Alright, now that you all have an idea of what the first project is going to be, we've decided to give a few guidelines and answer a few questions to help you out.

Note: ANYONE can participate in this. Prior participation in Dacademy events or forum registration is not required.

-It does not have to be a brand new character. If you have an old character you'd like to revisit or an unfinished design in your head, then feel free to use this opportunity to flesh things out.

-One month may seem like a long time to draw two characters, but we don't want you to just draw them. We want you to put thought and effort into designing them. Consider why they wear the clothing they do. Is it for practical purposes or design purposes? Is it really feasible for your female spell caster character to have gigantic boobs and heavy armor? Would a seasoned male warrior really run around without a shirt on just to show off his 4.2 million scars? Is their weapon really usable? If your character has had a traumatic and horrifying past in which their mother killed their father and then their father came back from the dead as an evil vampire zombie and ate their mother's face before impregnating their sister and casting them out of the kingdom then why does your character sheet have them as a perpetually happy optimist instead of a raving lunatic? Don't just give your characters ridiculous backstories or obnoxious clothing without considering how it will affect things. People often draw characters that look “neat” but are not in any way practical. Which is fine. I do it all the time. World of Warcraft is full of shit that no actual human, elf, cowman, or disfigure blue alien could possibly actually pick up and wield. Just be aware of what you're doing.

-DO NOT JUST SHOOT STRAIGHT FOR THE FINAL IMAGE. I can't stress this enough. This is a HUGE issue that I use to have, and that many other artists I know have had. Think of it this way: is it harder to draw a character in a dynamic image when their design is already set out or is it harder to draw them whenever you have to design the character at the same time that you're worrying about anatomy, composition, etc? Simplify the process. Get their “look” down with a design sheet first. This is not a project to just draw a character, it's a project to design them. Do a few different concept sketches, don't just settle for the first thing that you put down on paper. Do some head studies to get a feel for their personality. That way when you start on the final illustration, you already have your character created. It's just a matter of making the illustration look good at that point. Professional artists will often do half a dozen thumbnail images before they pick one that looks right to render further.

-USE REFERENCE. There is always some idiot going around screaming that real artists don't use reference. That idiot is probably never, ever going to make it as a professional artist. Most top concept artists and illustrators use reference. Just be aware of the difference between using reference and being a slave to it. If you can't draw a pose without copying it directly from a photo, you need to study more anatomy. However, if you're having a hard time figuring out how an arm or a leg should look from a certain angle, go on a reference search. If you need some costume ideas or help with facial structure, go get reference. As long as you're not copying it directly, it's a valuable learning tool.

Things to consider when designing your characters:
-Ethnicity (skintone, eye shape, etc)
-Weapon design
-Armor design (Note: It is typical in fantasy lore that the more magic-dependent a character is, the lower class of armor they must wear. It isn't very reasonable for a mage who must perform very complicated hand gestures and incantations to be burdened with plate armor, and it isn't likely that a warrior is going to be running around in cloth. You get the idea.)
-Hairstyle (Example: Is long, flowing hair that isn't held back practical for a close-range swordfighter?)
-Body type (Think of what they do all day. If they're a regular person who never works out, they probably aren't going to have the body of a supermodel or the muscles of the Terminator.)
-Body language

I'll update this as I answer more questions or think of more advice. Later this week I'll have links posted to several character tutorials online.