#Character design animation full

And above all have fun!! However, donвЂ™t settle on a design too soon. Now itвЂ™s time to have some fun and start drawing! Sketch poses and expressions. Start Drawing, Experimenting & Sketching (But, DonвЂ™t Fall In Love) This is what will ultimately help your audience connect with the character and ultimately make for a better design, and hopefully a better film. You have to know their motivationsвЂ¦ How does your character think? What are their needs? Are they happy? Are they sad? Why?ДЄll of this information will begin to inform the look of your character and will give your designs a sense of attitude and life. ItвЂ™s not just a matter of knowing the plot. No matter how big or small the role of a character in film is, you should understand their place in the story and their motivations. Understand the Story (And How Your Character Fits) Inspiration and early design approaches to Rajah in вЂњAladdin.вЂќ 4. It was that design that ended up in the final film. I rushed back to my animation desk and having been freshly inspired by the hood ornament, I had my tiger character down on paper very quickly. Immediately a вЂњlight bulbвЂќ went off in my head. The flowing shape of the sculpture caught my eye. Then one day I was walking down the street in Orlando (I was working at the Florida studio at the time) and I saw the hood ornament on a Jaguar automobile. While designing the character of Rajah I initially struggled with turning the stylized linework that was essential to the film into a believable tiger character. Therefore, the directors wanted a very smooth and flowing line for all the characters. If your designs and images donвЂ™t look like they вЂњbelongвЂќ in the world of the film I can guarantee that they will be rejected by an art director every time.ДЄs I briefly mentioned in the video, for Aladdin the look of the film was roughly inspired by the great cartoonist and caricature artist, Al Hirschfeld.

Know The UniverseД¬haracter designs must serve the overall look of the film! The вЂњdesign conceitвЂќ or вЂњlookвЂќ of the film is something that is developed as a part of the pre-production process. You are now ready to start stylizing the character and finding your design.

#Character design animation full

Once, you have a full understanding of the вЂњreal thingвЂќ and you can draw it from any angle or in any pose.

IвЂ™ve even ordered castings of real polar bear skeletons to really get a sense of the underlying structure. Aaron Blaise (right) drawing a tiger cub during the production of DisneyвЂ™s вЂњAladdin.вЂќДЄgain, in the case of Snow Bear, I am learning everything I can about polar bear anatomy. While at Disney we consistently went to figure drawing classes and went to the zoo to keep our вЂњreal worldвЂќ knowledge of humans and animals sharp. ItвЂ™s crucial that you have an understanding of anatomy so that you understand the underlying formвЂ¦ Only then you can begin to abstract it effectively. I will continually add to these boards as the vis-dev process unfolds. Everywhere I look there is an image that tells me something about the real world and that all seeps back into development and design process. These вЂњvision boardsвЂќ help to immerse me in the subject. I then pin them to boards all around the studio. Once IвЂ™m back in at my desk I typically print out hundreds of research images and sketches. All of which will aid in our understanding of the world of the film and help us build a вЂњmental libraryвЂќ that we can pull from. On these trips, we will create hundreds of drawings and shoot thousands of photos. This sort of first hand experience is invaluable.

Research trip images from вЂњBrother BearвЂќ and other film projects. While making Brother Bear for Disney the story team and I took numerous trips up to Alaska to study wildlife, and native Inuit and Athabaskan culture. Whenever possible I also try to get out into nature and see the animals, or other subject matter, in person. I also utilize Google for information regarding polar bears, as well as images. Personally, in the case of Snow Bear I am recording and watching animal documentaries by the truckload. ItвЂ™s absolutely crucial that you know as much about the вЂњreal thingвЂќ as you possibly can before you start designing. So, here are my вЂњ7 Steps to Great Character Design.вЂќ 1. I also wanted to elaborate on some of the points from the video in the article below.