Assignment 2
Character Design Sheet — Design, Turnaround, Expressions & Poses
Due: November 5th
Focus on communication rather than detail — your drawings do not need to be highly rendered.
What does a character designer need to communicate? Study these examples before you begin.
Student / University Project
Manal Waheed — Character Sheet, Expressions & Turnaround
A university assignment combining character design, expressions, and a turnaround.
Look for
Student / Concept Art Project
Kristen Moore — Character Design
A concept art final project including a 3/4 render, turnaround, pose & expression sheet, thumbnails, and moodboard.
Look for
Professional Animation Model Sheet
Dave Alvarez — Stanley
A production-oriented model sheet. Notice the construction information and how the character's proportions are documented for consistency.
Look for
What should your character sheet show?
Who are they?
Shape • Silhouette • Proportion • Costume
How do they feel?
Eyes • Face • Body language • Pose
What do they look like from different angles?
Front • Side • 3/4 • Back
What makes them unique?
Hair • Clothing • Props • Accessories
- Character Design video
- Character Turnaround video
- Drawing Emotion video
Watch: Character Design video
Create 3–5 small character thumbnails, then develop your strongest idea into one larger, clean final character drawing. Don't worry about heavy rendering — focus on the big design decisions.
Experiment with
- Basic shapes
- Proportion
- Silhouette
- Body shape
- Clothing
- Hair
- Accessories
Design challenge
- Fill your character in as a solid black silhouette
- Ask yourself: would I recognize this character without seeing the details?
- Choose your strongest design and develop it into your main character drawing
Watch: Character Turnaround video
Draw your character from three angles so it reads as a real 3D object rather than a single front-facing illustration. Keep the proportions and design consistent across all three.
Draw these three views
- Front
- 3/4 view
- Side
Keep consistent
- Height and proportions across all views
- Clothing, hair, and accessory placement
- Line up features with light guide lines (eye line, waist, feet)
Why it matters
- This prepares you to eventually build the character in 3D in Blender
Watch: Drawing Emotion video
Show your character's personality through 4 expressions and 3 poses, keeping the same design in every drawing.
Four expressions
- Happy / Excited
- Sad / Disappointed
- Angry / Frustrated
- Afraid / Nervous
Three poses
- Each pose should communicate the character's personality
- Example — a nervous character hunches their shoulders, fidgets with their hands, stands with feet close together
Challenge
- The viewer should understand each emotion and pose without a written label
Character Design Sheet
- 3–5 character thumbnails
- 1 silhouette test
- 1 main character drawing
- 3 views — front, side, and 3/4
- 4 expressions
- 3 poses
Reflection
- Write 3–5 sentences: How did you use shape, silhouette, the three views, expression, and pose to communicate who your character is?
Send your submission via email to mitchellh2@cnc.bc.ca. Please CC any other instructors for this course.