A character designer's role is to put a drawing on the table, and in doing so give the team something visual to discuss. With an actual image of a pirate captain for everyone to look at—with some elements almost right and some wrong—a starting point is created, and the journey toward realizing the character can begin.
From this first drawing, or series of drawings, the designer will get feedback and will be able to go away and make more drawings.
There may well be hundreds of drawings, color studies, and designs produced over weeks, sometimes months, informed and influenced with frequent feedback and critiques.
The process may involve a single character designer, or twenty, but gradually the big, bad pirate captain will evolve.#6410•