My 7 steps to great Character Design

My "7 Steps of Character Design" for Cartoon Brew readers. Read the article that goes with this here: www.cartoonbrew...
I go into even more detail and have additional examples at the link above.
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About Aaron Blaise:
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Aaron Blaise is an animation feature film director and wildlife artist.
For 21 years Aaron worked with Disney helping to create some of the greatest animated films ever made. During that time he worked as an animator or supervising animator on "The Rescuers Down Under", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "The Lion King", "Pocahontas", "Mulan" and more.
In 2003 he was co-director of "Brother Bear" for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.
After "Brother Bear" he helped to develop several projects but ultimately left Disney to pursue an opportunity back home in Florida. Aaron recently served as 2D Animation Supervisor and Character Designer for the "The Bear and the Hare" an advertisement loved by millions around the world. ( • Video )
Aaron currently is working on his mission to bring affordable art education and animation training to the world through his website: CreatureArtTea...

[@AaronBlaiseArt]

Make sure to read the article that goes with this video here: www.cartoonbrew.com/sponsored-by-aaron-blaise/aaron-blaise-reveals-seven-steps-great-character-design-149504.html - It includes a lot more info.

[@jonboyjagger]

Hello! I have only recently found your amazing videos, but they are the most helpful videos I have watched so far. I see you as the "Bob Ross of Digital Painting." I have a small request though, recently I have started doing art again, and I have been watching your videos to learn some techniques. The creature concept I am making is basically an alien saltwater croc / komodo hybrid, the think is I have no idea how to color it! I have seen you do many different animals, but so far no reptiles. I would love to watch you stream your drawing/rendering process for something like a saltwater croc or alligator species! Anyhow thanks for all the helpful videos, I love your style and process, just amazing!

[@LastNight0]

to respond at time stamp 32:23 you said him and his snow bear buddy are looking at a shooting star.its in my opinion that it would make more sense if they were looking at Aurora Borealis. and pointing out "cloud" or "Aurora" animals much like you had in brother bear. p.s i loved that movie ;)make another one

[@yogeshsharma8615]

😊😊

[@ramboyaltura2310]

*says he worked at disney* OOHHH *names my fave disney movies* OOOHHHHHHHHHH *says he directed brother bear* OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@jamesthompson642]

Same

[@capybara3995]

*Looks at Brother Bear credits*

[@TalmoTheSell]

Apparently Brother Bear was hated and idk why

[@TalmoTheSell]

@Giacomo Campanelli ikr?

[@TalmoTheSell]

@Giacomo Campanelli You good. IKR is I know, right?

[@RoyBlumenthal]

Aaron Blaise: My 7 Steps to Great Character Design 1. Research 2. Learn how to draw the REAL character 3. Know your story and character 4. Know your universe, the rules, the physics, the design conceit 5. Caricature 6. Experiment with the drawing; don't settle too soon 7. Once you have your character, draw different moods, different story beats, a character reference sheet.

[@huskytzu7709]

Roy Blumenthal I'll screenshot this...

[@ruiz1632]

Thanks! I didn't want to watch 40 mins of what I could have read in 4 seconds 👍🏽

[@KoldCharpley]

Your summary is inaccurate. At the end of the video Aaron summarizes the steps, it's apparent you didn't reach that far in the video. :\

[@rajkaran7865]

Hands down, the best art teacher in KZbin.

[@AaronBlaiseArt]

Thank you.

[@tehjamerz]

Balls DEEP in KZbin

[@nastysushi6145]

Jake parker is also a really good teacher

[@Reese_md]

, look ar Ethan becker

[@nastysushi6145]

@@Reese_md i have, what was your point

[@venuspawscreations3678]

It's really disappointing that hand drawn animation has died off in the movie industry. This is very inspiring and I'm so happy I found your channel! (As a Disney lover and aspiring artist!) Keep doing what you're doing dude! Can't wait to binge watch your videos!

[@rubyfyre9601]

Sike! Look at Klaus!

