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Character design for 2D animation is very different to character designs for games, stop motion and 3D animation. Each industry has special restrictions based on the nature of the production stage of the feature, game or series.
A character designer has to take these restrictions into account to prevent production from being unnecessarily long or tedious.
This article covers good character design practices for beginners and is Part 01 in a three-part series of character design articles. You can find the other articles in the series here:
Where to start with 2D character design?
Before even starting to create, you have to know everything you can about the nature of the production and the character you are creating.
Take note of the following before starting:
- Production Art Style:
Every production has an art style that is determined early in development. An art style determines colour range, line style, shape use and artistic influence. It’s important to understand the art style properly to make sure that the production stays aesthetically cohesive in every way. Besides getting approval from your supervisor, it is also important to communicate frequently with the other art departments, as well as the animators and riggers.
- Importance of the Character:
It goes without saying that a character that appears more in a show or movie will need more in terms of their character design. A main character will need a full turnaround, a lipsync sheet, expression sheets, action poses, and maybe hands/feet sheets if it’s a cut-out production. A background character may only need 2 views with an open and closed mouth. How important a character is will also affect how appealing the design is. The main characters usually need to stick out more than any extras or background characters. Group characters in terms of importance to help assess how much work a character will need in terms of design creation.
- Format of the Production:
Is this character for a paperless, cut-out or hybrid animation? Paperless animation allows for more leniency with character design, as each frame is drawn by hand. cut-out has more restrictions as certain elements can make rigging more difficult or awkward. Hybrid is a bit of both - which parts are hand-drawn and which parts will be rigged?
Researching the character
Before creating a character, it’s important to do some research. This helps you create a character that has an accurate and cultivated appearance.
Consider the following:
- Who is the character?:
Can you learn more about the area they were born in? Or their culture? What are their hopes and fears? Good traits and bad traits? Take into account country/planet/world, culture, race, background, age, occupation and gender as this will affect things like clothing, hair, gestures and skin tone. Also think about what they eat and how they exercise/work, as this may affect body shape and muscle tone. Characters are unique individuals. The job of a character designer is to encapsulate this visually.
- The production’s art style:
Choose the production's art style or study the style that has been decided on. If choosing yourself, choose based on your skills, not on your aspirations. Study line style, texture and colour palettes.
- Mood:
Is the character in a more serious role, or are they comedic relief? Maybe both? Are you designing for a fun cartoon? Or a superhero series? Something artistic and metaphorical?
- Inspiration:
Are there images and resources you can find online that can help you build the look and feel of the character? Create a mood board or visual breakdown to help you understand the character better.
Once you’re ready to start designing your character, move on to Character Design 02: Creating the design.