COSTUME DESIGN: EXPRESSION OF AGE
The Costume Design: Expression of Age lecture explores how costume design shapes character identity, emotion, and storytelling across film and television. Students will learn to design wardrobes that reflect a character’s personality, background, and life journey while supporting the visual language of the production. Throughout the lecture, you will explore how a character’s wardrobe evolves from childhood to adulthood, creating designs that are both relatable and memorable.
In addition to exploring design theory, students will develop practical skills in research, visual reference gathering, and translating narrative themes into costume concepts. Through guided analysis of professional costume design examples, you will gain insight into how thoughtful wardrobe choices enhance storytelling, worldbuilding, and audience connection.
COMING SOON
Gabby Zapata is an artist with over ten years of experience in the animation industry. Born in Los Angeles, Gabby has a multicultural background with her parents being from Mexico & Colombia. After being raised in various states in US & Mexico, she attended Ringling College of Art & Design and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts for Computer Animation.
She has had the opportunity to work with major studios such as Disney, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Paramount, and many more. Gabby specializes in Character Design, Costume Design, and Art Direction.
In addition to her animation industry career, she is also a children’s book illustrator, having worked on titles such as ”The Ofrenda That We Built”, “You Be Teacher”, and the Little Golden Book “Cinderella: A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”. Her next picture book, ”Mi Barrio Sings”, is set to be released in 2027.
Gabby has worked on feature films, television, 2D and 3D pipelines, adult and pre-k content, development, and mobile games, cultivating a versatile and thoughtful approach to design.
She has a passion for creating memorable and relatable characters by focusing on their costume design. She has taught private courses in the past learning about character design and is looking forward to giving back to the community.
You can find more of her work at gabbyzapata.com.
THE FACULTY
Prerequisites
This is an all-level class. In order to have a productive learning experience, students need the following:
Digital Drawing Software/Tools (Photoshop, Procreate, etc!).
Download PureRef (free!), which will be used heavily for collecting references.
Access to Discord to join The Art Club’s Discord community.
Who is this Lecture for?
The Costume Design: Expression of Age lectures introduces students how to think critically about what makes a character tick, storytelling with clothing, and how to properly research.
Pre-College Students – who want to learn about what goes into character costume design.
Current College Students – looking update their portfolio with how costume design is approached in the industry.
Professionals – seeking ways to polish up their existing work and reinforce techniques.
Hobbyists – who want to learn about storytelling through costume design.
LECTURE OUTCOMES
Master how to pull specific reference for your characters.
Apply design principles, anatomy, movement.
Critical thinking skills for designing for feature/television productions.
