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Watson-Gupfill Publications \ /
‘M New y°"'k Introduction by G|en K€Gn€
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Dedicated to my wile, Jenniter, tor all her endless support and love. And to our lour silly girls:
Alexis, Emma and Ellie—-you all made
it hard toworkon this book butwithoutyou nothing would beworthwhile.
Special thanlzs to my best lriend and business partner, Rob Carley, who wrote and illustrated
chapter seven because he can draw
strange, saary creatures way better than I can. Thanl-cs, too, to Paul Conrad, another good lriend
who colored the cover image as well as the
color models and "style" images and provided excellent guidance; the incredible and inspirational
Glen Keane, who wrote the Introduction
while handling a busy schedule directing a major lilm; and the awesome contributions lrom the
masters ol their trade: Butch Hartman, J. Scott
Campbell, THE Jack Davis, Peter de Séve, Bill Amend, and Marlz Henn.
Thanks also to my editors at WatsonGuptill, Jacqueline Ching and Stephen Brewer, to the at Mada
Design, lnc., and to
my brother Tony, sister Cami, and my mom and dad, Jim and Cori Crismon.
First published in 2006 by WatsonGuptill Publications,
Crown Publishing Group, a division at Random House lnc., New York
www.crownpublishing.com
www.watsonguptil|.com
Senior Acquisitions Editor: Jacqueline Ching
Senior Developmental Editor: Stephen Brewer
Designer. Mada Design
Senior Production Manager. Hector Campbell
Text and illustrations copyright © 2006 Tom Bancrolt
Library oi Congress Control Number: 2005028462
Library ol Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bancrolt, Tom.
Creating characters with personality / by Tom Banaolt ; introduction by Glen Keane.
p. cm.
ISBN-l 3: 978-0-8230-2349-3
ISBN 08230-2349-4
1. Characters and characteristics in art. 2. Graphic arts—Technique. I. Title.
NC825.C43B36 2006
74l .6—ClC22
2005028462
All rights reserved.
PrintedinChina
789l0/l4l3l2
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Trtti N\!»\CvlC 0? Crt/xIRACT€I2 I>€$\6t\\
Creating characters has never been easy For me. The designs don't give themselves up without
a struggle; there are no tonnulas For a quick and easy To design a character I do hundreds
oi drawings, exploring and waiting tor that moment oi recognition when I can see the lace ol
the character I am searching For staring back at me. That is the magic moment I am always
working to achieve.
I remember the prooess oi tinding the Beast tor Beauty and the Beast. What would he
look like? I had done a myriad oi designs and looked at many other artists’ versions as well.
Any one ol the designs could have been an acceptable Beast—but I iust knew it wasn't the Beast
who "lived and breathed" in our story. My walls were covered with pictures ol animals oi
every sort. Lions, bears, tigers, gorillas, mandrills, and wolves. I had one storyboard that was
Filled with nothing but homs: some that twisted, some that spiraled, short ones, curved ones. I
had countless close-ups ol eyes, nostrils, and teeth. For months I drew combinations ol these
elements—strange, hybrid creatures with every permutation oi hom, tooth, and lacial ieature
imaginable—but I never achieved that satislying ”Ah-ha!” moment.
Then one day an animator on my team asked me, "So M'iat’s the Beast gonna look
like?” He stood behind me looking over my shoulder as I sketched, and I explained that I liked
the sadness oi the butialo head, the sottness oi the lion's mane, and the Ferocious muzzle oi the
wild boar. I continued condensing my room lull ol relerence photos into one cohesive drawing
...and the Beast suddenly appeared. "That's Him!" It was as it he had always existed, and I
was linally able to coax him onto my paper.
This kind ol search is personal and intense, so much so that the characters we create
seem truly to live and breathe in our imagination. One oi the great rewards ol our cralt is
knowing that the close attachment we leel to our dwaracters will be shared by the thousands
who will believe in them as well. Designing Cl‘lOt'OCl8t'S is a magical process, and it's wonderlul
to have this book in our hands—a book, long overdue, that iinally explores our cralt in-depth.
Enjoy.
Glen Keane
Supervising Animator/ Director
Walt Disney Feature Animation

1/_.
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Chapter <>ne
Wl1atDoesAChanacterDesignerDoAllDay?
Two Kinds at Character Designers
Where to Begin
Imagining the Characters
Character Hierarchy
(}h3p'(,CP TWO
Let's Start Designing Characters!
The Meat, Potatoes, and Veggies ol Character Design
Stwpe
Size
Variance
Begin with the Basic Shapes
Doggy Do!
Chapter Three
Creating Appealing Character Drawings
Start with a Circle—Again?
Tuming Your Character in 3-D
Pushing Your Design
Chapter Four
Drawing (Beautiful) Women
Proportions
Curves and Rhythm
lilts
Faces and Eyes
Hairstyles and Clothing

Ohapter five
Four legs: A Whole Different Animal
Choose the Nature at Your Beast
importance oi Anatomy
Cuteness Factor
Chflplrfif‘ STX
look Your Age!
Babies
Children
Teens
Adults
Older People
Ohapter seven
Monsters, Creatures, And Personalities?
Creature Questions
Anatomy 101
Shake and Bake
Let’s Give ‘Em a Hand
Cyborg A-Go-Go
I'm Not Dead Yet
Exploring a Design
Miscellaneous Fun Stull
Chapter Eight,
Groupings, or Creating the Cast
Variety ls the Spice ol Lile
It Takes Two
Ohapter Nine
Putting ltAll Together: Pose, Color, and Style
Pose and Emote!
The Eyes Have lt
Go with the Flow
Color Personality
Rounding Out the Cast
We

, ,,» '7.
When lwasgrowing up, I boughteveryhow-toartreierenoebooklcouldgetmyhandson, taking iton
iaiththattheauthors
were the best oi the best in the iields they were writing about. Aiter all, they wrote the book on
the subject, right? Fast-iorward to
today. Now I amtheonewritinga book, and I startthisbookwithonedisclaimer: I'm
notthebestwriteron thesubjectoicharacter
design. I'm just the guy who wrote this book about creating characters. So take it irom me: My
notes and suggestions are not
hard-and-iast rules; they don't point you to the only way to design characters. They simply
represent one artist's views on
character design.
V‘/hy a book solely devoted to the subject oi dwaracter design? When asked to design characters
ior dmerent projects, I
usually start by researching the subject in my still-growing art reierence library. Long ago I
discovered that I didn't own one book
on character design, though I had been designing characters ior most oi my career. That's because
there is no such book. There
are chapters on character design in most all oi the better books on subjects like animation and
cartooning and illustration, but to
my knowledge, until now, not one book has been entirely devoted to the subject—a surprising
omission, given the critical
importance oi good character design.
Character design is used in every ieature iilm that has imaginary, nonhuman actors in it, and also in
some iilms starring
real, live human beings. In iact, character design is one oi the iirst steps on the road to creating the
visuals ior most all iorms oi
entertainment. The most obvious places where you'll iind character designers are the traditional
animated television and ieature
iilm studios. But in addition, character designers at EFX iilm studios design creatures ior many oi
the live action Films you see
Character designers work on video games and comic books, and animators oi computer-animated
iilms begin with traditional
drawings oi their dwaracters beiore modeling them in three dimensions. Character design also
appears on the intemet, in
corporate iaons, in illustrations ior children's books, and in many other
Vt/hen I satdown to write, I asked myseli some key questions:
Q Is there more to the subject than would iill a iew pages in an animation book? Yes, there
detinitely is!
° Do more than just a iew specmc, niche-market artists need to know or would be interested in
leaming more about character
design? You bet!
' Could I bring something to the subject irom the point oi view oi an individual with many years oi
experience in the ieature
animation iield? Yes, again.
' And what about My style is similar to a Disney style, because I spent so many years there. But I
enjoy drawing in dmerent
styles: Manga style, video game style, comic book style. The point is, don't get too caught up in the
style oi any given drawing
you'll see in these pages. This book is not about style but about the principles behind the design.
It's about the thought process
behind the character design choices you will make, the design aspects that go into a strong design,
and, most important, haw
to iniuse your designs with personality. These principles apply to any style.
I think I've addressed all these points in this book. I leamed a lot in the writing oi it, and I hope
you'll leam something
irom it, too. Aiter all, as someone great once said, "The moment you stop leaming, you start
dying."
Tom Bancroit

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liwereissomeihinginourcrealivemindsiliairespondsio
seeingsaneorievisuallyiaddelliesanieprablansvehavesimggledwifli.Ibelievelliisisfliebeslwayloranisisi
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TliaYswl1yl'mgoingbgiveyoudmwingassignmenis
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THE ASSlGNMENT5
Tl'il'OJ§'KX!l ihis bookwe will work iogefheron assignments in Wl'llCl'l we create ll‘i8 characters
loran imaginary animaied Film, a Western. I'll
beginwiihabrielslorysynopsisandbiograpliiesoilliecliaraclersloriliisimaginarylilmonpage22.
Byllieendohlweboalgwewillliave
alirsipassollhemaindwaradersin lulloalor.
A$$i§\l\‘\0I\f One: Film Synopsis pages 22-23
Assig'\n'iorli Nvac The Rough Clvarader Lineup page 39
Assigvnent Three: Designing Dillon pages 46-47
Assignment Four: Desigiing Polly pages 7a-79
Assigvnonf Five: Designing Carrots and Rulliie pages 92-93
Assignment Six: Designing Poll)/s mom page 107
CREATOR PROHLES
Ihavealsaaslcedsorneaiihernosflaleniedbadasinfiiefieldaldiaaclerdesigibwniedescnpfimsolhawiheyv
wxfidesign Dillon,il\e
cowboy lwero oi our imaginary lilm. These anisis worlc in comic strips, ielevision animaiion, lecture
Film animation, comic books, computer
animaiian,and humorous illusfraiion,andIl\eyl\aveaddressedil\edesign0lilieDillor1 charader with
Ilieir parficularsiyles in mind. Tlleirwork
lwerewil|
enableyouiaseeiusil\awwideavariefyold"ioioesyou'l\avewl\enyaudesignad\or0dei'yaursell,andyou'
l|ge¢ll\eadded
be\'\emoifipsai\dad~/ioeirorrisuneailliemasiersinilieirlield.
Hanman pages24—25
Humorous lllusImlian,JackDavis poges48-49
Comic $h"p$,BillAmend pages62—63
Feah.|mAnimalian,MarkHenn pages8O-81
CGAnimalion,PeierDeSéve pages94-95
COl'I\i¢B00|($,.l.$ooflCnmpbell pagesi22-l23

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7

WHAT DOES A CHARACTER

DE$|GNER D0 A|.|. DAY?
What is a character designer? Here's the short answer: A character designer is a
traditional artist who creates original drawings oi characters tor the visual media. The
character designer's goal is to create characters that iultill the needs oi the script, scene,
game, or story and suit the storyline. His or her work might appear in comic strips, television
animation, Feature Film animation, comic l:>ooks, computer animation, and humorous
illustration. A character designer's counterpart in live-action Films would be the casting
director. In live action, the casting director meets with the director, then auditions actor otter
actor to Find just the right "Face" and pertormance style required tor each role. As a matter
oi tact, an accomplished character designer is also part actor, since a character will seem
stilt unless the artist draws the Figure in a way that expresses a sense at personality.
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As a character designer, you will be asked to design in one oi two ways.
lavea blank pieceoipaper. Yheyareaskedtocreate
many diilerent variations at a dwaracler with little guidance as to what the character will
ultimately be. So, this iob requires as mudw research as it does drawing. The point is to leam
anything that's going to make the character Feel real and strengthen his or her personality. I olten
go through books and go online, looking at costuming, ethnic iniluences, cultural references,
and anatomy. Blue sky designers are in part story people and in part extremely creative,
talented artists. They tend to have distinctive styles, have a hard time working in other styles, are
not necessarily concemed with consistency, and usually iind it dmicult to draw a character the
same way twice. Blue sky designers are the first people to be called in tor major proiects, and
they produce many, many inspiring designs—many oiwhich, unfortunately, will not be used.
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CHAPTER ONE - WHAT DOES A CHARACTER DESIGNER DO AU. DAY?

