This class is falsely advertised and its assignment requests are outrageous - you absolutely, 100% need above average drawing ability if you actually want to complete the work as outlined, and receive meaningful feedback. This is not a course about the philosophies or ideas behind character design; it's a class meant for artists, and it demands that you create genuine, visual representations of characters from scratch. Not just simple characters, either, but characters of varying complexity, designs, and inspirations. Literally impossible if you cannot draw or expertly use photoshop - that is, unless you consider spending hours uploading stick figures a worthwhile use of your time and subscription money.

Feels like a money grabber rather than teaching anything useful, when designing character for video games is also important the skill you have or obtain while doing it and this doesn't place any emphasis into it. So for the price the charge in the certificate it really feels like a money grabber rather than teaching anything useful at all. Other schools like Gnomon WorkShop and DVDs like "Eat3D" and many others out there, which gives e more content for a fraction of the price they charging here! It needs to be deeper and more robust if this course wants to stand out, right now is not.

I expected to get some structurized practical knowledge but the course consists simply of the interviews with designers. All the assignments are peer graded so you cannot receive any valuable feedback of the professsional. Such a disappointment.

there was 1 concept taught in the first lesson that of density. then it was loads of videos of other people drawing characters, not actually going through a design process. and then a few assignments designing a few characters . I was hoping to learn more about some of the principles of character design- wasnt blown away by this course wont be taking any more of these

I thought these class could have been elevated with the professor actually teaching. I enjoyed the the animators thought process walk-through, but I didn't think that was sufficient as an actual course.

I like the course but missing some basics of character design. As body shapes drawing, personalities, i wanted some basics on how to draw and approach to designing characters.

Good for some inspiration, and homeworks may ignite some excitement to do more specially if you are a beginner in the area.

That said, for a course called Character Design for Video Games, there is not much talk about Designing stuff for Video Games. 3 Guest Artists are doing great, but not much talk about their process or ideas or how the designs will or may be implemented in a game environment which is an important factor. And stretching this into 3 weeks back to back with 15-20 minutes videos just artists drawing, kinda drags it down.

The interviews were great, and useful to see a real experienced designer, however the contents in the course were almost nonexistent. The homework was well planed but it depends much more in the student to learn something that the contents exposed in the videos. Tips aren't the same as methodologies and content in character design.

Very open way of learning. Few talks with people from the industry, sharing their approach.

Not much of fundamental knowledge.

Generally great motivator to exercise Character Design. Not that great resource to learn from a beginning.

great first week, I like Fran's First week video, with the puppets and very engaging interaction,

the next following 3 weeks are total bummer, It does give some tips for character design (such as what is tangent, or some other design tips), but it feels like a bloated interview and not a class-like experience. Great first week, terrible following week

the interviews with illustrators were interesting but I lacked initial training, the tasks were often disconnected from the contents of the module and I found less cohesion between lessons and practical exercises

Great course! The teaching techniques are extraordinary. With fun facts through the course, it never gets boring. For anyone who need to start something that will benefit your game design in arts, this here is your best choice. My heartfelt appreciation goes to all the tutors who put there time and effort to this. Great work and thank you! You guys are the best!

It was an amazing ride, watching such professional designers do their work inspired me to do my best during the course. The activities were also very interesting, because I got to work with objects and concepts that I hadn't tried before. I spent a really good time and would gladly recommend it to all aspiring designers out there.

I have an MFA from Calarts in animation- so I can speak from experience- the course here is on par with what I have studied in the past. It's well thought out, offers insight, and gives a chance to hone skills. Very good intro to character design- for comic writers as well!

Not only did I learn more than I ever thought I would, but I had fun, as well! In fact, I liked this course so much that I've enrolled in another course offered within the same specialization.

For the first course, you will only be drawing. You will not learn anything about programming video games. It was nice that they showed famous artists for cartoons, but the videos felt too long, with dialogues that felt like rambling at times.

I liked the course itself and the assignments but something has to be done about spammers that just give one point and write "good" or "nice" in both the positive and negative feedback box. This really takes away a lot of the fun.

The ideas in this course were very interesting and I really enjoyed what the different guest artists had to say, however, it would be nice if the assignments were not only peer reviewed.

t​his course was a lot of fun! That being said, there was no real instruction at all. I expected more with the price and the amazing teacher, but sadly this course doesn’t cover much other than how other professionals in the field work.

Incredibly rudimentary

In this class, I learned: (1)How to submit compliant works on time with limited time. (Because I usually have to go to work) (2)In Weeks 1, 2, and 4: Think about how to apply "density", "proportion", "mood", and "contrast" to character creation at any time. (3)Week 3: Observe other game styles, and draw similar styles, you can learn the characteristics and tricks of their styles. (4)How to give objective and friendly comments to classmates. (I was lucky, and the comments I received were all friendly) (5)The meaning of some English sentences. (My native language is not English, so I misunderstood the homework requirements for weeks 1 and 4.) I have learned a lot in this course, and it would be better if the course could have advice not only from classmates but also from instructors. :) Thanks to Fran Krause and the "California Institute of the Arts" planned this exciting class.

Great course! Great teacher! Fun, engaging and very useful. I've been using the first four courses from CalArts Game Development Specialization to develop a game idea I've had jotted down some time ago and I've found them to be the best thing I could've done to get my game going on the Narrative and Visual fronts. I've been doing the first four courses in the five course specialization as an unpaid observer, but after taking these courses, I'm signing up for the full specialization. If the quality holds true, the project driven fifth course will be amazing and well worth the money. The teacher in this particular course (Same teacher as in the Introduction to Game design class) is funny and entertaining to watch. Definitely goes the extra mile, doing interviews with great character designers and exploring their unique processes. Highly recommended!

As a complete beginner to character design (and game design in general), I found this course very easy to understand with many great assignments to reinforce learning! I especially liked watching other designers create characters from scratch - seeing and hearing about the process other designers use to turn their ideas into a character they can use in a game - even animated characters - was particularly helpful. After completing this course, I now have many different character designs I can potentially use in my own games, along with awesome feedback from peers to make my character designs even better! I recommend this course to anyone interested in getting into game design and development.

I liked the course, thanks to this I got the interest in learning the basics of drawing since I had never before tried to draw ... "at least as an adult", so I take a long time to face my fears.

But, I think the videos are too long. More than 5 or 8 minutes is already very long and makes you lose attention because it is more to see how a cartoonist, illustrator or character creator works and sometimes expresses something vague in the absence of a specific theme or objective in the idea that wants to transmit.

There was an extensive flow of activities and assignments that really helped spark the creative process and essentials to brainstorming effective, eye catching characters. Each week I learned how to develop certain areas of the character's traits or story. I loved the community and the peer guidance. It was truly a place where criticism was welcomed, and ideas were shared, and displayed thoughtfully. If I could take this class again, I would. I absolutely enjoyed every minute!