Character design is the process of creating how a character looks, moves and behaves so the audience understands who they are at a glance. Character theory is the set of ideas that explain why some designs communicate better than others, such as archetypes, shape language and silhouette. A good design also suits its genre: a hero for a pre-school game looks very different from a hero for a science-fiction adventure.

For anatomy and figure drawing, see Motion and Figure Drawing for Animation and Games. For characters inspired by folklore, see Folklore, Culture and Heritage in Animation and Game Design. This post is about design principles and genre.

Start with the role, not the drawing

Before sketching, decide what the character does in the story or game:

• Archetype – a familiar role such as the hero, mentor, sidekick, trickster, guardian or villain. Archetypes help audiences understand a character quickly; your job is to add something fresh.
• Personality – three key traits, a goal and a flaw.
• Function in a game – player character, non-player character (NPC), enemy or boss. A game character’s abilities (jump, fly, climb, heal) must match the gameplay, and its design should hint at them.

Character design principles

Shape language

Shape language means using basic shapes to suggest personality:

• Circles – soft, friendly, playful and safe. Common for young, cute or kind characters.
• Squares and rectangles – solid, strong, stable and dependable, like a loyal protector.
• Triangles – sharp, energetic, dynamic or dangerous. Pointing upwards they can suggest confidence; pointing downwards they can suggest menace.

Most designs mix shapes, with one shape in charge.

Silhouette

A strong character is recognisable even when filled in solid black. Test your design by filling the outline: can you still tell who it is and what they are doing? A clear silhouette is essential in games, where characters are often small on screen and must be recognised instantly.

Proportion and exaggeration

Changing proportions changes how we read a character. Big heads, big eyes and short limbs look young and cute; long legs and a small head look elegant or powerful; a huge upper body looks strong. Decide how stylised your world is and keep every character in that style.

Colour

Choose a small palette of three to five main colours. Bright, saturated, warm colours feel cheerful and energetic; muted or cool colours feel calm, serious or mysterious. Make sure the character stands out against the backgrounds it will appear on (see Colour Theory, Texture, Composition and Layout). Remember that colour meanings vary between cultures.

Costume, props and abilities

Props (objects a character carries) and costumes tell us about a character’s job, culture and history. In games, a prop often shows an ability: a staff for magic, boots for speed, a lantern for exploring dark caves.

Designing for genre

Genre and audience	Typical design choices
Pre-school and young children	Round shapes, big heads and eyes, bright friendly colours, simple silhouettes, no scary details.
Platformer and action-adventure	Clear silhouette, dynamic poses, one or two bold colours, visible abilities.
Fantasy and role-playing	Costumes, armour and props that show class and culture; detailed but readable designs.
Science fiction	Technology built into costumes, clean geometric shapes, glowing accents.
Comedy	Strong exaggeration, stretchy proportions and very expressive faces.
Horror (for older audiences)	Unsettling proportions, sharp shapes, dark or desaturated colours.

Example

Brief: a hero for an adventure game for pre-schoolers (ages 3–5). Trinidad and Tobago is often called the “land of the hummingbird”, so the hero is Zuzu the Hummingbird.

• Shapes – a round body and head (friendly), with a small triangular beak and tail so she still looks quick.
• Proportion – a very large head and eyes for a cute, young look.
• Colour – bright emerald green with a warm orange scarf that stands out against green forests.
• Prop – a flower-petal backpack that carries seeds.
• Special abilities – Hover (to reach high flowers), Zoom (a quick dash) and Seed Sprout (plants a seed that grows into a bridge or ladder).
• Genre fit – Zuzu solves problems by helping and growing things, never by fighting, which suits young children.

Watch this video from Winged Canvas to see how studios use shape language:

Exercise

1. Explain, with three examples from animations or games you know, how a character’s design matches its genre.
2. Draw a simple character, then redesign it for two different genres. Label what changed (shapes, proportions, colour, props).
3. Group activity: design a hero for a pre-schoolers’ adventure game. Write a short profile, draw six thumbnail silhouettes and choose the clearest one.
4. Develop your chosen design with a colour palette, a prop and at least two special abilities. Label how each ability is used in the game.
5. Keep your design. You will create a turnaround for it in the next lesson.

Next: How to Draw a Character Turnaround: Model Sheets, Views and Consistent Proportions

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 1: Fundamentals of Animation and Game Design, Module 3: Story and Character Development – Specific Objective 4 (“explain character design as it relates to genre”); Specific Objective 5 (“design genre-appropriate characters”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Sprite Fright-concept art-sprite 01.jpg – Ricky Nierva / Blender Foundation – CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Fig. Character Design Model Sheet A (cc) 2017 01.jpg – Guilherme Silveira Dias – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Spring-concept art-Spring and Autumn 01.jpg – Blender Foundation (Spring open movie; uploaded by David Revoy) – CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

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