CHARACTER POL t5HEtZ€> usuallyworkoltsketches thatblue sky artists have

created, orthey redetinean existing character. Theytend notto havea distinctive style butpride
themselves on their ability to replicate other styles while still being able to make a character their
own. These artists are great at strengthening an existing drawing, creating consistent
orthographic designs oi the character, and taking a character and bringing it to lite through
poses and expressions. More than likely, the director ol a project will like parts at three or Four
drawingsthata blueskydesignercreates. Thedirectorwill then aska polishertocome in and
linish the iob by putting a cohesive design A polisher does so by creating additional
expression and posing sheets at the character, also called "model sheets." An expression sheet
shows the character tram diiterent angles, in ditterent poses and with various expressions. Vtfith
an expression sheet in hand, a tollow-up artist will know what a character looks like tram all
views and in diiterent moods.
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Typically, artists are betteratone approadw than the other. In these descriptions you will probably
recognize which type at artist you are: blue sky artist or polisher. I think that the periect character
designer has elements at both types, though a designer like this tends to be a rare breed.
all
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CHAPTER ONE - WHAT DOES A CHARACTER DESIGNER DO ALL DAY?

\\iri€\2€ To Béétm
lmogineyou area characterdesignerwhds been hired toworkon a leature iilm Fora maior
animation studio. The directors oi the iilm (there always seem to be at least two, for some
reason) have introduced themselves and have pitched the general idea oi the Film. In o pitch,
the directors simply tell the story to you—usually with the aid oi plenty oi drawings and
character designs. After you have laughed, d1uckled, and nodded your head
through theirnarration oFthestory,yourlirststep istogobacktoyourdeskand readthescript!
Then,you'reon. Youriob istocreatethecharacterslortheiilm.
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Your first task is just to sit and think. Think about the descriptions otyour characters, the directors’
input, and the reason each character is in the story. Sometimes you'll do your thinking on paper
as mud1 as in your head. Onoeyou havethepersonalitiesoithecharacters in your head, you
will knowthedirection totokewhen you sitdown todrawthern.
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i
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Belore you put pencil to paper, here are some questions you should ask yourselii
' \Nhat is the character's place in the Film? (hero, villain, comic loil or sidekick, heroine, etc.)
Q \/Vhat is the charactei’s personality? (content, dyslunctional, passionate, loving, etc.)
' Are there plot points within the storyline that aitecl the design? (Dumbo's big ears; Pinocchio
small nose, which becomes long; Shrek’s ugliness, etc.) , 4.1‘
I
This iniormation will help you to start iormulaling your "boundaries." Ii the _’ ' ~ If)
hero isasomewhatshy intravertwhoneedstoleamhowtocomeoutolhisshell ?' ~
ta be able to win the day and the girl, you will be wasting your time drawing
h. _ . . . .
im as a large-chested, muscular, good looking guy, nght? This is one ' , I ;
boundary. i don't want to say mm shouldn't think beyond the I’ »
don twanttodo! The character's description in the scnptwill even _ .
hel to know what sha _ ,,_ ' ‘V M T T .
PW“ "°"°“ » it 0K 1;.» .
should start with in your design. ' l u l , . _
Maybeyourherowillbeheavyset ‘ " w
boundanes, |ust that sometimes il’s good to establish what you
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when you start creating him. It
thal’s the case, you'll be
emphasizing round lines and
contours, as well as short legs
and a small or nonexistent
neck, which will accentuate J. -
the large shape oi the torso.
Go to movies, look at
magazines, spend time on
the Net. Using these
resources, you'll find a
wealth of images of all
kinds of people and
clothing. You'll be
inspired to make your
characters as Fresh and
original as possible.
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Another thing you will want to establish with the directors beiore you start drawing is the
hierarchy oi the cast oi characters. In the world oi character design, character hierarchy reiers
to the dmerent levels oi simplicity, or realism, you create ior your individual characters, based
largely upon each charactefs role and iunction in the story. Here are six main categories oi
character design.
Iconic
Extremely simple, almost graphic. Very stylized
but not very expressive. Usually the eyes are orbs,
without pupils oi any kind. (Early Mickey Mouse
and Hello Kitty are examples.)
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ti \ Usually very stylized, but more expressive in iacial
1' '1 y ieatures than iconic characters are. This style is oiten
“ used on TV and on the Web. (Fred Flintstone, Sonic
1‘ the Hedgehog, and Dexter's Lab)
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CHAPTER ONE ' WHAT DOES A CHARACTER DESIGNER DO ALL DAY?

Broad
Much moreexpressivethon thelirsttwostyles; notdesignediorsubtle
octing but For brood, oortoony tokes. These choroders usuolly hove big
eyes ond mouths becouse of the extreme expressions needed lor humor.
(The wolf in Tex Avery cartoons, Roger Rabbit)
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Doesnotconveythebroodvisuol humoroltheobovechoroctersbut
con ochieve their humor through octing and dialogue. The lociol
onotomy is less brood as well. Most Disney sidekicks ore ct this level ol
design. They need to crock jokes, butwill also usuolly need to be subtle
in their octing of some point in the lilm. (Nemo, Mushu, and Kronk)
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Lead character
Very realistic in Facial expressions, acting, and anatomy. The audience
needstoconnectwiththesecharaders,sotheymustbeabletoemotelike
we do. To do this, they need to have more realistic proportions and
expressive Faces. (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Moses lrom Prince ofEygpt)
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The highest level on the realism scale, iust short oi
photorealism but still with some caricature in the design.
Strong-eiiects Film monsters, comic-book characters, and
some computer-graphics animated Film characters lall in this
realm. (The Princess in Shnek, most comic-book characters)
m CHAPTER ONE ' WHAT DOES A CHARACTER DESIGNER DO ALL DAY?

In most Films you will have between two and tour oi these six levels. let's use Shrelc as an
example: Though this is a very
realistic Film, I would say Donkey is on the Comedy Reliet level, Shrek is in the Lead Character
level, and the Princess is
lully on the Lead Character level. Meanwhile, the Man character is on the Iconic level. In a Film
dominated
by more realistically drawn characters, Gingerbread Man introduces some variety and stid<s out
because ol his llat,
simple design.
Usually, a character on one end oi the hierarchy spectrum (loonic or Simple) doesn't look right
next to one on
the other end oi the spectrum (e.g., Lead Character), as in Figure A A good example oi this is Snow
White and the
Seven Dwarfi. The Film is a classic, but let's lace it, the dwarfs look odd next to Snow Vt/hite. Now
you know why. Figure
B is an example containing figures much closer together on the character-hierarchy ladder. I think
this works better.
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As I discuss on page 11, throughout this book we're going to work on
assignments in which we create an imaginary film. Here's a synopsis and
character bios. Read this info and start thinking about how these charactesr will
fit into the film and how, based on these descriptions, you might illustrate them.
Film Synopsis
It's 1815, and a small Old West town called Smithville has a secret: According to
an age-old legend, hundreds of years ago thieves raided the Mayan treasures of
Mexico and barely escaped with their lives. The thieves created a labyrinth of
tunnels in the isolated spot where Smithville now stands. What they did not
realize is that they had been cursed, and soon they all perished.
The thieves left a hidden map leading to the location of the riches. Now,
years later, Smithville is almost a ghost town and is on the verge of disappearing.
The ancient legend has long been forgotten or ignored, except by Dillon, son of
the local panhandler. Dillon believes the ancient stories and has decided to find
the treasure in order to save the little town he loves.
Dillon is lazy, but he has a pure heart and an incredible natural gift for gun-
slinging, though he doesn't use his gift much, since it tires him out. The only
thing that really gets Dillon's heart racing is Polly, the beautiful, red-haired
daughter of the town's beautician.
Unfortunately, Polly is betrothed to the town's sheriff, Brent Baxley, a
dashing English gentleman whose heart is black and whose intentions are cruel.
Polly has no knowledge of this side of Brent. In the end it becomes a race
between Dillon and Brent to find the lost Mayan treasure. They compete for the
heart of Polly and to save the town as they explore the maze of tunnels studded
with booby traps.

Cast of characters
Dillon The lazy, but brave, hero. He is tall and thin, with blond hair and dirty, ragged cowboy
clothes. His clothes and hat all should look a mite too big for him, since they are hand-me-
downs from his out-of-luck father. He has a natural ability to be a gunslinger, but he never
practices. I-‘ew people know that he could be the best there ever was, if he had any motivation
in him. Even with his lack of gumption, Dillon is very likable, as he has a heart of gold, cares
for the town and all the people in it, and treats his best friend, his horse, like a brother. If he
could ever muster some motivation, he could win Polly's heart and become mayor of the town
he loves.
Polly A beautiful, red-haired country girl. She is part tomboy, part lady, but all firecracker! She
has all the motivation that Dillon lacks. She just can't see herself with someone without a goal
in life. She enjoys the company and exotic British ways of the town sheriff, but she has a
strange feeling in her soul that something about him isn't right. Her mother is owner of the
always empty beauty parlor in town.
Brent The sheriff gone wrong. He is a dark-haired dapper dresser from England. Why he came
to this small town is a mystery to all, though he claims it is for the beautiful nearby hills and
how they help his disposition. He maintains a pleasant demeanor, but when people aren't
around, he enjoys being cruel to animals, especially to Polly's little dog, who hates him.
Ruthie Polly's loyal but grumpy Shiatzu dog. She senses Brent's true motives and bites him
often. She likes Dillon, so much so that she is jealous of Polly whenever she and Dillon are
together. A strange love triangle ensues, but it is only in Ruthie's head.
Carrots Dillon's horse, named after his addiction: carrots. He eats so many of them that he
has an orange tint to his coat, which makes him stand out in the horse crowd. Thanks to his
carrot habit, he also has incredible vision. He is a lean stallion, but, like his master, is not very
motivated. Dillon and Carrots are lifelong best friends, though they don't always agree.
Grit The very muscular—and muscle-headed—deputy of the sheriff. Just as cruel as Brent but
far less coy about it. A very intimidating guy.
A few townspeople These include Polly's beautician mom, Dillon's hobo dad, a bartender,
a cook, and a washed-up cabaret chanteuse who now does Old West-style dinner theater.