[@L0rdOfThePies]

We still hanging on our here xD

[@Bolt_2A]

I know! Brother Bear and other animated movies were so good and now Disney just overuses cgi.

[@DilshadNajeeb]

No it hasn't. Anime still exists

[@azubliss]

There are European animation studios that still do 2D animation

[@YairSassonArt]

You talented bastard. amazing work.

[@PikaPetey]

love ya tutorials

[@mimicmirror7716]

Pikapetey Animations I honestly thought you were gonna say "Needs more pikachus"

[@misterDVader]

Everyday I feel like not drawing I think of Aaron and how I want to be as good as him at his age. Honestly, he's the only person that ALWAYS inspires me.

[@sornraiven9091]

Heh heh, I know what you mean. There are so many great artists out there that inspire through their skill. With Aaron it is his skill and ENTHUSIASM for art and the creative process that somehow act's like a sunbeam to clear away the grey clouds of "bleugh, not feeling it todayville".

[@christiandrewes5493]

Anyone else wanting to get into the animation industry but nervous about actually getting good enough to get a decent job?

[@TheNikhilify]

Christian Zuniga go for it

[@Scriblyn]

I;m sure you're fantastic!!

[@lililasson]

Mr Blaise you're kind of my hero. Thanks to your lessons I've been accepted in the animation school that I wanted this year. Thank u so much

[@urwnrwl5396]

Alicia Abdz Thats amazing! Congratulations!

[@kobebostyn3325]

How's school going?

[@lotusnevermore2279]

I'm already captivated by this story. I LOVE THAT BEAR!! He's such an adorable character and full of personality even in these early stages. When and where will we be able to see this short? Will it be here on your youtube channel? I can't wait to watch it!

[@daydreamer9873]

I really appreciate everything you do and all of your videos are a real inspiration to me!

[@ellasans4758]

I have always found the art in Brother Bear absolutely stunning. I can't believe I hadn't found this channel before. Your tips are so good and your art is wonderful! :)

[@CorVids1031]

That animal research really pays off! When I was a kid I got really into barn owls for a hot minute because of the Legend of the Guardians movie. Barn owls are still to this day the easiest animal for me to draw

[@TheVeyZ]

Thank you very much for this Aaron. I'm in the process of creating my first comic and these seven steps have been very helpful. Really appreciate the time and effort you put into your videos. They're not going to waste. :)

[@AaronBlaiseArt]

Good luck!! I'm happy I could help!

[@snappiepappie9899]

I loveeeeed brother bear!

[@anandvarma940]

35:54 So freaking good. A lot of final animations don't have as much acting and expression as your test animations. I can't get enough of the Legend of Tembo animations online either. I'd love to see more of your animation.

[@0hMyGandhi]

Watching and listening to you talk about art and your process is the ultimate form of stress relief. As talented as you are, it's your breakdown of steps, your patient deconstruction of good design, and general optimism without pretense that makes you one of my absolute favorite artists on the internet.

[@blendering3D]

Your videos have draged me out of the trend of drawing pretty girls with awfully big lips, though I never drew lips, thank you for showing me that characters are every single living creature. Would you do a video on Art influences and how they shape your style

[@356diane]

its incredible to be able to get so much education for free. His enthusiasm and patience for sharing the thought process behind the work is a rare opportunity. Ill be heading over to purchase a membership.

[@aspxnvii]

Watching the animated clip of the Polar bear smiling and getting excited about the shooting star, honestly brought tears to my eyes. He's so happy and elated to experience that moment, and you can feel it as an audience. You know that happy feeling that gives you butterflies in your stomach like that. Thank you for bringing such life to your characters. I have been watching your videos for hours now. It is truly an honor to hear your thought process and watching your work onscreen. Thank you

[@liquidmessage]

Drinking game: Take a shot every time Aaron says research - enjoy.

[@AaronBlaiseArt]

Nice. Also, when I say, "There we go" and "Just like so..."

[@AsimKhanartist]

kreativkoma I recommend u do less drinking and more research lol

[@latrolettteeeeeee]

We love you Aaroooooooooon !

