Character design

Character design is the visual planning of a character’s appearance, proportions, clothing, and expressive features. It makes a character recognizable and legible across images, poses, and scenes.

Silhouette: The outer contour of a figure or object, perceived as a distinct shape. A clear contour lets a character remain recognizable without interior detail.
Model sheet: A reference drawing that records a character’s appearance from multiple views and poses. Model sheets preserve proportions and details across artists and production stages.
Visual storytelling: The communication of narrative information through images and visual composition. Appearance can establish a character’s history or role without dialogue.
Mickey Mouse: A cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, first appearing in 1928. His simple circular forms support recognition across changing poses and styles.
Fashion design: The creation of clothing and accessories for individual wearers or markets. Character clothing serves a fictional identity and story, not only wearability or trend.
Shape language: The use of geometric forms to suggest qualities such as softness, stability, or danger. Recurring shapes give a character’s design a consistent visual impression.
Turnaround (animation): A set of views showing a character rotated through different angles. Turnarounds test whether a design remains coherent beyond its front view.
Gesture drawing: A quick drawing method that captures a figure’s movement, energy, and overall action. Gesture helps a design feel active rather than like a static costume display.
Snoopy: The beagle character in Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts. A compact, flexible design supports Snoopy’s many imagined roles.
Portrait painting: The depiction of a particular person, emphasizing their likeness or presence. Character design may prioritize repeatable stylization over resemblance to a real individual.

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