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fxoriue/1v ANIMATION
Throughout this book we'll be working together to create the cast of an animated
film, a western. I have also asked leaders from various fields of character design
to provide a design for Dillon, the cowboy hero of our imaginary film.
Butclil-lartmamcreatorandexecutiveprocuoeroff/re Fair/yOob/parencsand
Dav/1y Phantom
Michigw1natNe8utchHamnw1rawnbeswantingtodeateca'toonsasfarback
askinda'gartal.“ldrewapicwmofmyteacherandshekeptmwngaboutit.l
realizedartwasagoodwaytogetattentionandlwashooked,"hesays.
Hartman pursued drawing through high school then attended California
lnstiwteoftreArtstoswdyanhnation.Hewentontowon<formanyofthetop
animation stuoflos, incluofing Don Bluth, Marvel Procuctions, Hanna B3I1D8l'31 Anrblin
Television, and Nickelodeon. Wnileat Nickelodeon, hecreated, wrote, directed, and
was executive prodaoer of the award-winning series The Fairly Odo/parents and
morerecentlytheacclaimedsei'iesDannyP/aa~r:om.ButchHartman lives inLos
Angeleswithhiswifeandtwodaughters.
H/5 T/1OUG%fi'5 ON DILLON
Designing characters has always been my first love. Qtarting with a blank page and
coming ip with something fiom nothing is a blast. The challenging thing is making the
oharacterappeartohave“life"andathoughtprooess,eventhoughlt'snothingmore
thanapencilsketch. |nthedesignofDfllonldecidedthatlhadtooomeupwitha
g1ytheaudienoewwldmallymspondto.|hadtogettl'eaudienoetolikehimas
theywouldanygoodhero.1hat'swhatcharacterdesignisallabout.Notjustmaking
interesting crawings, but creating great characters.
lnthecharacterdesignofC7ilion,theoovi/ooypartwaseasy. ldrewhis hair
bngandunkzrptbecausethat‘strewaylfigwedoowboyspmbabwmmthdrhair.
Notn-uchofachanoetogettothebarbershop. He'salsoagoodguywhodoesn't
reallywanttonnanyoody,solgavehhnapopgm.$onethingfi1nny.fleexposed
stomachgivesthesensetnathdsprobablytoolazytogetashirtthatftshimor
issimplytoolazytopullitdownalltheway.The“toobig"hataddstotheunkempt
Feeling. The small Feet help to offset the giant hat and also give that “stylized”
feeling that I love in a good design.

vufoh Hakfman
ekeafokaaldexeeufivepkodnneekolflvefaiklybddpakaflx
andOamy?han1oA\
Getting Dillon's personality to come across took a bit more work. I know he's
lazy and goofy, but he still has to look like the hero of the story. The gooFy smile
and big eyes really make For an inviting expression that helps to draw you into the
character. And that's the main thing. Let's like this guy! Let's see more of him!
That's the obiective: A great character that the audience will root For time and time
again. Hopefully, I was successful.
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DESIGNING CHARACTERS!
As soon as someone says cartooning, does the line artist in you shut alt? It
shouldn't, but have you ever seen talented, realistic-style illustrators draw cartoon
characters? Olten, the result is a blobby, undelined, expressionless Figure. Why?
Because these artists slough oh‘ and don't apply all ol the design and illustration concepts
they would use in a realistic, rendered illustration. What many artists don't realize is that
good cartoon illustration requires as much talent as realistic painting. As you'll see,
though, the secret to creating a good cartoon is knowing when to stop "working" a
drawing, and sometimes that can be harder to do than to continue , R
adding details.
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Belore we jump into designing our first character, let's go aver some visual design basics that
we will apply to our dwanacter designs. Shape, Size, and Variance are the basic elements at
character design, what I like to oall the “meat, potatoes, and veggies.” They are the Foundation
ol your design in its most basic lorrn. Remember, though, that these are just a few at many
design rulesoroonoeptsthatwill helpyoucreatea strongercharacterdesign. Themoreyou
leam, the stronger your drawings will be.
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This isthemeat. Istheheadacirdeorasquare?Theoverall shapewill speaklorthechanactet’s
personolityevenbetoreheorsheuttersaword. Also, knawinghowtobneakyourcharocter
into basic shapes is key to recreating thatsame design From diitevent angles and poses.
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CHAPTER TWO ' LET'S START DESIGNING CHARACTERS!

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. . . while combining shapes makes more complex characters. Some slightly more com
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characters will be made up ol altered shapes; that is, a shape composed lrom multiple shapes.
Being able to recognize a shape's origin will help you re-create the character. The example
below begins with (l ) a basic oval shape as its base, but (2) slices oil the lront third at an angle
tocreaieallatsurlaae. Next, (3)asquareshapewithallattenedtriangleonthebottom is
and varied as the details are added. Voila!
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characters. All are comprised
only at basic shapesorvariations
at them. Even with no Facial
details, expressions, clothing, or
posing,youcan starttoseesome
personality coming through. This
is why the "almighty shape" is the
lirst thing you need to think ol
when starting your character
design. Remember, tao, thateadw
at these designs can be
rearranged into an endless
number at dilterent character
designs.
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into simple It you can ligure out what the
shapes are, then you can draw any character
from any angle, even ityou haven't drawn the
character trom that angle betore! This, by
the way, is the basic idea behind any
animation drawing. Because at the
great number at drawings involved in
animation, an animator needs to be
able to slcetch out even the mast
complex characters quickly. The
animator then checks to see it a
particular movement the animated _ f
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everythinglooksgood,thentheanimator . ll /
adds the details. This should
apply ta all tonns oi character drawing. An I -- ;. ._
artist should be able to use basic shapes to Q/’/ T”
sketch quickly, evaluate the outcome, and ;"~"- , ' " . ,
be willing to abandon a drawing that is 7", \_ u
notwarldng betorecommitting toomuch ,l
time to details and rendering. T
E CHAPTER TWO - LET'S START DESIGNING CHARACTERS!
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SHAPE SVMBOLISM
When you begin to think about your characters, it’s always good to ask yourselt questions like:
Hawoldaretl-tey?Whendidtheylive,orwheredotheylivenow?Aretheyrichorpoor?
Genius or Hero or comic reliet?
Remember, base your questions about the character you're designing on any
descriptions you may tind in the script or in a client's requests. Once you've come to some
decisions on the direction you need to go with your design, the next step is understanding the
power oi the almighty shape! Circles, triangles, and squares! Oh my!
These basic shapes will give you the visual cues you need to describe your characters.
They become the toundation tor your characters’ personality traits and overall attitudes. Vt/nth
that said, let's take a look at some ideas about how shapes are used to provide visual cues in
character design.
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CHAPTER TWO = LET'S START DESIGNING CHARACTERS!

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evoke appealing, good characters and are typically used to connote cute,
cuddly, lriendly types. Consider Santa Claus, or endearing, Fuzzy animals. Attractive women
are often described with a lot ol curves and circles, and drawings oi babies usually rely
on circular shapes as their visual cues.
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so|id, or play the heavy. Next time you're out at a club, check out the
bouncer, one big old square. The design of superheroes ofien re|ies
on square shapes.
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easily lend themselves

to more sinister, suspicious types and
usua||y represent the bad guy or villain in
character designs. Consider Darth Vader:
His who|e head is one big, mean triangie!
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Shapes are all interchangeable. So,
ahead—play around with them. This
phase of designing your character is
about testing the waters and
strengthening the design. What works?
What doesn't work? Which
combination of shapes best describes your character and
fulfills the criteria of the story? One of the best things I
learned early on in my career was not to fall in love with
') my drawings. If you can throw away
a decent drawing because it doesn't
work For the purposes of the story,
then you will be Free to produce
excellent drawings that do work!
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Interesting size relationships between shapes make lor a stronger design with more visual interest.
lad, think at an ordinary snowman.
Traditionally, a snowman is created by stacking
large, medium, and small circles like this: '
Thinkotsmall, medium, and large shapes. In ""' T
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The arrangement above is dull and
predictable. By varying the size oi these
sameshapes,weoancreatealookthatis
more interesting. While this stacking
wouldn't work too well tor an actual
snowman, it does make lor a stronger
design, because the size relationships are
monedynamic.

The size-relationship principle illustrated by the snowman appiies to many ditterent parts ot a
character's design. Look at these two drawings. The design on the left uses tairiy bland and
even-sized relationships; the one on the right has been pushed to maximize the shape-size
relationships. This makes tor a more dynamic character design.
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Even tutts at hair can gain lrom the "small, medium, large” rule oi size relationships. At Disney, we
were very carelul to draw hair with as mudw variety in size and shape as possible, because this
variety strengthens a drawing considerably. It's worth noting that you can create diiterent textures
with your lluils and tults by drawing them either more angular or more round. The rounded hair
tuils will evoke the look and texture oi solter hair, while angular hair will Feel more coarse.
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Assignment rwe
Look over the basic descriptions of the main characters for our imaginary film (see page
23). Think about the cast as basic shapes. Using the principles of shape symbolism,
what basic shapes will help show off their purpose and personalities in the film? Do
they have individual shapes that delineate their characters? Create a basic shape lineup
of the characters based on these descriptions; the one here is iust a suggestion. Think
about the characteristics of each character that led you to choose the shapes you did.
Remember, we're just beginning—you can change or refine these shapes later.
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Variance relers to the spacing and variety at sizes and shapes in your design. Creating more
variety in your design will give it vitality and a push that will tum a good design into a great
one! Here are a lew design principles that will help you use variance to your advantage (and
to the advantage ol your characters).
can applytodillerenoes inthethickness ol lines as well as
dilterenoes in their In
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another way to introduce
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STRflI6HT LIN§S JUXAPOSED AGAINS CURVES
can ma e a design more and interesting. By putting a curvelline opposite a
straight line you introduce dynamism and avoid parallel lines, which create a static
look. Using this principle will also lencl a natural crispness to your design, so you won't
getthe mushy shapes thatresultwhen curved linescomeoutolothercurved lines.
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RECUFZRIN6 SHAPES WITHIN

can help create a theme. The
dilierent sizes at the recurring shapes aclcl variety,
as does the presence oi other, clilierent shapes
among those that recur.
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CHAPTER TWO ' LET'S START DESIGNING CHARACTERS!
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the spaces or gaps
between the shapes you are creating, will help to
deiine your character visually. Also, the variety of
negative shapes and their interplay with one
another, as well as with the positive shapes, makes
For stronger, more interesting silhouettes.
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Now, lel’s road lest shape, size, and variance, and look at how you can combine all three
elements in the same design lor maximum elied.
Let's start with ihnee identical circles.

Tllesearelhebasicshapesloworkwlwenoonsimdingad1aracteHsiace.
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E CHAPTER WVO ~ LET'S START DESIGNING CHARACTERS!

