Character designer Greg Baldwin, founder of Lost Bear Studios and co-founder of Creature Box, has spent two decades creating extraordinary characters across multiple industries, from Disney's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur to PlayStation's Ratchet & Clank. His journey into character design began in an unexpected way—through a chance encounter with Dungeons & Dragons that would shape his entire career.

Baldwin's path to becoming an artist wasn't straightforward. Initially dreaming of animation for feature films, he quickly realized he lacked the patience for repetitive drawing. The pivotal moment came when visiting a friend whose older brother was playing Dungeons & Dragons. "They were prepping their characters and he asked me to design his. In exchange, he gave me Iron Maiden albums and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comics," Baldwin recalls. "That's the moment becoming a character designer latched onto me; I wasn't interested in playing the game nearly as much as I wanted to be a part of creating it!"

This experience ignited Baldwin's passion for learning about the amazing artists behind his favorite comic books, toys, games, and films. Since then, he has remained fixated on character and worldbuilding, developing a unique approach to his craft that emphasizes the importance of daily sketching and maintaining what he calls a "secret sketchbook."

Baldwin considers sketching an essential part of his daily routine, comparing it to training at the gym for athletes. "Sketching before I start my workday and working in my sketchbook is essential for me to keep pushing myself as a designer," he explains. "I draw from life almost every day. Most importantly, I find that exploring new ideas, forms, and materials—anything that grabs my attention—helps me build a repository of elements I can use when creating new characters or designs."

The veteran artist emphasizes that being comfortable drawing as many things as possible allows him to focus on the design itself rather than getting bogged down with technical execution. "I think sketching and being in my sketchbook is the number one part of my practice that lets me focus on the design itself, unhindered," Baldwin notes. His most frequent subject is his dog, whose anatomy he now draws instinctively rather than relying on references.

Baldwin's sketching approach combines both planned and spontaneous elements. Lately, he has gravitated toward using more spontaneous and new ideas as a way to combat creative stagnation. "As artists we face a lot of hurdles. There is so much incredible content being made every day, and it can be hard to stay relevant or feel like it's possible to bring anything new to the table," he observes. His solution involves constantly pushing his comfort level and using the sketching process to try out numerous bad ideas before discovering good ones with minimal risk.

While Baldwin frequently returns to themes he's passionate about—monsters, zombies, and robots—he uses these familiar subjects as starting points for exploring new challenges. "If I want to focus on a unique shape language, a composition, a pose, or even an emotion, I can take a theme I'm comfortable with and use that as a starting point for the challenge I'm trying to work out," he explains. This approach allows him to concentrate on the actual creative challenge without being distracted by other aspects of the sketch.

Perhaps most intriguingly, Baldwin reveals his practice of keeping two separate sketchbooks—a strategy he recommends to every artist he meets. One contains sketches he wouldn't mind others seeing, while the other serves as his private creative sanctuary. "The truth is, I keep two sketchbooks, and I'd recommend this to any artist that I meet," Baldwin shares. "One is for the sketches I wouldn't mind somebody else flipping through, while the other is for my eyes only. It's a hot mess that's filled with terrible sketches, scrawls of illegible notes, and the occasional shopping list."

This secret sketchbook serves as what Baldwin calls his "safe place"—a book of free thoughts uninhibited by what anyone else might think of them. "I love having a place where I don't have to be performative; where I can fail miserably with no consequence," he explains. "If something amazing comes out of it, great! But I don't put that pressure on those sketches. It's simply a safe place to draw like a kid again and make mistakes to my heart's content."

Baldwin's sketching process is notably organic, typically beginning with a subject or pose in mind but quickly evolving beyond the initial concept. "Almost immediately I think, 'If it comes too easily, it's probably been done before,'" he notes. This self-awareness drives him to explore further, seeking the least obvious juxtapositions to create something unexpected yet familiar.

Over the years, Baldwin has noticed his style shifting toward more organic, cleaner forms and shapes, focusing on what makes something iconic and relatable. This evolution was influenced by a conversation with legendary animator Chuck Jones, who told him that while a budding artist might spend extensive effort drawing every wrinkle on a finger, a seasoned artist could convey the same information with a single line. This concept has become Baldwin's endless pursuit: "How can I say more with less?"

Worldbuilding and storytelling remain central to Baldwin's work, with every sketch incorporating backstory and implied history. This approach stems from his video game design experience, where visual communication was crucial for conveying information to players without dialogue or cutscenes. "As an artist, these aspects are exactly what we're acting out in our heads as we get to know our surroundings or the character we're designing," he explains.

Baldwin's advice for new artists centers on consistency and accessibility rather than perfection. He advocates for practicing life drawing for just five minutes daily—a commitment he describes as having "no excuses" since anyone can sketch nearby objects in that timeframe. "At first it may feel awkward and meaningless, but over the course of a year or five, it will vastly improve your skills," he promises. This practice not only enhances technical abilities but also cultivates appreciation for unexpected details in everyday objects.

Regarding tools and materials, Baldwin emphasizes function over form. "Sketchbooks can be anything from fancy, beautifully bound books of premium paper to simple Post-it notes or a collection of paper scraps," he notes, often sketching digitally and saving work in hidden computer or iPad folders. The key principle is comfort and accessibility: "The best-case scenario is that the medium itself disappears, leaving just you and your sketches fighting the good fight."

Baldwin's philosophy ultimately centers on the transformative power of consistent practice and fearless experimentation. His secret sketchbook concept offers artists permission to fail, explore, and rediscover the joy of drawing without judgment—a practice that has sustained his successful career across multiple creative industries for over two decades.