Hi everyone! My name is Melissa K. Vassar-Belloso. I’m a hobbyist digital artist,photographer and writer with a strong passion for character design and creative education. I’m currently looking to pursue self-publishing my first book. the Character Designer’s Journal. It’s a book series that I hope will change how people look at the art of character design that takes a unique inside and out development approach.
Fictional characters are a huge part of a lot of projects we encounter everyday whether it’s a book, television show, comic book, manga or even a play just to name a few. Every creator wants to make a character that will be timeless and that’s why I began this project.
We live in a time where the creative book market is actually over-saturated with books that will tell you how to draw any kind of character in your head but a truly memorable character is more than just looks. Like people the characters we remember,relate to and latch onto are realistic with personalities, backstories, and quirks among other things. Character design is an art but as easy as it is to find a book to help you visualize your character there are very few that teach true character design.
As a freeform roleplayer, writer and general creative person I began to notice that shortage and began to develop ideas for the Character Designer’s Journal. My goal was to create a resource that would appeal to a wide range of creatives and teach the full spectrum of character design. The book will not only take a dynamic approach to visual design techniques but also delve into areas like cast creation, concept development, character profiling, and much more!
In addition to the main book the series has planned companion resources like an exercise workbook,body shape reference guide,resource disc, and pocket guide.
The project is currently being crowdfunded for the longer term on Patreon at:
There is also a Kickstarter for funding the graphics running until February 9,2018 at:
You can learn more about the project,patron benefits, goals and more on my site at http://haevenarts.com .
You can also follow me on Twitter for creative tweets and project updates via @themeinav .
Below is a small sampler of what will be in the book. Please have a read and I hope you’ll consider being part of a new way to approach character design! As a Patron you will not only be eligible for some awesome rewards once the book is published but you get to be part of the creative process as the book is being produced and even have a chance for your character to be in the book.