/- ' I place these basic shapes—an oval, two

// 1 6 l K circles with dots inside oi them, a curved
V‘ _ _\ " l ‘-\ g Ag line, and two hali circles—into the circle,
"l\ ~ = D L ° without paying any attention to the
_ principles oi size and variance. The result
‘ " /' is as plain and basic as you can get. lt’s a
-‘ character, butnowaveryinteresting one!
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i um. 3 and add the element oi size, using small,
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‘ ' i ,3 C my character design stronger. This design
. IA A N _, V __‘y__~_____ is better and you can start to see a little
. ' Pe"$°"alilY shini"9 thr°U9h.
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/ 3) / Still using the same~sized shapes, I vary
,2’ '7 _ dr their spacing and placernent— and make a
V l U“ ' huge dmerence in the design! This is the
l ""’ ‘-_— / strongest des' n oi the three because
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CHAPTER TWO - LET'S START DESIGNING CHARACTERS! E

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Let's apply shape, size, and variance to more complex characters. We'll start with a cartoon
dog. No specific breed, iust a mutt oi some kind. Think about all the ditterent kinds of bodies,
ears, eyes, and noses you might tind on a Getting an idea oi the design elements you
want to use is the first step in designing a character.
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CHAPTER TWO ' LET'S START DESIGNING CHARACTERS! E

Assigmnsnt Three
Let's begin designing our Western film characters. Start with the lead character, since
that design will help establish the look of the film and the character hierarchy (see
pages 18-21). Look over the description for Dillon, our unmotivated cowboy, on page
23. Then look at the initial shape lineup you created in Assignment Two, on page 39.
With the description of Dillon in mind, you will be able to create a design that really
captures your image of our hero.
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dackvavis started hiscareerinthe Navy, drawingforthe/vavy/vews. Afizerthe
second World War, he attended the University of Georgia, and in 1951, after
finishing his continuing studies at the Art students League in New York City, he
joinedECComics.AtECheworkedonsuchprojectsaswfadanditssuocessor,
Panic, but he was at his best on the Smdl Town Horrcr Sta-/‘es. Wnen EC
eventually collapsed, Davis fllustrated stories For war/-en and Mao’ magazines.
Davishasfllustrateddozensofalbwncoversandcovensforfimeandrv
Gu/we, worked on animated TV shows and advertising canpaigns For major
conpanles,andcreatednwne©usfibnposters.Amongthemanyhonorsthathave
beenbestowedonDavisisthecovetedRe.ibenAward,whichtheNational
Cartoonistss-ocietypresentstoitsCartoonistoFtheYear. Daviswontheaward
in 2000.
/-//'3 THOUC;/-/T5 ON D/Z-LON
i=|rstofl~‘,yewgottawannabeaoowboytod'awaoowooy!whengowingupyew
shouldaseenawholebushelofsaturdaycowboymovies,thenlateronlikedfi//y/1
/Voan, 9/rave, Lonesome Dove, and all the other cowboy movies For grown-ups.
- Readthescripttogetintoit.
- work on a rough posture outline by drawing a loose stick man or
two (and remember, all cowboys have long, skinny, bowed legs).
- Think about the Facial expression; Feel the character.
- Think about what cowboys wear:
- A “bandanner," like Festus wore on Guns/no/<e, way back
in the glory days oFT\I westems in the Fifties.
- “5uspendas” doubletheprotectlon ifthe belt don‘twork.
- Gunandg.mbelt makesmethesecanbeseencleariwandshowjustafew
bullets remaining in the belt, suggesting that he's used the gm recently.
- sleevesrolleduphalfi/vay, redunderwearshowing
- Bootsaretheleather-strappull-onklnd; britchesaretuckezlinorout; the
lowerpartsofthebootsarecusty; andtherdsaslightshineontheupper
part. Don't Forget spurs. They show personality.
- And remember, above alb a cowboy loves his hoss!

Jack Davis
comic beck arifisf. oaPTnoni$‘\‘. and illusfkafok.
Mad Maoazine awfisf

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Appeal was a word that we used a Iot at Disney. Animators there have passed this term
down tor decades to describe a character's pose, expression, or movement. Even a prop
design can have appeal. A drawing with appea| has that "extra something” that makes it
stand out. So, |et's |ooi< at ways to create 0
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You've seen this rule in iust about every other how-to book, and I'm going to repeat it here: Start
with a circle. Have you everwondered why you should? For one, even a beginning student can
easily duplicate a circle. Also, working with a circle provides an easy way to leom a lot about
volume and creating a threedimensional drawing. From an animation standpoint, ifs easier to
rotate a circle in three-dimensional space than it is to rotate more complex shapes, such as
triangles and squares.
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E CHAPTER THREE ' CREATING APPEAUNG CHARACTER DRAWINGS
I
All this said, your character will look boring it you use only circles. So, create your
character using circles along with other basic shapes, such as ovals, squares, and triangles. It
you stick to these basic shapes, you will be able to duplicate the character easily and quickly
from diiterent angles and in ditterent poses. An advantage to working quickly is that you won't
waste a lot oi time on a character that's not successlul—you'l| have the luxury oi being able to
sketch up a character, determine it it's working, and throw it out and start again it it's not.
Here are some examples ot ditterent characters that use only basic shapes. Even without taces
and costume details, you get an idea at what the characters are like.
/
CHAPTER THREE CREATING APPEALING CHARACTER DRAWINGS E

rumttne yam ¢'lt*tf‘\R£\<ii1"1f%;%"\'*3 an an

Even seasoned artists olten nail a tront-view drawing at a character then start a slaw descent
into insanity trying to draw a side view that looks like the same character. Or, you create
dilterent views at a character that work technically butdon't have a sense at appeal. Remember,
it the Front view has a strong sense ol design, the side view, three-quarter view, and back view
should have a strong design, too. Here are some concepts that can help recreate your character
From dilterent angles.
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You've seen the series ol drawings at characters with the lines going behind them, right? These
horizontal linesrunirom keypointsonacharacter(botk>moltheleet,topolthehead,cl\in,
eyes, nose, waist, shoulders, lmees) so the artists can line up these features when drawing the
character from diilerent angles. This is a good way to ligure outwhatyour character might look
like from dilierentongles while still maintaining a size relationship consistency. Determining how
your chonocterwill look from dilterentangles is essential to good character design. The problem
is that ifsveryeasyto sucktheoppeal, strength oldesign, and personality rightoutotyour
design as you measure and plot lor pinpoint aocura<.y.
Whenyou begintodesignacharacter, I suggestyoudrawthelront, side, threequarter,
and bad<viewsoiyourchar'acterineehand—thatis,withoutthe ruled lines intowhichyou try
tolityourcharacter. Thiswillenableyoutooonoentrateonthestrongestdesign oiyourdwaracter
andthepersonalityimpliedbytheposeand lace. Onceyouareleelingoomlortablewiththe
designandpersonality,youoansetouttodothetiJmoround model sheet, madeupoilront,
side, three-quarter, and bockviews otthecharacter.
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Here are Front views, three-quarter views, and side views at a character. The nose and eyes
line up From drawing to drawing For accurate but lairly bland designs.
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Here's a side view that works technically but also has stronger appeal. There is more variety
in the shapes, most especially in the chin, mouth, and slope ol the nose. Rather than |ust being
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a llat side view, this design now has strong silhouette appeal.
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CHAPTER THREE ' CREATING APPEAUNG CHARACTER DRAWINGS

J
Below are some drawings at the entire Note how you can strengthen a side view
and a three-quarter view at a character by pushing the appeal and design. By making
some elements stick out larther (like the stomach and back side in this case), you will
get a stronger silhouette and create more variety in the shapes. The side view will help
you determine the widths ol the chest, head, and waist. As a result, the side view is
where you really start locking down the ins and outs oi your design. Sometimes doing
the side view will make you want to tweak the three-quarter view as well as lront and
back views.
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Oifen, you'll crecteo design, iuli in lovewith it, and decide you're done. Fighflhufurge. You
ore most likely only 90 percentoifhewuy to o iinol design. H's time ho push your drawing,
putinlheenmeiiodkaseemtoonbeevenstrongen Lookihedrowingoveronddecidewhcf
poris you love and what ports are iust okay. Keep whofs working, but start designing new
poristoneplooefiwosefhotmerelygetopossinggrode.
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COSTUMES
says something about the character's personality. Also, the way clothing lays on the A
body breaks up the shapes at a design. Here's a character clothed in dmerent styles ‘ ‘ /
Do the pants cut across the stomach? ls your character is wearing a turtleneck or tank ,ly
top, high heels or Hats? These clothing choices aitect your character design. Clothing ‘f Z" , ._7:)‘\
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character's personality and breaks up the design in ditterent ways.
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Sometimes you'll encounter a group ol characters oi varied sizes wearing the some outlit or
uniform. Keep in mind that diilerent body types will wear clothing diitenently. You can also shaw
a little bit of personality—be it sex appeal, sloppiness, or tidiness—in the way your character
wears the same outlit. Here are some diiterent characters who are wearing the same elements
of clothing, but wearing them in very diiterent ways.
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'VKOflL€/ COMIC KTKIVX

Bill Amend was bom in 1962 in Northarrptom Massacrusetts. He oontnbuted
cartoons to his him-school newspaper and literary magazine served briefly as
presidentoFthemathcb.ib,andplayedtubaintheschoolband. I-leattendedAmherst
Coflegewheieheoontinuedtodrawcartoonsforthetwioe-weeldyoollege
newspaper. Wnile at Amherst: he majored in physics and gacuated with honors in
198'-I. Afier a brief stint in the animation and motion-picture incustries in San
Francisco, he decided to pursue cartooning fi.ill-tirre and signed with Universal Press
Syndicate in the Fall of 1987. His comic strip Foxfrot debuted April 10/1988, and
appearsinmorethanathousandnewspaperswondwide. lthasspawnedmorethan
twenty-one best—selling book collections. in May 2000, Amherst College awarded
Bill an honorary doctorate in humane letters. Bill lives in the Midwest with his wiFe
and two young children.
H/'3 T/-/OU6/-/7'5 O/V DILLON
Here's my Foxfroc/Bill Amend rendi iilon character. There wasn't a
specificagegiveninthetreatment fiim,butlg.iessed0illonwouldbe
somewnerefrom16to20.Generally,|trytoavoidtallcharactersinmystrip,as
thattendstoeliminatealotol-‘thespaoelneedl-‘ordialog.|e,soldidn'texaggerate
theoharacter’sheig1ttoomuch.lgavehimuni<en'pthairandanuntuckedshirtto
oonveyhislazinessandltriedtogivehimashirtandpantsthatwerealittletoo
bigforhlsframe.
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Withaoomicstripiyoutrytosimplifyeverythingasnuchaspossiolelsol
“sewed"theonelittle patchonhishattooonveythathewasn't particularly well-ofi’
flnwirzialb/(bytheway,om\boyhatsaM8Y§9NBmeheadadesMlenlhavetom'aw
them). The little thing hanging From his pants on a string is a oorrpass, which I fig.ired
would oome in handy wring his treasure hunt. I didn't give him a gun and holster, as
Idon'tthinknewspaperswouldwantthatasaneverydaypartofhisoutfit, and it
seemedtotakeawaysomeoFthe"heartoFgold”appealwe'reaFter. Withmydaily
strip,theoolorpaletteislimitedprettyi-ruchtownite,black,andgray,sol'dprobabiy
leavetheshirtwhiteandmakethebootsg'ayandthepantsblaci<(oradarkergay
iflhadthatoption).Thehatwouldprobabiystaywhitejustbecausehdsagoodguyi
andwe'dwanttouseeveryoonventionweoouldtooonveythat.Thiswasfi.in.

