Delicious in Dungeon - Fundamentals of Character Design

Regarding Marcille's race and her being a walking spoiler, one of my favorite aspects of that is how she is the reader's first introduction to elves. In her rounded ears being the first characteristic we see, it not only makes her seem like the "normal", but makes the canaries feel all the more alien and dangerous when they're introduced. Plus, given how few elves are on The Island naturally, it's no wonder that none of her companions even suspected she could be a half elf.

As an artist, I am FLOORED by this artist's mastery of anatomy and body shapes, and the ease with which she can jump from one to another and blend characters races while still keeping them immediatly recognizable. Amazing.

Side note but Izutsumi has to be the best catgirl character ever. Ryoko Kui answers the age old question of "what if a girl was a cat?" with "then... she'd be a cat???" and it just... works.

I think the part where laios' build is attributed more to diet and lifestyle than genetic predisposition needs to be a little more cognizant that both he and Falin are Big, even for Tallmen/Humans. It's something I appreciate because a lot of the times artists default for showing a big stocky older brother but have their sister be a tiny waifish thing. Not to say it's unrealistic, but in dunmesh it's refreshing.

"Orcs aren't conventionally attractive"
Yes, but they are absolutely the cutest to me <3

Something that's always stayed with me is a guy that said he has a lazy eye, and that there's very few representations for them in fiction, so he really appreciates Mithrun for having one while still being cool and hot

In my opinion we needed even more Senshi fan service shots

when you see the author's notes between chapters you can see how she is very passionate about this manga
dungeon meshi is getting an adaptation and I can't wait for it

I'm still blown away by Kui's design process, going so far as to make studies of eyes and noses (ref 6:42) so every character maximizes recognizability without extreme exaggeration or making them difficult to draw repeatedly on the page. The bonus art she does where characters are drawn in modern, or each others' clothes, or even as different races, really drives home how strong this careful selection of features is.
It's a remarkable talent.

I feel like the appeal of practical, natural, and realistic armor and outfits in medieval fantasy stories is massively underrated, especially in manga and anime. I really appreciate styles like this

Dungeon meshi has always been groundbreaking in it's representation and character design. I'm so happy to see you talking about it!

Yeh i decided to start reading this manga.
I was like eating monsters cant be that great of a concept right?
But i gave it a shot cus I like DND.

AND HOLY SHIT THE DETAILS OF THIS WOMAN's DRAWINGS character design! WORLD BUILDING! INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS! and the explorations of VARYING RACES AND BODY TYPES!
It was so much fucking variety! Plus the in world explanations of why dungeons exist in the first place.

This woman is genius and is talented in so many ways that it only leaves me with adoration and immeasurable envy!

As an aspiring character designer this video is REALLY helpful, I myself noticed that a lot of my characters have similar body types, I will try to study a wider variety of body types to use for my designs now

As a Professor of Art at a University i am really glad you talked about diversity in design, especially as it refers to race. One way i teach it is, These are the basic proportions of the face, What makes a face unique and memorable are the ways it differs from this, not the idea that it fits this exactly. Great video all around and a great message given on design on top of that.

I would assume Marcille's sleeves are stitched so that she can store things inside and the stitching keeps them from falling out.
Also I hope the upcoming anime adaptation respects and loves the diversity of body types just as much as the manga (I'm just thinking of how anime adaptations will slim down bodies when it comes to female characters).

I've been worried about the adaptation since I belive the story only starts to shine later in the manga . However the character and monster design is something I hadn't considered and I'm sure Trigger will be able to recreate the style. Thanks to you I am now more hopeful to the adaptation bringing the series to a new audience since I belive it deserves a way larger fanbase.

I've fallen in love with this series.
The realism, unique designs, simple but effective plot are excellent and excel.
The incredibly effective usage of character design for storytelling is rarely seen at this level, and is so appreciated.

I binged the series in 2 days, chapter after chapter. Excellent video, very well constructed, great editing.

I know this wasn't a focus in the video, nor did it need to be considering the videos primary messge
but I love additionally how Laois group isn't strong. They're not weak, but instead incredibly Capable.
They're knowledge on Monsters (Which are amazing, never seen such well designed Monsters) and effective means of taking them down is fun to read, and causes many a hilarious or emotional moment

A standout in terms of Monster Design, The living armour. They introduced, and I'm like how the hell are they gonna eat these?
They're snails, mollusks or whatever is applicable. They GROW armour shaped bodies, They work together. Hermaphrodites, The best armour mates, the fact they hold hands, it's great
So good, the ideas and design.

I personally relate to Chilchuck because I too am short. This manga has taught me a lot about character design, can't wait to see the anime

You know the author puts lots of effort in their characters if all their eyes/ nose shape/mouth/ cheek shape/ body shape look different.

I haven't been much into anime/manga for decades now, but I occasionally check out manga and when I read Dungeon Meshi I was FLOORED. The character sketches were a marvelous peek into the mangaka's worth ethic: character designs are a dime-a-dozen online, and high quality manga can trick readers into thinking it just "came out like that". Those "sketches" show so much love for the whole process of making a comic, bridging that gap.

Since I read the manga casually, I enjoyed listening to this thorough examination. I liked the point about switching-clothes because it's a fun way to test one's own design stagnation. The concepts presented here are all practical ways to improve for any skill level through the lens of a fantastic manga. Really brilliant.