Tao of Guerra

Character (Model) Sheets

Today we’re going to talk about the importance character sheets. It doesn’t matter if you’re creating comics, animation or designing for TV or movies. Many times we creative types get caught up in the heat of the creative moment and draw all of our ideas in a blur of frenzied activity. That’s great, especially while the initial idea is fresh, but once the euphoria wears off, I highly recommend drawing out character sheets.

A character sheet (model sheet for animators) involves drawings of posed characters to help provide you with a reference template. They usually include a character’s head and body from various angles (a process known as “model rotation“), as well as sketches of the character’s hands and feet, and several basic facial expressions.

Don’t fall for the old, “I know my characters so well, I don’t need characters sheets.” You will forever thank yourself later for having something to refer to. And nothing works better to help you solidify the look and personality of a character; how they appear, what they wear, body language, expressions, gestures, etc. It definitely helps you avoid headaches and inconsistencies later on.

Let’s review the process. You get a fantastic idea for a great character. You draw something in your sketchbook – woohoo! It’s kick ass! Here’s my first sketch of Catalina from Samurai Elf. A wise cracking pirate and captain of her own ship.

Later I decided to revisit that character and draw out and solidify her face. As I did this, she took on a life of her own and was less Manga looking than the original.

Sometimes, a character evolves over time, but other times I’m dead sure of what I want. The character is already defined in my mind and just need some fine-tuning in my sketches, especially for the costume. I like flipping through books on different historical periods for ideas.

When I’m working on a new project, I like to have one sketchbook dedicated to only those characters, machines, settings,… anything you can think of. I sketch out a character sheet for all of my characters, no matter how minor.

Benefits Include:

Angles
As I’m drawing out my sequential pages and get stuck on a certain angle (what would they look like if they were looking straight up, ¾ from above or below, etc), I can refer to the character sheets for just the angle I’m looking for.

Costume
Fantastic reference for clothing, accessories, weapons,…anything at all that the character might wear or carry.


Color Palettes
Having a characters color worked out ahead of time saves you so much time later on. This includes skin, hair, eyes, clothing, accessories, weapons, etc. I look working this out before I start to computer color or paint. Here’s a sample of my character, the knight Robert B. Astard. I made sure to nail his colors before I started to paint my pages.


Locations/Settings
If there are houses, buildings, rooms, outdoor scenes, etc., where a large scene or multiple scenes will take place, I find it very helpful to do separate sheets for these. I draw the same room/location from different angles and I include what appears in the room, i.e., furniture, windows, drapery, books, etc.

If you take the time to do these when you’re really serious about developing an idea, character sheets will save you from coping with many consistency problems you might run into later on. It’s one less thing to worry about later when you’re focusing on the panels, the page layouts, and the coloring. It’s the best reference you can give yourself.

Post by Miguel & Suzy