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®nAr'leK FOUR
Drawing (Beautiful)
Women
In this chapter we'll consider some oi the dmerent principies oi drawing appealing
women. At the outset, and while sti|| keeping this book kid-triendiy, I want to say that there
are certain proportions, curves, and iaciai Features with which you can endow your
women to ensure that they wi|| be appreciated by any "romantica||y inciined” viewer.
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I will never forget the hardest question I was ever asked in an interview. I was at Disney, we had
wrapped on Mulan, and it was time to do a major media blitz for the Asian market. Reporters from
various newspapers and magazines in China were meeting with us animators in a little room set up
for interviews. They were very polite and gracious, but as soon as they started in on their
questions, I realized they were trying to push an angle. I was told later that the Chinese reporters
did not think that Mulan was attractive enough. They didn't even think she looked Chinese. Their
questions were aimed at finding out what Americans think is beautiful. They were fishing around
for
a good sound bite. (Keep in mind, I was the animator of Mushu, the funny little dragon, not Mulan,
the lead female character.)
One of the reporters boldly asked, whom do you consider to be beautiful? Thrown off guard, my
mind spinning, I tried to think of a beautiful celebrity they might also consider beautiful. Names
like Demi Moore, Meg Ryan, and Cindy Crawford came to mind—then it hit me!
I quickly answered, "My wife."
They all laughed, and my quip helped dispel some of the tension in the room.
I teamed two things that day. When applied to drawing women, the concept of beauty varies a lot,
but at the same time, there are some elements of feminine beauty that are pretty much universal.
i>RO¥>0R'i’\Ot\lS
Just |i|<e an assortment at real people, designed characters can have a wondertul variety at
body proportions. Here are some general ”w|es oi proportion” you can iollow when creating
designs tor ditterent types of attractive women.
CHAPTER FOUR ' DRAWING (BEAUTIFUL) WOMEN

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The most important rule: Construct your iemole chorocters with curved lines. When you Feel the
need to drow o straight line, don't—iust moke o line thot’s less curved. (And, in this vein, when
drawing comic book superheroines, don't overdo the muscles, or you will loose the oppeol oi
the lemole lonn.) Notice that in the ionns shown here, one side is stroighter while the other side
is more curved. This design concept creotes o noturol llow and rhythm throughout the
Notioeolsothecurvesond rhythm in the lines oithesedrowings. Even in rough Form, theycreote
0 Feeling oi grooe and elegonoe thot is noturolly evident in the iemole lorm.
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When posing your character, look
lorwaystoworktiltsintothepose.
By tilts I mean the opposing angles
in which you place parts ol the
body. You create visual interest in
a design—and therelore a
pose—by opposing the tilts within
the pose. It the right shoulder is
higher than the lelt shoulder, then
the lelt hip should be higher than
the right hip. This will create a
pinchon theleltsideotthebody
andastretchontherightside.
Not only will this make the pose
more interesting, but it will accent
and push the character's curves.
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/ CHAPTER FOUR ' DRAWING (BEAUTIFUL) WOMEN

F/mes Ann eyes

We've all seen the work oi artists who can draw really beautilul women, but all their women
characters look alike. It can happen easily—you find something that works and you stick with
it. As a character designer, you don't want to tall into that trap. Round shapes are generally the
norm iorprettygirls, buttrytolindothershapestocneatevariety in yourlemalecharocters—
long laoes, sharp chins, square laces, large dweekbones, round chins, you name it.
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eyes that works—and then just
keep repeating it. Don't. There
are many dillenent eye shapes
out there: almond, round, oval,
slightly angled. And any oi these
canbelromedlaythicklashesor
thin lashes. The sky is the limit,
and these dillerent shapes add
variety and interest to your
design Remember, variation in
eye shape is pivotal when
creating women oi dillerent
races, too.
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hairstyiesorciothing.Onapersona|note,tha’r'swhyldependonmywiiewhenmyiour
daughters ask things like: Can you do my hair? Does this match? Ii you're like most male
illustrators (and women iliustrators aren't immune to this, either), I can tell you that you will run
out of ideas otter your seoond or third designs. That's why it's important to surround yourself
with women's Fashion magazines. They are chock-iull oi up-to-date iashion ideas.
Hairstyies can be dmicult to draw. You don't want to draw every stnand, so you wi|| need
to Find a simplified way to show reaiistic-looking hair. When we were animating the charader
oFPooahontas in the movieoithe same name, we used to sayherhairwas theco-staroithe
Film. Aiter all, it was everywhere and as hard to animate as she was.
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For lun, I took on the challenge ol trying to create a stylized cartoon version at a pop group my
kids like, as it the design would be used on stickers or teeshirts. This is a tougher challenge than
just creating a cute, iconic lemale character, because these characters should sum up the
personalities—il not the looks—ot these real people. Keep in mind, my goal was not to create
caricatures at these three ladies, but to create characters that represented them—without looking
like them too literally.
My first goal was to try and lind shape and personality dillerences at the three members
that I could expand upon. This was pivotal to ensuring that the characters would have individuality
even though theywould alwaysbeshawn together. Steponewastolaokatphotographsand do
a drawing that was somewhere between realism and cartooning. Vt/ith this first drawing, I was
trying to lind the dillerent shapes that I would push in subsequent designs.
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mango iniiuenoe, but I wanted "cute" to be the First impression someone had oi the characters.
Atter
a||, the majority oi the group's ions are preteen girls. So, I looked at the Mango characters ca||ed
chibi. They have big heads, smali bodies, and huge eyes.
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CHAPTER FOUR ' DRAWING (BEAUTIFUL) WOMEN

' 75

Aiter doing a iittte more research on that styte, I came up with more designs, shown below.
Aha! This was what I was looking For. a stytized representation at the trio that had extreme
cutesiness value while sti|| being "cool."
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0 client, this is what I would have fumed in cs my Final drawing.
CHAPTER FOUR ' DRAWING (BEAUTIFUL) WOMEN

Now let's design the female lead for our film, Polly. We'll use what we've just leamed
about proportions, curves, and rhythm; tilts, faces, and eyes; and hairstyles and
clothing. Before you begin, refresh your memory about Polly and her role in the film
(see page 23). Here are some of my sketches and comments on Polly.
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Mark Henn is a twenty-five-year veteran oi’ Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he
has been supervising animator on animated films, commercials, short films, and special
projects. Hehasoontnbutedtoorcreatedthefinalcharacterdesignsofsomeoi
Disney's most end.lring characters, including Basfl of Baker Qtreet and Dawson From
T/re Great Mouse Detective, dasmlne in A/aobfn, Young Sirrba in The Lion King,
Mulan in Mu/aw, and Grace in Home on the Range. Additionally, he directed the
award-winning animated short film dohn Henry. He has been nominated For an Annie
award three times.
H/S THOUC5‘-175 ON D/Ll-ON
lbeganwithalotofinformationaboutvfllon.Rightawayanideapoppedintomy
head.lwantedtooomelpMthashpleshape,hopefiJllyanlce,sinplegraphlcshape
that,iFooloredinblack,youwouldstillreoognlzeasDillon.Oneofmyfirstthoughts
wastomakehimbowlegged.lfigzrehehadspentalotoftinieinthesadcfle.lt’salso
aclassicwestern image.
ltriaaitogivemlonastrongjaw.Heis,aFterall,ou'hero,andwedon'tusually
likeheroeswholoo|<tooweal¢Ontheotherhand,lcfidn'twantDlllontobea
Superman type either. Dark eyebrows help to define his expressions, especially since
he has blonde hair. lchose to won< with some Fairly standard looks For his clothing.
A pair of pants, vest, cowboy hat (slightly large), and of course cowboy boots.
Researchonoostumesandpropscanbefun. ltaddsaleveloi-‘authenticity
toourcharactersandhelpsthemtobemorebelievable.lpatternedDfllon'sgmafter
anauthalticgmoFthepa'iodan1875RaningtonmvoNer.fl'egoaboFoourseis
todeateanappeallngohamcterthatcanalsobedrawnbythemanyartistsmwo
workonananimatedfilm.

Makk Henn
Supelrvisinc Animafok. Disney feafuke Anlmaf-on
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FOUR LEGS: A WHOLE

DIFFERENT ANIMAL
Wen designing anima| characters, first you need to address the balance between
human and anima| attributes the character wi|| display in its personality and behavior.
Knowing if the character is more like an anima| or a human wi|| guide you in how
realistic or cartoonish your anima| design should be. Ii the character is more anima|-|ike,
then you will naturally want to give your design realistic anatomy; it the character has a
lot at human characteristics, then you wi|| most |ii<e|y design the anima| in an
anthropomorphic way. ‘Q
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Here are varying levels oi human and animal elements and anatomy. These are iust examples
to show the subtleties oi anthropomorphic versus realistic anatomy; you can combine these
characteristics in many dmerent ways.
;/ IZEALISTIC LION, though
/ ‘ slightly simplilied, would move and act
ltl(6 the animal it IS Accordingly, this
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since the human eyes and eyebrows are expressive. With this i i , '- ~~ ~
realisticbody,thecharacterwouldrno~elikea lion and, most likely, ,’ y '_ ¢\",
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As an animator you discover very quickly the importance oi knowing the basic anatomy oi the
animalyouanedrawing. Myiirstsceneior TheLionIGngwassupposedtobeeasy,awayto
"warm up" For drawing the character. In this sequence Young Simba is being chased by the
hyenasailerthedeathothistather. Heendsuptrappedataclittsideanddecidestothravw
himself aver the edge into a briar The scene calls For Simba to tumble down the side at
the mountain. The good news (tor me) was that Simba would be in constant motion in the scene,
so the audience wouldn't have time to scrutinize my individual drawings. The bad news—|
quickly discovered—was that I had to draw him From every conceivable angle as he twisted
and tumed his way down the clm! By my second drawing, I was throwing myselt into any lion
anatomybooklcould iind!Tomyknowledge, nomoviegoeraskediorhisorhermoneyback
basedontheweaknessotthatscene,solguessitworkedoutintheend.
I leamed that I couldn't draw, much less animate, an animal dwaracler without a good
knowledge oi that animal's anatomy. Neither can you. This means doing research. Go online,
gotothelibraryand lind booksontheanimal,gotothezoo,dowhateverittokes.
For a comic book proiect my partner and I were designing, we needed to create an
Asian raccoonlike animal called a chikubanotomo, a moniker that the writer, Andrew Simmons,
shortenedtoTomowhenhenamedourcharacter.Tllesearerea| animals, soweneededtodo
our homework betone we designed Tomo. We had to be especially careful to make sure Tomo
didn't look like a generic raccoon, since the chikubanotomo is actually a member oi the dog
Family. Here's how Tomo evolved. Notice that we started with a realistic design and simplified
Tomo as we got a better grasp oi his anatomy and what could be stylized.
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Most 0F the time, anima| characters are cuie sidekicks to the main character in a story.
Somefimes they provide comedy reliei So, in many cases, you wi|| want to make your animals
appealing and cute. As we leamed to do wifh humans (see page 66—69), star? ou? by playing
wilhtheproporfions. Drawinga big headanda sma|| bodyisonewaytomakeadesign cute.
Big eyes and liflle noses help, foo.
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Design Carrots, Dillon's horse, and Ruthie, Polly's dog. Read the descriptions for these
humorous characters on page 23 and start creating some designs. Note: Both are
humorous, but not in the same way—Carrots, for one thing, is pretty stubbom and
ready to argue with Dillon, while Ruthie has a big crush on our hero.
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In his twenty—yearcareer, Peterde Sevehasbeen puolished bymany maiorAmerican
magazines, including 77/ne, Newsweek, At/ant/‘c Mont/1/y, Smithsonian, Premiere,
and Entertainment Week/y. He also FreqJently oontnbutes covers to the New
Yorker. De sévehasdesignedpostersforsroadwayshows, aswellascharacters
For nunerous animated Feature Films procuoed by Disney, Oreamworks, Pixar, and
Twentieth Century Fox (Blue Sky Studios). His credits include The Hunchback of
Not/we Dame, The Prince of Eg)pt, Mu/an, A Bug's A/‘fie, Tarzan, and the box
oi-‘flee hit/ceAge, Forwhich hecreatedailofthe characters. He lives in Brooklyn,
New York with his wife Randall, and their daughter, Paulina.
/-//5 THOUG‘-/7'5 ON D/MON
Whfle designing Dillon I tried to keep in mind the essentials of his character that the
wtlineprowded.lseehtnassomewnatoFw1inmoentwtperfecflyabletonusta'
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notnecessanwvmatyodde<pectfi'omhowheisdesa'bed.ForinstanceiFlwere
to design a vllain Fora film, I would include drawings of him weeping and smiling, not
Just with the standard-issue sinister glare. The most interesting characters are
alwaystheoneswithmoredepthtranmeetstheeye.9omend'awingagoodg:y
likeDillomIalsowantyoutoknowthathecankicksomebuttii-'heneedsto.

