From sketches to 3D

Before you start modelling your characters it is good to sketch out what they are going to look like. It doesn't have to be a work of art but it's good to get your ideas down:

 Here is Ginger the Giraffe driving his go-kart. It was done in Windows Paint - no kidding.

Here is Ginger rendered in 3D. 

The various screens can be sketched out. They don't have to be in colour. Just get things in the right place. They are called "wireframes". They help you visualise where everything goes. Here is a wireframe sketch of the title screen:

And here is the finished screen for the Russian version: