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The Secret of Good Animation Character Design

Notes from the panel discussion at Comic-Con 2003, San Diego.

Panel members:
Shane Glines (Batman Beyond, Superman)
Ricky Nierva (Monsters, Inc., art director for Finding Nemo)
Jorge Gutierrez (Disney Development, also Chalk Zone and Warner Bros.)
Gabe Swarr (Big Pants Mouse, Spumco, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros.,)
Carlos Ramos (Time Squad)

The secret to good animation design is a pretty open ended question. There is no secret. Hopefully
this discussion will help clarify some things that will improve your designs.

Q: Briefly, what do you guys think makes good design? What are the pure, across the board
elements of good character design for animation?
-At Pixar, they always say story is king. But in the art dept. good design is just as important. The
design has to support the story.
-Good design helps you to look beyond just the design and see what the character is all about
(color, clothing, posture, etc.)
-Study the work of Maurice Noble, who was a Master, a legend of character design.
-Good design is based on what kind of story you are trying to tell. (i.e. Beavis and Butthead’s
crude design style matches the type of humor of that show. Finding Nemo’s characters saying
Beavis and Butthead dialogue wouldn’t work.)
-General appeal.
-Personal taste.
-The director’s vision (design is very collaborative)
-How simple or difficult will it be to animate and draw?
-Funny to look at
-Has contrast in shapes (big and small, square to round, skinny to fat, thick lines to thin, straights
and curves).
-All proportions should not be equal. Vary them! i.e. Eyes high on the head plus short legs plus
long arms, etc.
-Fun to look at
-Will hold an audience’s interest
-Remember the animators have to animate it. Will the character move well, or will it cause the
animators to struggle and have problems?
-Since animation is such a team effort, you don’t really get to design for yourself. All of your work
gets refined and adjusted by directors, other artists, etc., which often results in your vision being
compromised.
-its an honor to work with a visionary and creative director/team, but things do get watered down in
order to please everyone.
-”You always have to take it past excellent, from a 10 to and 11, and then from 11 all the way to
Z.” In other words, make it great, so that after the team/committees/decision makers water it down
it still looks good and holds up.
Q: When you design, do you go as extreme as you can in anticipation of it being watered down?
-The secret is to try and stay ignorant of what else is going on and just doing your best work.
Q: How do you fit your style into a project or show that already has a specified “look”?
-Its really difficult. You still can start out really exaggerated, after which it can be brought down.
If your designs are going to be translated into CG, keep that in mind.
Your drawing skills have to be excellent. A poorly drawn character will not be improved just by
building it in a computer.
Work on putting your own personal stamp on a design. Don’t just do what everyone else is doing.
Q: Do you think audiences recognize a good design, or do you have to dumb down your designs
for the general public?
-Judging by what is popular, it seems the general public has low standards for character design.
-Its all in the eye of the beholder. What one person finds appealing another might not.
Q: Do you think a design can be so strong that it draws attention to itself instead of the character?
-yes.
-You can have a design that works great for the show and is successful in the show’s context, and at
the same time it is not a very aesthetically pleasing design (i.e. the Simpsons).
Q: What is good design in today's cartoons? Who are today’s best designers?
[NOTE: I’m not sure of the spelling of the following names. I was just trying to type them as they
were ratlled off by the panel].
-Lynn Maylor
-Craig Hellman (Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls)
-Anne Sasick--childrens books
-Dan Clouse--8 ball comics
-Ralph Steadman
-Look at illustration and comic books
-Russel surrel
-chuck jones
-Maurice Noble
-Geefwee Boedoe ( Monsters Inc. character designer)
-books that collect the best in advertising art (especially the 40’s and 50’s)
-Mayan and African design
-don’t just emulate other animation designers, because that gets old. Look outside animation to
other influences.
-This industry is feast or famine and it is always changing. In order to be flexible and original and
keep working, you have to draw from lots of sources.
-Don’t just hide in your cave and watch movies and draw all the time. Get out there and live life,
play sports, fall in love, etc. That’s what good filmmakers draw from. They don’t just copy other
movies and other artists.

Q: Are there any specific rules to keep in mind for designing for 3D vs. 2D?
-In computer design, a big mistake is to try and just move an object around. The secret to good
design is to pull back and be more graphic and simplified. Less is more.
-A really good design is will continue to hold up for future generations no matter how much
computer technology improves.
Q: What kind of background does a designer need?
-of the five of us, 3 of us went to CalArts and the other 2 worked at Spumco.
-Working with Maurice Noble, or a good mentor in the business.
-Pushing yourself to meet people, get feedback, and always seek to do better work.
-The most important lessons in drawing are the ones you will learn the hard way. Mistakes are
always the best way to learn.
-A lot of people have an attitude that if you went to CalArts, then you have an automatic “in” in the
industry and you have carte blanche. But there are lots of other places you can come from and
succeed also. Be passionate and surround yourself with other talented, passionate people, and you
will be fine.
-You have to sit down and actually try and apply the theories you are learning, otherwise you will
never truly learn them.
Q: Have you ever had to redesign a character after you were really happy with it?
-yes. But a character is a character. His personality never changes, you just look at it through new
eyes.
Q: Do you use any tricks or shortcuts to help you arrive at a good design?
-I use a lot of ornamentation, to trick the eyes into thinking the character is good.
-Use a thick marker to concentrate on thick masses and shapes first, and ony after the overall shape
is designed do you go in and add the details.
-Have an overall appealing shape! Then focus on how the smaller forms work within that shape.
-Disney has scientifically broken it down to “triangles = bad guys, this shape = funny guy, etc.”.
Whether that works or not is debatable.
-The best designs are often spontaneous. They come when you are bored or just wildly doodling.
-The challenge is to harness the energy in your spontaneous doodles into your actual designs.
-When the cast of characters are lined up next to each other, they should compliment each other.
I.e. If one is big, the other ones shouldn’t be big also. If one is angular, another should be curvy,
etc.
-Turn the character upside down and/or backwards, and see if the overall shape still looks
appealing.
-Do your research! Know your character inside-out, and then design from the inside out. Know
what they love to eat, who their best friends are, what they do when they wake up in the morning,
etc. All of this will help you come up with an appropriate, effective design.
Q: Should a show or movie have one set style or one set designer, or a conglomeration from lots of
different artists?
-Often the problem comes from not having a strong art director or other person who can filter
through the designs in accordance with the director’s vision.

[go to website http://www.animationblast.com to see the images that they couldn’t show at the
presentation due to technology problems.]

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