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Kimfrefi SIX
LQQK YQUR AGE!
I \ chill descends upon even the most talented designers when a client requests that a
character be a specitic age. lt’s hard enough to address the concerns we've covered in
previous chapters, such as design, appeal, shape, and poses. But a drawing really becomes
challenging when you throw in anxiety about the client's reaction to it. The client may look
at the design you love and simply dismiss it with, “He doesn't look old enough.”
There are three major elements to remember when designing a character to look a
certain age: size, angularity, and amount ot detail. Your character will look younger or older
depending on the size relationships you establish between dilterent parts ot the body, how
round or angular you draw those shapes, and how much detail, or line work, you put into them.
In this chapter we will look at some ol the details that will vary with the ages ot your
characters. Take special note that as the character ages, the eyes get smaller but the teet,
nose, and ears keep growing.
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Think rounded. Whether you are drawing realistioally or in cartoon style, your design needs to
havecurvesa|loverit.ThaI’swhatababyismadeol. Newbornsaretinyand thin buthove
disproportionately large, round heads; older babies have all that wondertul plumpness. Just as
puppies have large leet that they grow into, babies have large heads that their small bodies
eventually oatch up with. It's best to have as tew interior lines as possible in your baby designs,
sinoe lines age a character. Think simple, clear, rounded shapes, and you will be more than
hallway to creating a design that says "baby."
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CHAPTER SIX - LOOK YOUR AGE! E

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Chi|dren hove more straight lines than babies do. The reo||y important element in drawing
children is l’ne relationship bdween ihe size of the head and ihe body, 0 key Fudor in defining
lhe oge of any clworocfer.
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Almost any land at odd size relationships Wlll work when creating that "in between” look (ages
8 to 12) That’swhy |t’s oalled the awkward age right?
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small adults. There are some very
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body shapes among teens vary more
than they do in almost any other age
group: lumpy, skinny, butt, bent over,
straight-backed. Consider, too, all the
other variations: glasses, mohawks,
shaved heads—the varieties are endless.
CHAPTER SIX ' LOOK YOUR AGE! M

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kids: large head-to-body relationship, large eyes, rounded shapes, longer legs, bigger ears
You'll [ust be more sublle when drawing teens—unti| you get lo lheir extremities. \/Vilh boys
especially, you will want lo make the hands and leer awkwardly large in comparison to the rest
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CHAPTER SIX ' LOOK YOUR AGE!
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Try this on your own: Draw five different versions of a character at different ages, from
babyhood to old age. Remember to make your character recognizable as the same person at
each age. To make this kind of continuity easier to achieve, you might want to draw a maior
media character whose face you know well.
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Mathew Bronleewe and Jeremy Bose are music producers who also create animated shows ior
kids. They
hired our oompany, Funnypages Productions, to develop characters For a show called Digg Kids,
about
lour adopted children who go on adventures with their archaeologist parents. Our assignment was
to
create the iour kids and their nemesis, a villain who always manages to leam what the kids are
looking
lorand Find itbeioretheydo.
We were given a brief description ol each of the characters. We had to create a Caucasian boy
about 12 to 14 years old, an Asian girl iust a little younger than him, and two Airican-American
twins
between 6 and 8 years oi age. So, the challenge wasn't just to create kids who looked a specific
age,
but were also ol dmerent races. Of course, we also wanted to render these kids in a fun, edgy
THATCHER
CHAPTER SIX ' LOOK YOUR AGE!

Now that you have a rough design for Polly, try creating a design of her mother, the
town beautician. The challenge here will be to create a character who resembles Polly
but is older. Remember, Polly and her mom need to look like they're related, but not
like they're sisters.
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MONSTER,
CREATURES,AND
PERSONALITIES?
This chapter is written and illustrated by Rob Corley, my good friend
and business partner in our company, Funnypages Productions. Like
me, Rob is a former Disney animator, and he has worked on many
feature films and other proiects. I tapped him for this chapter because
whenever time seems to be dragging (as it does when we are in
meetings), he is constantly doodling fun, odd, and sometimes creepy
characters. This is an ability I don't have, but he makes it look easy. I
hope you enjoy this little look into Rob's mind!
Growing up, I always had (and still have) a fascination with monsters and
creatures. I think it all started when I Iirst saw the Cyclops in The Seventh Voyage of
Sinbad. That monster lelt an impression on me that I will never shake. I liked the Cyclops
so much that I actually felt sorry lor him when Sinbad’s men gave him the old "red hot
poker to the eye” trick iust to escape.
What I didn't know at that time, but realize now, is that Ray Harryhausen, the
man who created and animated the Cyclops and every other Sinbad monster to date,
was able not only to design a cool-looking creature, but also to give it some personality
. . . okay, not a very nice one, but it had character. The same was true with Boris Karloii
in Frankenstein. A sympathetic monster who wasn't exactly pleasing to the eye and only
wanted to be loved . . . hmmm, sounds like my high school prom. What I slowly began
to realize over the years is that what really made so many ol these creatures endearing
to me as an artist was their "design," or how they looked. So, let's take a look at the
overall thought process ol designing monsters and creatures, with a tew zombies and
wretched humanoid-style characters thrown in along the way.

Ci2€A‘t’UR€ Q\)€$‘t’lOt\l$
Approadwing the design oi a new monster or creature can be both exciting and mind-boggling.
Exciting because the sk)/s the limit, and mind-boggling because, well, the sk)/s the limit. One at
the best things I leamed while working as an animator tor Disney was character development.
Belore designing, think about a character. Who is this character? ls the creature animal,
vegetable, mineral, or all oi the above? What are its strengths, its limitations? What is its
objective?
Does it, or can it, communicate? ls it lrom the luture? Where does it dwell? ls ita beast at burden
or a supreme intelligence? Haw would it read in dillerent situations? What are its strengths and
weaknesses? lsthecharacter proud orshy?lhe listcoulcl goon, butthesetypesotquestionswill
help you hone in on what will or will not work in your drawings. They will bring lile to your
characters, who will begin to develop personalities—so much so that it a certain situation comes
up in the story, you'll know exactly how the characters would And remember, a client
usually has his or her awn opinions about the creature they would like to see emerge tram your
designs. Listen to the dients: You may not always agree, but they do pay the bills.
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CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONALITIES?

AMATQMY lot
ls anatomy an issue when designing monsters? Does it really matter it I understand how it all
works? Yep. Having a working knowledge ol artistic anatomy will delinitely improve your
drawings. You're not leaming to become a surgeon, iust a better artist, but nothing will kill a
design quicker than a poor drawing that's anatomically ”olt.”
Youcannaerhaveenoughrelerenoematenalsarwndyouwhenyousitdownb
design a character. I use Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer, published by Watson{5uptill.
lhenearea lototolhergreatbooksouttherethatwill helpyou getagoodgraspon howlhings
loolmndhawbodypartsoonnectorrelaletooneanother. Theworlcsoiotherartistsladmire
have also been a great and constant inspiration For me in generating ideas.
It's all about the basics:
Memorize the basic bone
and muscle systems and how _
they relate to one another. c"°"'""‘
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how your character is built . I »" \, - M‘ i
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Our author, Tom Bancroft, says he got the idea tor the character at Mushu in Disne)/s Mulan
lrom several dittenent animals. Mushu has cow ears, oattish whiskers tor a moustache, the body
oi a snake, the teet of a chicken, and the toil at a lizard. Another incredible artist who has
mastered this mix-and-match technique is Terryl Whitlatch, who did the development designs
tor many ot the animal characters in the 2003 Disney tilm Brother Bean Want another great
reterenoe book tor your library? Take a look at Terryl’s illustrations in The \Mld/ife of Star Wars,
published by Chronicle Books.
This one really didn't Ah!...that Feels better! A
work For me. ‘\'v
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balance the design. I sure
would hate to stir up a
Wasp #1 Mix and Match Wasp #2 Mix and Match nest of these suckers!
M CHAPTER SEVEN ~ MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONALITIES?

Crab Mix and Match

Monkey/Snake
Mix and Mafch
Jusf in case you ever wondered
whaf a legless
like wifh
A Crab/Chuhuahuo
mufanf... fhing.
i
monkey would look
a snake fail.
This was jusf an exercise in combinations
1'0 gef my imaginafion kick sforfed.
I 13
CHAPTER SEVEN ~ MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONAUTIES? -

Hi! My name's Roger

and I would like 0
talk to you about
life insurance.
\
CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PE
RSONAUTIES?
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Salesman
Mix and Match
IF you've ever saf fhrough an
insurance pi1’Ch, the tentacles
should make sense.
Crab Boy
Mix and Match
cars ewe ‘em A +tAn1>
Hands are probably one at my lavorite things to draw, and the creepier and odder-looking the
better
As you design hands, tl1inkoll1ow they will __ V _
work with your overall design. VWll your '
creature be using them to pick daisies _
or lillet the llesh lrom some unsuspecting ’ ,1
victim? Try weird variations; you never .
know what you'll come up with. ‘-
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A few examples of different
hands. Some for ripping and
crushing, and one with fingers
that look like Vienna
sausages! Yummy!
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CHAPTER SEVEN ° MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSQNAUTIES?

678026 A7-60:60
Machines oan be a great inspiration For monster designs. You can go with the straight,
menacing robot type, or better yet, it you're looking For a creepier design, you can combine
metal parts and gears with llesh and tendon. Amold from the Tenninator movie series is a
pertect example oi this sort oi combination. Combining human or animal tissue with some
sharp, dirty yard implement will give you a dang awful-looking creation, too.
I'm here For your massage,
Mr. Bancroft.
CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONAUTIES?

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No chapter on monsters and creatures is compiete without a disgusting zombie drawing.
Zombies, or, more , "the |iving deod,” can be hm to draw. There reaiiy aren't many
rules when it oomes to drawing these creeps, and usua|iy a littie imagination and a strong
stomach wi||wor|<wonders. Onewaytoiindoutityourdesign isworking istoshowitto
someone. It they cringe, you did alright. It they scream, not too And it they throw up,
ya done real good!
Man!...What stinks in here?
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CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONAUTIES?
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When I sitdown tobegin designing,veryrarely,and I mean veryrarely,dolkeepthetirstthingthatlput
ontothepage. I reallyenioydrawingandthisismychanaetodoa lototitaslbreakdawnadiaractefs
overall look by playing around with the proportions. I also like to think about things that will make
each
character unique. I try to avoid the diché as much as possible and push myselt to think outside the
box. I've
included a Few examples at a character that I will begin designing and that hopetully, in the end,
will evolve
into something that looks hallway deoent. For this example, I chose one oi my lavorite creatures . .
. Bigtoot!
Too boring! Your average guy in a
gorilla suit design.
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A little more interesting. I pushed the
shoulders out and thinned l'\lS legs down.
Still needs
Definitely more gorilla like. I made his Ok...now I'm liking it! More caricatured
hair lC;P¢I' and went for the plumper, features in a classic Bigfoot pose. This is
well F look. probably my Favorite.
CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONAUTIES?

#7
A more cartoony, cuter version. On #6 and #7 I decided to go even
further and streamlined the design.
Saturday morning cartoon style.
I still don't feel like I went as Far as I
could have with this particular design.
There are still a million other
combinations to explore. I could have
done a Few with really hugh Feet and a
tiny head. Since most of my examples
were on the heavy side, another set of
designs can be more thin and gangly
looking. This is the fun part o designing,
the part I enjoy most.
CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONAUTIES?

