Script

Introduction
First impressions are very important, and the best way to introduce a
character is through their character design. A good character can be
communicated very well by just how they look. Today I will be talking
about things that make a good character design, and why they do.
Brief History
In 1892 the first piece of animation was made, Pauvre Pierrot. Years
later an animation called Feline Folles is created which features the
first cartoon character with a real design and personality, Felix the
Cat.

After failing with a company called ‘Laugh-O-Grams’ Walt Disney

creates Mickey Mouse and stars him in the animation ‘Steamboat
Willie’.

‘Bosko, the Talk-Ink kid’ is released by Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising

and Leon Schlesinger in 1929, which then leads to the creation of the
Looney Toons. In the 1930s they create more characters like Porky
Pig, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny.

Disney creates Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck. Other
characters like Popeye and Betty Boop are created as well.

In the 1950s cel shaded animation starts appearing more and

overtaking the traditional rubber hose style. Hanna-Barbera is
formed and they create characters like Tom and Jerry, and
Huckleberry Hound. Looney Tunes create characters like Speedy
Gonzales and the Tasmanian Devil.

In the 60’s animation begins to appear in advertisements like Cocoa

puffs. Characters like Fred Flintstone, Charlie Brown and Scooby Doo
are created. In Japan anime starts being made, with characters like
Astro Boy and Sally the Witch.
In the 70’s an uneasy political climate leads to darker and more
mature cartoons and the first video games start being created, but
they’re still rather simplistic. This decade gives us Fat Albert, the
Jetsons and Pink Panther.

In the 80’s Characters like He-Man, the Transformers and My Little

Pony are created. In Europe the Smurfs, Inspector Gadget and
Danger Mouse. In Japan Studio Ghibli is started creating characters
like Totoro and Ponyo. On the Tracey Ulman show, a new segment is
created by Matt Groening, introducing the world to the craze that is
The Simpsons. Video games start using characters like Mario, Donkey
Kong and Pac-Man.

In the 90’s 3D computer animation becomes popular leading to

characters like Woody and Filk from a Bug’s Life. Video games get
more advanced and create more iconic characters like Sonic, Kirby
and Pikachu. A marine biologist named Stephen Hillenburg creates
SpongeBob SquarePants, one of the most famous fictional characters
of all time.

After the 2000’s 3D animation gets more commonly used, creating

characters like Shrek, the Minions and Jimmy Neutron. The Internet
becomes used by more of the world, allowing independent creators
to create their own works. This leads to characters such as Minecraft
Steve, Sans, Salad Fingers and the trio from Eddsworld.

How Technology Has Improved It

As technology has improved, so has the ability to design characters.
Originally films were viewed in black and white, which was changed
when colour film was invented, with the first coloured animation
being Fiddlesticks featuring Flip the Frog.

Another change in character design was the invention of anime,

utilising a more realistically proportioned yet still stylized design
approach to characters.
Perhaps the biggest change was adding a third dimension, as now
characters need to worry about shading and depth. Initially people
struggled to perfect realism, which failed badly resulting in an effect
called the uncanny valley. This is where and imperfect job at
replicating human realism can lead to something feeling eerie or
creepy, akin to a corpse.

This can be seen with humans in Toy Story like Andy or Sid (I feel like
Al looks stylised enough to get a pass.) The humans in The Polar
Express also have issues with being uncanny It was actually a big part
of why this theory was created. In 2020 the original design for the
movie version of Sonic the hedgehog was so uncanny looking, with
humanoid eyes, hands and teeth being placed on a cartoon
hedgehog, that fan backlash caused the studio to redesign him. A
good way to counter this is through stylisation. Allowing a character
to look a bit more cartoony or expressive can help avoid uncanniness
as the character isn’t even trying to replicate human features.

Despite all this, 3D animation can create some very nicely designed
characters who’s features really stand out in 3D, like Puss in Boots,
The Wayfarer from Journey or Magolor.

The last big technological change had to be the invention of the

Internet, as now anyone with access to the internet can create and
upload works featuring characters, and they have a whole world’s
worth of inspiration and references to add to designs. This can even
lead to big levels of success, such as Helluva Boss by Vivziepop or
Smiling Friends by Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack.
Key Techniques
I feel like three good techniques that help with making good designs
are use of silhouette, palette and personality.

