.
• Practical exercises throughout: Hone your skills with practical exercises that reinforce each lesson and inspire growth throughout the book.
• A huge range of illustrated characters: Learn from detailed archetypes, including ghosts, demons, goblins and mechwarriors, to inform and enhance your own designs.

Book Contents

Chapter 1Introduction to concept design and drawing
The world of fantasy 10
Mastering the human body 11
Concept design 11
Tools 12
Basic knowledge 15
Technical terms 15
Line weight 16
Basic elements of a picture 17
Geometric forms 18
Perspective 19
One-point perspective 19
Two-point perspective 19
Three-point perspective 20
Cavalier perspective 20
Sketching 21

Chapter 2Structure and dynamics of the human body
The human skeleton 24
Main joints of the body 24
Proportion of the skeleton 28
Characteristics of the skeleton 29
Form of the skeleton 36
The human muscular system 38
Three views of muscles 38
Head 40
Facial features 42
Exercise: Drawing a complete head 51
Muscles of the neck 56
Muscles of the trunk 58
Muscles of the limbs 64
Exercise: Drawing the whole body 76
Character dynamics 79
Stick man 79
Box man 81
Example poses 83
Sketching the human body 91

Chapter 3Animal structure
Animal anatomy 96
Gorilla 96
Horse 98
Antelope 100
Dog 102
Lion 104
Bat 106
Eagle 108
Fish 110
Dragon 112
Dragon hawk 114
Endosaurus 116
Anatomical details 118
Heads 118
Horns and antlers 118
Limbs 121
Wings 122
Drawing animals 123
Basic forms 123
Drawing complete animals 126
Combining different animals 128
Drawing fantasy creatures 131
Hou king of the beasts 131
Hydra multi-headed water beast 133
Bestiary 135

Chapter 4Exploring concept designs
Genre and design 142
Starting points for character design 147
Exaggeration 147
Symmetry 149
Geometry combining simple shapes 150
Silhouette 151
Rhythm line length 153
Accessories enriching the character 154
Groups contrasting body shapes 156
Example character designs 157
Exercise: Designing a character 157

Chapter 5Decoration, detail and accessories
Pattern design 168
Common patterns 168
Designing patterns 170
Armour design 175
Types of armour 175
Chineseinspired armour 176
Japaneseinspired armour 178
Europeaninspired armour 179
Other accessories 180
Weapons 180
Mounts and steeds 186
Jewellery and totems 190

Chapter 6Drawing complete Characters
Human male - Swordsman 192
Human female - Spirit Mage 196
Elf - Night Princess 199
Mecha Warrior - E-34 Destroyer 202
Monster - Hellcaller 205
Merman - Aquatic General 210
Human male - Shaman 214
Undead - Revenant 218
Demon - Black Dragon Legionary 222
Human male Mercenary 226
More character designs 230

Chapter 7Reference material and inspiration
Portraits 242
Full body line art 249
Full body tonal designs 268