N\\$C€l,LAt\l€0U$ FUN $‘l'\)l7l7

lwanlecl toend lhischapterwilh a lewdrawingsthatshowed somevariely in ll’salways
healthy and—go|ly! —iust plain fun to llex those artistic muscles From time to lime. Some oi your
designs will obviously work better than others, and you'll always throw away more drawings
than you keep, butthegoal is toexplorelhe possibilities by breaking outolyour oomtorlzone
ancl trying something diilereril. _ . A_ I
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CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONALHIES?

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CHAPTER SEVEN ' MONSTERS, CREATURES, AND PERSONAUTIES?

'FKor|\.e/ COMIC EOOKS

d. Soott Campbell was bom in East Tawas, Michigan, in 1973. Growing up, Soott
alwayshadadeeppassionFordrawingandart,andevenbeganpullinginagood
amount of inoorre from it while still in high school. In 1993, he moved to 9an Diego
and broke into the world of oomic—-book illustration. Canpbell quickly rocketed to
Fame with his very first book, Gen 73/ and gained a reputation For illustrating some
ofthemostattractivewomeninthebusiness. Hisdynamicstorytellingandplayfially
afli1EC9d$Wl€l8fltUhQfl5dV9$P€fF9CCUtOhi$FdlOW-lPWO}e¢t/UHGSHESHHIC
Danger 6/'/-/. Campbell currently resides in Colorado with his wife, Keyke and his
baby daughter, Dawn. His latest project is the 2005 release W/7dsk>'e/z
H/5 THUUG‘-/75 O/V D/LLON
Theolesign oFOillon seemedtoflowquite naturally. lclidn't find myself struggling too
much. That oertainly isn't always the case when designing new characters, but it
Pelpedmatmedesalptimwowdedwassodetaibd.Fainstanoetmcharacta'is
descrlbedas”tallandthin.”Thatirm\ediatelyhelpedmetoavoldgolngdownany
dead-end paths, possibly exploring shorter and/or pudgier versions of Dillon. Also,
theideaoftheseoldbaggyclothes hangingoffhls wirwstloklikebooylikeoldoutflts
onaciotheshangerseemedlikeag'eatvisual.Ialsowantedhisfacetobethinned
outlbutnottoomuch.Aflzeralbhewasstillslpposedtoooweacrossasboyish...
atleastinmymindhewas.lgavehirnaslig/1tiylargertipoFtl'\enoseandaslignt
upper-lipoverbitetoo.lthinklwasabletooonveyabitofthelate-teengawkiness
tPatsomalyywngmaleshan,whflehopefiJflystfllmakingltseanpossblethatan
attractive girl like Polly oould Fall For him. lalso gave him heavy eyelids, thus indicating
his apparent laziness and lack of‘ drive.
I'm a comic-book artist, but I've always Felt a sort of artistic kinship with
animators. Becauseofmyintense love ofcaitoonsandanimation, thatinfiuenoehas
alwaysFamditswayinwmywtwon¢ThatsenseoFa<aggemtbnlsdeflnitdypmsent
hereinvfllon. Ihadalotoffilnelongatinghislirnbsandfingersandlthinkitmakes
Foranevenmoreappealingdesign.Ialsomadeswetogivehimaslunpyposture,
almosta.°shapetohisspine. whenhedrawshisgm, I imagined itwouldbelikea
rubberbarldreoollirig.
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andhatscolookac.lalsot;ooka|ookat:severalmoviesthat:lhaveon0vO. Young
Gu/1s,Ba:ktot/weFuture//bandT/reC?uicka~1dt/reDeadwerethemosthe|pFul.
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GROUPINGS, OR
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You've heard the expression "No man is an is|and," right? Well, this applies to the
characters you design. They don't exist in a void. They are part ot a cast, and they need to
look like they belong with one another—that is, they need to share certain design elements.
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the hero, and with an eye lo his youlhlul, coliish personaliiy, I've chosen to make him as fall as
possible. Polly should be a liflle shorler lhan Dillon. This way, when we gel to lhe pan oi the
sbrywhere she is caplured and Dillon needs to oome to her aid, shewill look more vulnerable
and in need oi help. As you can see, lhe plot can help you deiennine the size relalionships
beiween your characters.
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I drew up some rough designs ior the

villains, Sheriit Brent and his henchman,
Grit. These are the first couple ol drawings
depicting Brent
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Western Feel but retaining some British Tea-drinking and
gun-slinging should be a iun combination tor a villain.
CHAPTER EIGHT ~ GROUPINGS, OR CREATING THE CAST
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probably the villain? These characters are all rough and rowcly, but the more angular or wider
physiquesmaygiveyoucluesastowhothebadguysare.
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It can be hard to animate a scene
in which a princess talks with a
frog friend for long periods of
time. The trick is to capture lots
of facial expressions, and that
requires close-ups-hard to do
when the discrepancy in size is so
great. One answer is to have the
smaller sidekick sit on, perch on,
or hang from the larger
character's costume. This trick of
the trade will enable you to get
the characters‘ heads close
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Now, look of Ihese two ways lo
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Cmrtefi NIN€
PUTTING IT ALL
TOGETHER: POSE,
COLOR, AND STYLE
N ow we're getting down to the subtle touches that can make or break a drawing.
What poses do your characters strike, and what does this say about them and the story
line? What do the colors you use say about your characters? And how do you add a
sense ot style to your drawings?
Betore you put pen to paper, think three-quarter Front view. That's the angle that usually
works best in creating characters who have dimension and attitude. Characters you create trom
this angle will be much more emotive than those you portray in a straight-on Front shot, just
standing there staring back at you with their arms at their sides.
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Poses create attitude. Begin by
imagining the poses your
character will need to strike in the
story to convey various emotions,
personality attributes, age, and
other characteristics. It you are
designing an old man, tor
instance, you mightwant him to be
a bit slumped, rather than standing
straight. This pose immediately
suggests advanced age.
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-_ “rt poses do you Find more appealing?
CHAPTER NINE - PUTTING IT AU. TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

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In the animation world, we
create what are called
“model sheets.” These are
simply pages that show a
character in various poses,
with different expressions,
and seen from various angles.
Likewise, a “turnaround
sheet" shows the character
in a plain pose from all
different views, so the artist
knows what the character
and his/her costumes look
like from all angles. An
“expressions sheet” shows
how a character's face
changes with each change in
emotion or mood.

we eyes P<A\J€ tr
When lwas startingout, mymentorusedtotell me, ”Make suretheeyesdodtwobbleormove
around the iaoe, beoause you'll notioe the eyes belore anything else." The lesson here is, it’s
important thatyou make the eyes look Begin with round eyes, no matter the angle in whidw
you'veplacedyourcharocters. You'll lind iteasiertoplacetheeyesonthelacewhentheyare
round. Then, onoe the eyes are in the right position, vary the eye shapes as you wish.
There are three main elements to creating stronger expressions in the eyes.
¢ attect the tops oi the eyes, as they compress and stretch the eye shape.
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' are especially expressive. Looking all to the top lelt or right can indicate deep
thought. A downward glance can indicate sadness or contusion.
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CHAPTER NINE ' PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

Here's a character looking to the lelt in the most basic way. Ca IL

Flattening one side oi the pupil will help
impart a sense oi direction. Using the shape ii
oitheeyebrowstocompressonesideoithe |
eyeandstretchtheotherexaggeratestheeye 37% W
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Wo|k with the eyes to create all kinds ol dillerent expressions. Here are a lew I thought up using
diilenent kinds oi eyes as examples. Pushing the pupil outside ol the eye circle is a oartoony
"cheat,"
butit’salsoa surelirewaytocreatea strongersenseoleyedirection.
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CHAPTER NINE ' PUTTING IT AU. TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

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Pupils give the eyes expression.
The way you position the pupils
will show your characters’
thoughts, and also indicate to
whom they are speaking and the
direction in which they are
looking. Here are some common
mistakes illustrators make when
directing the eyes
It's especially difficult to draw
eyes-and almond-shaped eyes in
particular—from a three-quarter
view. When doing so, you can
inadvertently make the
character look wall-eyed or
cross-eyed. One way to avoid
this effect is to make sure the
pupils are touching either the
top or the bottom of the eye.

60 wtfit TM Fww
Flow is the way all the nerves, bones, and muscles oonnect together in a naturally rhythmic way
in a drawing. When you design characters, you'll create llow with the use oi ”S" curves.
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When I was designing Mushu, the dragon
in the lilm Mulan, the directors had one
maior mandate: Make him look dillerent,
not like a guy wearing a costume. The
design was based on a snake, so there
was a certain natural leeling ol llaw in the
drawing (Example ll. But something
wasn't quite right. One at the other
supervising animators, Ruben Aquino,
saw the drawings and suggested having
the creature's neck lit into the back at its
headratherthanthebottom. Bam!That
was all that was needed! By moving this
connection point, we created more llaw
lromtheheadallthewaythroughthe
body (Example 2).
/ cumen NINE - PUTTING IT ALL roosmsa; POSE, COLOR, AND sms E

Lowe \>€\2s<>nA\,\"ry
Nowifstimetorenderthecharaders in ourlilm incolor. Wewill becreatingwhatisdescribed
in the animation industry as "color models.” On most Feature-length animated films, an artist
lcnownasthecolormodelistcreatesthedwaractercolormodels,worlringclosetywiththeart
direcbrbe'\surethatthecolorsdlernestorthevanouschamctersvod<well withoneanother,
as well as with the background colors in the lilm. I asked my good Friend Paul Conrad, a very
talented designer and a genius in the use ot color, to act as color modelist tor our imaginary
tilm production. Since I had drawn the designs he was coloring, I played the role oi director
and gave him occasional suggestions as to what colors I saw as I was designing my characters.
The first step was to create tight, inked versions at the characters so they would be clear and
easiertocolor. Kim.‘
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CHAPTER NINE ~ PUTTING IT All TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

_ HERO COLO26 _
Time to color! Let's start with Dillon. The lirst thing I did
was to go on|ine and look at the work ol costume artists
who recreate authentic period Westem wear. From this
research Paul and I leamed that cowboys usually wore
red bandannas. From the description oi Dillon on page
23,v~/elmowthatourherohasblond hairandwears
dirty, ragged clothes. Paul wanted to use a dark color For
the hat so that Dillon's lighter hair would stand out, and
he was caretul to use warm browns. That was in
keeping with the general rule at thumb tor color models:
Good guys wear light, wann colors, and bad guys wear
dark, cool colors. The brown at Dillon's pants has a
wann, reddish tint that harmonizes with the color at his
bandanna.
VER. 1
We liked some oi Version T, but we thought that
Dillon was way too dark to look like the good guy.
So Paul tried a blue shirt, making sure to push the
colortothevioletsidetowarm upthetonea bitin
Version 2.
VER. 2
CHAPTER NINE ~ PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

Thoughwelikedtheoontrustotthebtond hoirogoinstthedmk hot, I teltthehotwos iusttoo

dork tor our hero. Poul tried 0 lighter, grayish version ot the hut and c||so reversed the colors ot
the punts and boots to lighten Dillon up some more. Not wanting to have too mony light colors,
he changed the shirt to o darker worm brown.
VER. 3
CHAPTER NINE - PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

