CHARACTER DESIGN FOR FILMS & GAMES
36 HRs Part-Time | 6 Weeks
Unleash your creativity and learn to design Characters for films and games
Grants Available for SG/PR*
Character Design Course
Create believable, expressive characters for games, animation, and film.
At MAGES Institute Singapore, the Character Design Course helps aspiring artists master the art of storytelling through character creation. The program combines advanced theoretical concepts and practical design techniques to help you craft characters that feel authentic, relatable, and visually compelling.
What You’ll Learn in the Character Design Course
In this course, you’ll explore the foundations of character development — from personality and anatomy to costume design and emotional expression. Students learn to convey a character’s story through every visual detail, including posture, attitude, and movement.
Key Learning Areas
- Understanding anatomy, gesture, and proportion
- Exploring character personality, mood, and storytelling
- Designing expressive faces, costumes, and silhouettes
- Digital painting techniques using custom shapes and brushes
- Creating characters for video games, films, and animation
- Building portfolio-ready character concept sheets
Through guided projects, students gain the confidence to turn imaginative ideas into professional-level character artwork ready for industry use.
Digital Art and Character Painting
Enhance your digital art and painting skills with hands-on practice using tools like Photoshop and Procreate.
You’ll experiment with:
- Lighting and shading to create realism
- Color theory for character mood
- Painting workflows for concept art
- Story-based design and character posing
By mastering digital techniques, you’ll learn to visually communicate emotion and story through each design decision.
3D Character Design Course
For students ready to go beyond 2D art, MAGES offers a specialized 3D Character Design Course focused on bringing your characters to life in 3D environments.
What You’ll Learn
- Transforming 2D concept art into 3D models
- Sculpting detailed characters using ZBrush, Blender, and Maya
- Texturing, rigging, and preparing assets for animation
- Maintaining character identity across 2D and 3D mediums
- Creating interactive, game-ready models for real-time engines
This course emphasizes both creativity and technical skill — helping you build visually stunning, believable characters optimized for game, film, and VR production.
Why Study Character Design at MAGES Institute Singapore?
- Learn from industry professionals with game and film experience
- Gain exposure to industry-standard tools like ZBrush, Blender, and Photoshop
- Build a portfolio of 2D and 3D characters ready for studio presentation
- Access MAGES’ creative community and networking opportunities
- Located in Singapore’s leading creative education hub
Whether you’re an aspiring concept artist, game designer, or character modeller, this course will help you turn your artistic vision into production-ready assets for the entertainment industry.
Career Outcomes
Graduates of the Character Design Course can pursue roles such as:
- Character Concept Artist
- 3D Character Artist
- Game Artist / Animator
- Digital Illustrator
- Visual Development Artist
COURSE OVERVIEW
Characters are the agents through which we are brought into the world and universe of a Game, Movie or TV Show; in this course we dive deep into what makes a character effective and believable. Explore the essence of a character by developing their attitude and personality, and learn to show it through costume, poses, and expressions.
Taught and mentored by Kingston Chan, who has over two decades of experience at SEGA, Koei Tecmo, and is the former Art Director of FZD School of Entertainment Design.
DURATION : 36 Hrs across 6 weeks | Part-Time | Sat
STUDENT-TO-LECTURER RATIO: 18 Students : 1 Lecturer
MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT: Lectures, Practical (Hands-on Application) and Project-based Assessment
COURSE START DATE : 08 Nov 2025
75% attendance is mandatory to complete the program
COURSE CODE : TGS-2021005685
REGISTERED COURSE NAME (MySkillsFuture Website) : CHARACTER DESIGN FOR FILM/GAMES (Blended Learning)
SOFTWARE TAUGHT : Adobe Photoshop
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS : Windows/Mac Laptop
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS : 18yrs & Above, Min Education level – N Level, & Passion for Concept Art
For more detailed information visit FAQs section below.
*GRANTS AVAILABLE : SSG, SFC, PSEA, UTAP
*For additional grant eligibility, please contact us.
AWARD : Statement of Attainment and Certificate of Completion
INSTRUCTORS
INSTRUCTOR GALLERY
TOPICS COVERED
- Concept Art Production Flow Ideation Methods.
- Importance of Keyplates and Backstory in the Concept Art Process.
- Create Thumbnails and rough sketches.
- Anatomy of the Concept Character in Orthographic and Perspective Views.
- Create expressions for the character.
- Final Character Design based on the keyplate.
- Importance of cross-department workflow between concept and 3D artists.
- Render the final character concept – Colors, lights, and shadows.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the key issues relating to concept art practice.
- Develop ideas for a new character’s features and profile.
- Demonstrate artistry, conceptualization, and processes including thumbnail sketches and comps.
- Demonstrate composition and orthographic drawing skills based on the creative brief.
- Apply aesthetic and conceptual understanding of concept art in the evaluation of one’s own work and the work of others.
- Design a character concept that effectively communicates the narrative.
- Explain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in the concept art development process.
- Demonstrate the ability to render expressive characters through various styles and techniques.
Fees
FAQs
Who is this course for?
All those with a passion for the arts, whether with some or little background in painting/illustration/sketching are welcome to apply. This course is beginner-friendly and is beneficial for both, traditional artists and digital artists looking to enhance their art. The course will bring up a fundamental understanding of designing a character keeping the fundamentals of Concept Art in mind.
Do I need to know any digital software for this courses?
Knowledge and background of Adobe Photoshop is an advantage, as it will be the default software used throughout. For those with no experience in Photoshop, please contact us.
What are the entry requirements for this course?
Here are detailed entry requirements for this course:
- Passion for Concept Art.
- Minimum Education Level – N Level
- Work Experience (No. of Years) – N.A
- Age – 18 years and Above
- Language (Written) – English Language (Spoken) – English
- Language (Written) – English
- Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Level (WPLN) >= 6
- Computer Skills – Basic
- Basic Knowledge of Computers
Start up, log on and shut down a computer system properly
Use a mouse-pointing device and keyboard
Identify and use icons (folders, files, applications, and shortcuts/aliases)
Minimize, maximize, and move windows
Identify common types of file extensions (e.g. doc, docx, pdf, html, jpg, gif, xls, ppt, pptx, rtf, txt, exe)
Check how much space is left on a drive or other storage device
- Proficiency in Using Productivity Software
Understand and know how to use the following types of software programs:
Word processing (example: MS Word, Google Doc, Writer)
Presentation (example: PowerPoint, Impress)
Compression software (example: WinZip, StuffIt, 7-Zip)
- Moving Files
Transfer files by uploading or downloading.
View and change folder/document security settings.
Copy files from hard disk to storage devices and vice versa
What is the admission process, and what payment options are available?
Once we receive your contact information our course advisor will guide you through the admissions process and the grants that are available.
We accept payments by check, bank transfer, credit/debit card and PayPal.
For more information, please contact us directly using the form below.
SPEAK TO AN ADVISOR
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