The Silver Way: Techniques, Tips, and Tutorials for Effective Character Design

Okay this is hard to say I love this book because I'm into characters making. you can't go wrong with this this is someone who may one of my favorite cartoons of all time which is Kim possible and that speaks highly and other cartoon shows from my childhood which is why I got the book just for that nostalgia alone I will say however this book teaches you how to think like a illustrator or a person who's making cartoons or for studios in general or for your own work as a freelancer but he's mostly talking and the more studio direction but the information he has in here is worth it even if you don't go in the direction of your traditional cartoonist or you become a manga artist or you become an illustrator or a game designer learning how to make your characters how to turn them how to use things around your environment to help you continue to grow there are exercises in here that you can do on a regular basis which I've already tried and have been doing I also will say to my beginner artist this is not a beginner book this is not a step by step how to draw cartoons this is not what this is he's already assuming you already know your fundamentals and he's just teaching you what he has learned over the years of doing what he's been doing in the industry passing his knowledge and this is what he put in his book I still think as a beginner artist if you're interested in learning how to make characters and you want to make that at your career or you want to do gaming or you want to do mangas or illustration this is still a good book to have it's still a good thing to have in your collection so when you get to the level that he's already at or where you can actually put this to use you already have in your collection I am a beginner artist so I really can't use the information yet but I've sat down and read it I'll put some of his exercises that are very easy to do into practice and I just let myself do it without getting a worry about mistakes or worrying about oh I can't do this because it's out of my level I just do it he has a lot of examples explains himself very well very easy to understand I haven't even got through half of the book it's a big book so I recommend this book to all artists in my opinion.

I have had the privilege of meeting Stephen Silver both at a convention years ago and again when I went to a 4 hour instructional he hosted when passing through my city. This book showcases his knowledge and breaks down character design and caricature in a wonderfully clear way that helps you improve your character design skills no matter what level you are at. For a professional level artist such as myself it has reminded me of techniques that I had either forgotten or let lapse on top of giving me new ways to think about my process. There are some tips and tricks I had never heard of that are truly great. For anyone interested in just straight caricature or character design for illustration and animation this is a must have for your studio.

I have barely dipped my toes into this thick book and I already love it. And it is indeed thick, one of the thickest/biggest art instruction books I have the pleasure of owning. I was surprised by that to be honest, it is a much thicker book than I expected! There is so much fantastic and useful advice in this book, and it's presented in a nice orderly way with tons of great suggestions, tips, and exercises. It's not just a bunch of art with a little text. This book is truly instructional and it is impossible not to learn something from it.I only have ONE complaint and it's not about the content of the book or Mr. Silver's art, but instead it's about the shape of the book: it's quite wide and not tall. I saw the general shape before buying it, but when you combine the shape of the book with the thickness and overall weight, the wider-than-taller shape is both impractical to hold and also makes it difficult to fit in with the rest of the books on a shelf. I really really wish they had not designed the book this way, and I hope future editions will be a more standard shape.That said, if you are on the fence about this book, BUY IT! It is wonderful.

This books approach is very systematic in a way that will Organize your thoughts towards creating many different iterations of a harmonious character design. Very helpful tips and tricks to assist you when you feel as though you have exhausted your ideas to the fullest, only to see that there's other avenues and ways to go into many different routes in telling great stories through creative and appealing characters. In my honest opinion one of the most informative books on the subject out there. If you have Disney's the illusion of life. This book might be the perfect pair to study the art of animation.

The book provides more than ample examples and techniques for character design. It is appropriate for beginners as well as advanced designers. A well-structured, thick read of a book. Silver is generous with his knowledge sharing. The main point of his theory is using simple, strong shapes to create a structure for your characters. He exposes how these shapes work in his designs. HIs rough drawings show how he "draws through" the shapes to create depth and a believable cartoon anatomy for a design. I have taken a class from him in person and his books are as informative as his lectures.

The media could not be loaded. I'm a senior at an art college and this really helps me to get prepared for the animation industry. I really want to do character designing for a living and learning from an expert, getting into the mind of Mr. Silver helps a whole lot. I did not realize that there is a lot of mistakes I avoided in character designing. Just from reading the first few pages in this book made me realized that mistakes I've previously made throughout my whole career in art college. This book is worth purchasing. I highly recommend buying this if you're serious about character designing. Thank you Mr. Silver.

Interesting book on character design by the artist who created Kim Possible. I really liked his opening forwards and the 1st several chapters gave me a new perspective on viewing character design, and actually prompted me to get out and find characters in nature.

Que livro incrível. Vários conceitos, dicas e ideias que tive que ler vários livros e fazer vários cursos pra aprender estão reunidos aqui de forma muito didática. Depois de desenvolver os fundamentos, esse é o livro que indico pra quem queira desenvolver seu próprio estilo e exercitar a criatividade. Vale o próprio peso em ouro.

Great book!! I loved it. It was better than expected.

Llegó en caja con otros dos libros que compre es grande y apresar de que está en inglés , es muy hermoso

Utilissimo per gli illustratori che vogliano sperimentare un altro metodo o per i principianti sul campo.

Stephen Silver et Designstudio press ont réalisé un livre remarquable à tout point de vue : la qualité de l'enseignement dispensé est tout simplement réjouissante : pour qui veut apprendre ou améliorer ses compétences en conception de personnages, ce livre apporte de précieux conseils ( en anglais, facile à comprendre ) : l'auteur connait son sujet et expose clairement à la fois par le texte et par l'image tout ce qui est utile à connaître et à pratiquer : pas de blabla, que du concret !.. Ouvrez ce livre, je vous assure que vous aurez le sourire : c'est une mine d'Or !.. ou d'Argent ( Silver ! en anglais )