We neolty |ii<ed the light gray hot and the brown leutheresque ponts, but we wanted to see more
color in the shirt. So Poul tried something new, 0 greenish color. I |i|<e this one: I think we got it!
VER. 4
CHAPTER NINE > PUTTING n ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND sms

_ HEEOINE COLORS —
Our research on Westem wear in the l800s showed that
brawn really was the dominant color oi clothing in that era.
So Paul started with a very conservative color scheme For
Polly. He used Poll)/s personality, as outlined in the description
on page 23, as his guide For making other color choices. He
went with a light, natural lip color, as Polly wouldn't want to
have garish, bright colors on her lips. The green eyes work
well, since green is complementary to red, the color at her
hair. We also liked the bright red bow, since it's colortul and
speaks to the spunky side oi personality.
VER 1
Still, our tirstversion had too much brown, and the
colors blended together a bit too much. For the
next try, we went in a completely ditterent
direction. Sometimes you leam what you really
want by drawing at the extremes. In this case, we
went with bright oolors on everything. Even the red
on the bow is brighter, more pure. I kind ol like the
orange hair and the blue ol the skirt, but these
colors are a bit too extreme.
VER. 2
CHAPTER NINE ' PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

We then went back to some of the more subtle elements

in our first version, while incorporating some ot the colors
we liked From the second version. Paul went with a darker
skirt, because it’s more conservative and better suits Poll)/s
demure personality. The pink shirt oilsets the skirt and
rellects Poll)/s spunkiness. We both liked that. Polly is
slightly attracted to both Brent (the villain) and Dillon (the
hero), and the tension between these two opposing colors
symbolically rellects her ambivalence about the two key
men in her liie. I really liked the cdor ot the green bow,
but ielt we were using too many bright colors alongside
the pink blouse. It was a tough call....
VER. 3
Ultimately, I just lelt the pink was too cartoony and cliche
We went back to the red bow, kept the conservative
dark skirt, and used the green that was in the bow for
Poll)/s blouse. This is it!
CHAPTER NINE ' PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE
VER. 4

Black is evil, white is pure” is on old-tashioned,

overdone, and yet (despite all that) tried-and-true
expression. Since the earliest days oi cowboy movies,
the bod guys hove wom black hots. So, For Brent, who
comes oil smooth and suave when he wants to but is
greedy and evil to the core, we began with o dark,
brown palette.
VER. 1
._J_
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ll l -l
In the next version, Paul went tor a purple coat and
darker ponts. Purple is traditionally used to show evil.
(Through the ages, lots oi Disney villains have wom
purple.) Still, this color scheme seemed too cartoony tor
us. We didn't want Brent's evil side to be so obvious that
Polly would recognize his true colors (pun intended)
right oil.
VER. 2
CHAPTER NINE - PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

Next we went with a red coat and a vest that's brown,

to match the boots. I like this version because Brent is
not as cartoony in it as he is in the previous version. Red
can convey energy and perkiness (as it does in Poll)/s
bow), but it can also be symbolic oi evil. My problem
with this version is that these colors make Brent look like
one oi those aristocratic Brits who ride around on
horses blowing into curly homs and hunting taxes.
Time lor something totally diilerent! Paul pulled out all the
stops and went in the other color direction. In the tinal
version, Brent's boots and iacket are a light, creamy gray,
and the jacket has gold buttons that tie in nicely to the
sherill’s These colors work well because while
they re lighter than the colors in the other versions, they are
cool and make Brent appear icy, putting him in contrast to
Dillon and Polly. The long coat seems British and Old West
at the some time. This Final version is not what I expected,
but it works beautifully.
These colors hint at the
evil side Brent will reveal
to Polly later in the iilm.
VER. 3
FINAL
O
CHAPTER NINE ' PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

R<:>ui\.tB\t\i6 <:>u"r we CA$1’

Our goal in creating color models tor the rest of the cast was to select colors
that spoke to the characters as individuals, with a nod to how
those characters would look when playing a scene together.
GRIT As the bod deputy to the even
worse sheritt, Grit is all meanness. He
doesn't have the suave side that Brent
does, so his colors can rellect his evil
intentions right oh‘ the bat. Grit was the one
character tor whom we wanted to make
heavyuseotthebrawncolorswesawso
much ot in our reterence sources. Also, a
black (or close to it) hat seemed a natural.
These colors also looked good juxtaposed
against Brent's color scheme, when the two
bad guys were shown together.
CHAPTER NINE ~ PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE
The color scheme For Poll)/s
leisty little pooch who has a cmsh on Dillon
is pretty straightforward: Ruthie looks like
the Shiatzu dog she is. This breed does
have some color variations, but we went
with warm gray spots that work well with
Poll)/s colors. Paul added some nice
touches: cool gray eyebrows that stand out,
and a red bow to match Poll)/s.

Dillon's horse is addicted to can'ots, so his mane and tail are orange.
Meanwhile, his ears are a little rabbitlike, another lun element. His true-blue eyes rellect
his loyalty to Dillon.
CHAPTER NINE ' PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

— =‘Q;Q€*»“t” t;'1f3LQt?; HT@5it§':7F-t§@Z>t\J‘f —

Color harmony reters to how the various colors ot all the characters work together It we've done
our jobs right to this point, then we shou|d be close to having a cast at characters that looks
good in a "group portrait." After a||, we didn't create each character in a vacuum. All along,
we were thinking about how the characters would took together. Would they harmonize?
CHAPTER NINE = PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

Oops! We missed one element In our ellorfs to make Dillon and Polly look good Iogellwer, we
accidentally used the
same color For Dillon's shirt and Poll)/s blouse. They re not brolher and sister, so we needed to
adjust the color of Dillon's
shirt. Here is the Final color lineup lor our Western lilm. ll I may say so, everyone looks prefly good
togellwer.
F/ML 6'/M/?46'7'EK L/A/E//F
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CHAPTER NINE ‘ PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLQR, AND STYLE

ST)/U2
CHAPTER NINE ' PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE
Any project has its own style, and style is all about consistency—using certain elements
repeatedly in the designs at various characters. ls the style angular or rounded? ls it made up
oi a little ot both? Are the eyes on all your characters really big, and do the characters have
tiny mouths and sharpangled noses? To show some examples at how to apply style, I have
illustrated the same character, a generic yet attractive lemale character, in dilterent styles that
would work tor ditterent types ot roles. Notice just how much style can diller, and how much
styleallectsthewayacharactercomesacross
_ COMIC BOOK —
Comic-book characters are usually pretty detailed
(that's largely because you don't need to draw them
again and again). Superheroes in the comics tend
to be based on real anatomy, are very illustrative
and realistic, and are usually drawn with a lot oi
shadows and cross-hatching. For me, drawing a
comic-book character is exhausting.

_ TV OIZ WEB ANIMATION

I grouped TV and Web animation together because both
are usually considered limited animation, thus many oi
the same design mles apply to each. Limited animation
means that only part at the characte/s body, such as the
mouth and eyes, moves. For this reason, you need to
build breaks—pIaces in the design where one shape is
cut oit irom the next—into these kinds ot characters.
VI/ith these breaks in place, an animator can easily place
thepartthatmoves(suchasthehead)ontoapartthat
doesn't mave (like the body).
— FEATURE ANIMATION I
CHAPTER NINE ~ PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE
Feature animation characters need to be a little more
detailed than TV animation characters, because they ll
be doing more acting. However, sinoe each character is
handdrawn hundreds and thousands ot times, details
must be kept to a minimum. Streamlining the design is
the name ot the game. This said, you oan accomplish a
lot with just a lew lines; look at any oi the most successlul
animated Films tor prool.

_ C6 Al\llMQTl0N —
1.;
X. '
‘is.
Computer-animation characters and traditionally drawn
animation <:haracters are not that dilterent, but CG '
(computer graphics) characters can have more textures,
shines, and highlights to them. The most attractive CG
characters are the simplest ones, with their look enhanced
by details such as patlems on clothing.
%
it/I050 ewes 1
Vtfith most video games, the sk/s the limit. Some are
realistic and some are cartoony, but almost all oi them
nowadays are detailed, stylized, and Think
weapons, costumes, equipment and think most oi all
about the core market, boys 12 to 21, to whom video
game designs must appeal.
CHAPTER NINE ' PUTUNG IT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

— MQNGQ —
There are ditierent styles within the
certain elements repeat in most oi these characters: big
eyes, small mouths, jagged hair, skimpy outtits. Faces are
extremely caricatured, bodies less so.
Manga world, but
iconic sTQiPs_ Ul t I /
II
Comic strips come in many styles, but one element is
common to all: simplified characters. This is largely because
comics need to be reduced to very small sizes. Also, the
creatorshavetodrawthesecharactersoverandover
again. Comic strip designers get to cheat between Front
views and side views. Since you never see the character
movelrom theirontviewtothesideview, thetwoviews
don't have to connect lluidly, as they do in animation.
CHAPTER NINE ' PUTT|NG lT ALL TOGETHER: POSE, COLOR, AND STYLE

AFT€Rw oRt>
As I sit here at my kitchen tabIe writing these Iinal thoughts I can honestiy say this has been a great
ride. I hope you enioy this booI< as much as I did creating it. I am thanktul that this booI< aitorded
me the chance to worI< with some at the most talented (and kindest) creators in their given areas
at expertise. AII at them were exceptionaiiy supportive at the book and the idea behind it. They,
like me, have a passion For creating characters and bringing them to Iite in some Form. My wish
is that one otyou readers—or hey, maybe more than one on you! —wi|I go on to create
characters
that wiII Iive on tor years to come.
Thanks For coming along on this trip with me. Good night.
Tom Bancrott

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$l995USA
/ $23.95 Canada
Ckeatinc Chakaeteks with Veksonalify
Character design is all around us—in Feature Films, in comics and video games, on
the Web, in corporate icons, in children's book illustration, and in many other
places. Even so, during his long and distinguished career as a character designer,
Tom Bancrott made a discovery: He's never seen a book devoted to character
design. So, he wrote Creating Characters with Personality, sharing his skill and
insights to inspire and instruct anyone who's ever dreamed at creating an action
hero or a zombie. Bancrott is an adept teacher and explains such elements as size,
proportion, and tilts in clear, concise prose. He passes on secrets at the trade tor
successtully bringing humans, animals, and monsters to lite and adding pose, color,
and style to any illustration. He also presents the work and insights of some at the
greatest illustrators oi our time, and he leads readers through a series oi engaging
assignments that may well launch many successful careers in illustration.
Animation veteran Tom Bancrott worked . / __§
at Walt Disney Feature Animation, ‘I l
Florida, tor 12 years, animating such ‘ l K ii 1/
Films as Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and y l _ ,
the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, *1 '5',~".5
»
Pocahontas, Mulan, Tarzan, Atlantis, and 5 7 ,’ -/‘
Brother Bear. With artistic partner Rob . .,,$\ M
Corley he Founded Funnypages -~ m ' '~
Productions, specializing in children's ~~_[ . ‘K _
books, character designs, animation, ‘fa ‘<7-'3‘
—-*1
video game development and comic ‘ ‘“ -._ ‘Tm
books tor Disney, Fisher-Price, Big Idea "'1' e I
4
Productions, EMI-CMG Records, DC I
Comics, Hasbro, Tommy Nelson,
.......-_ ,_.
award in 2005.
Scholastic and other clients. Tom also ~_i A "
publishes his creator-owned comic, 4 {
Opposite Forces, along with comics by ‘ ‘ ' A K
other talented creators. Opposite Forces 1
was nominated For a Rueben category v -1-
Q!