Silhouette is the use of shape to make a character recognisable by

just their shadow. Some good examples of these include characters
with certain unique features like Mickey Mouse’s ears, Stewie
Griffin’s head or Hatsune Miku’s pigtails.

Another good use of shapes is to help show off their personality. It is

commonly thought that circles, squares and triangles seem to add a
different feel to a character.

Circles seem to show off a feel of friendliness or softness, shown in

characters like Kirby or Po (Kung fu panda), who are both friendly,
happy-go-lucky gluttons who want to do good.

Squares look strong and bulky which is shown in characters like

Batman (the animated series) or Shrek, both characters who are
strong reliable loners with deeper layers to them.

Triangles seem to show off danger or sleekness like Jafar or Sonic.

Jafar is an evil usurper and his clothes and face is very pointy to show
how dangerous ad threatening his is. Sonic is a different case, as he is
pointy because he is sleek, cool and streamlined, and while still
powerful, is quite laid back and fights for the side of good. Also,
hedgehogs are naturally spiky, so there’s the real-life influence too.

Colour palette is important as aside from allowing characters to be

more pleasant to look at they can also tell us a lot about the
character. Certain colours may invoke certain emotions, like red
being passionate or angry, blue being calm and melancholy or green
looking natural or sickly.

Good colour schemes can be complimentary or analogous.

Complimentary colour schemes tend to contrast on the colour
wheel, like Mario and Luigi’s red and green contrasting one another,
which clearly points out who’s who. Analogous colour schemes tend
to blend with colours near them on the colour wheel, like Peter Pan’s
outfit being comprised almost entirely of different shades of green.
Of course, not all good colour choices are this black and white and
some may work well due to how well they rebel against this, like Eve
from No Straight Roads being covered in different colours and
patterns to show off her personality as an eccentric and non-
conventional artist.

Personality is very important to a character and can be shown in

their design. Exaggeration can be a good way of showing this off and
can be shown in the pose, body type or outfit of the character.
Goofy’s poses are exaggerated as he’s aways being shown being
clumsy or tripping over or being generally… goofy. Popeye’s body
type is very exaggerated for his personality. His arms are swollen
with muscle while the biceps are skinny so he looks small and
scrappy while still being able to throw a good punch, and his eye is
constantly winking so he looks constantly angry and ready to fight.

A character’s outfit is a good way of portraying their personality.

They may be extravagant, practical or have some other way of selling
a character to you. Ms Frizzle from the Magic School Bus wears a
long dress with various pictures of scientific objects on it, like a
geekier version of a wizard’s robe, which portrays her quirky
personality but also her use of magic to teach the children about
science. Razor from Genshin Impact is another good portrayal of
personality through clothing. He comes off as a bit feral due to being
raised by wolves and this is shown in his outfit as fairly makeshift
looking, with a jacket covered in tassels and belts, bandages on his
body, a brown poncho and a tooth necklace. His colour scheme looks
very earthy and nature which could relate to camouflaging.

One last thing that may help a character design is well-researched

reference to real life and culture. Many Pokémon have very well
thought out ties to real life animals and references to cultures and
mythology. My favourite Pokemon of all time is called Wooper, a
small, blue armless creature based on the axolotl, or as it’s called in
Japan, the Wooper-Looper. These are very interesting animals as
they can transform into salamanders under certain conditions, very
similar to how Wooper evolves into Quagsire. This is caused either
naturally due to hormones or unnaturally through exposure to
iodine. This is seen as cruel, however, as it heavily reduces their life
expectancy, and should not be done.
My Attempt
First I had randomised several prompts, although looking nonsensical
at first I noticed several ties and developed an idea from there. First
I roughly drew the body, shaped the hair and then added the outfit. I
then added finer details like accessories, scars and posed them. I
figured the plant and scientist theming could be like a scientist who
became plant-like due to an experiment going wrong. I made her hair
resemble a rose, made her legs tree stumps and after adding a
green- purple colour scheme I had created Creeper, a botanist who’s
become a little too absorbed into her work.
Interview
*Interview to be scattered throughout the video as a way to segment
the topics. *
Conclusion
In conclusion, a good character design is crucial to allowing a well-
made character to be loved and recognised, and while not always
needed I think these are a good set of guidelines to follow when
designing a character.