[@adamthorntonillustration9281]

@@AaronBlaiseArt I like it when you say "just like so". It's strangely comforting.

[@gmcubed]

Haven't watched yet, I liked this based on the runtime alone. :)

[@TheSilentChloey]

As someone who likes animals and drawing I am so glad I chanced upon this. Thank you so very much for the time and effort that you put into these tutorials! Aslo big thanks for making my childhood!

[@michaelgietz7665]

This story resonates with me so much. I shed more than a few tears throughout this video, especially when you animated him looking around for his snowbear, and the shooting star scene still makes me choke up every time. I can't wait to see this.

[@lotuschile]

I CANT GET ENOUGH OF YOUR TUTORIALS, I really love listening to you talk and create, thanks soooo much...........your catch phrase is awesome!

[@jaosemnome]

Aaron, I'm brazilian, and I absolutely love your vids, I'm currently studying animation here in São Paulo. Your videos are just the best inspiration for me. Thanks for the portuguease subtitles on your courses, you are amazing. Hope someday I can met you man, Bye : )

[@vashko4980]

Ah I love your videos! Its just a month of watching them but my improving is so visible! Thank you!

[@amberakart]

You sir are a gift to the world and I am incredibly grateful that the internet finally brought me to your videos!

[@snotelekss]

this guy is a real treasure

[@Autumn-db9fc]

Oh I watched Brother Bear a few times in Cree class when I was little. It was something everyone loved

[@francesca853]

I grew up watching your characters living their stories. I'm so glad to have discovered your channel. Thanks for sharing your experience and art on KZbin and for have giving me many of the characters which I loved to redraw with my dad when I was a child. All this is priceless and precious to me 🌹

[@valion3]

Thank you living LEGEND! Inspiring as always!

[@adya5961]

This is so so helpful! I just need to practice a lot and have fun! Thank you

[@ДарьяТырданова-х1ю]

Ooooh I just can't wait to see it! First I thought to myself: "Oh, this is pretty nice, after I watch this video I'm gonna go and see that short" And then I realised that it's a fresh video, and the short is still in process...

[@morganlucero5972]

You sir, are such an inspiration. I’d completely forgotten why I’d fallen in love with art until finding your channel and website. You put so much love and passion into your work, truly amazing.

[@daniellrms]

Brother Bear its one my favorites movies. I'm so happy this channel exists. I'll binge and study a lot from you, Aaron.

[@jwalinadhyaru2218]

" hope you learnt something ..." Like something ? I learnt a lot 😃 the only thing is , because of excitement or eagerness , I should not miss any of the steps .. I tried it ( recently ) and it helps a lot ! Not only to maintain the proportions but to get the feel ... ( The thing which lacks in my work alot ) . I m an animation student and videos like this and some books and some practice helps me in my progress !! Thank you for making my day 😊

[@Gio-po9op]

34:10 STEPS 39:23 Put your character in a situation, it becomes easier to come up with the proper design 42:08 STEPS: 1.Research 4:15 Dive in, know about subject you're going to desing 2.Understand the anatomy to be able to draw the character, be capable of drawing the character 4:30 3. Know your story and character 4. Know your universe, the rules, the physics, the design conceit 5. Caricature 6. Experiment with the drawing; don't settle too soon 7. Once you have your character, draw different moods, different story beats, a character reference sheet.

[@Clyman974]

"Bear we go"

[@David4Pozzo]

A jenius. A master that teaches you something so hard to make it easy and appealing that you want to go out and try on your own more motivated than ever before. A good man that inspire beauty, positivety and kindness.

[@capybara3995]

"I can sit here...And I can draw...Polar bears..." I can sit here and watch your videos :D

[@rilakumacakerolls9094]

Very generous sharing. Love what have done for animation.

[@reelheck]

The things you draw have so much life in them, and I love your process of thinking. The way you explain how you get to where you end up is very thought provoking, thanks for sharing!

[@WiscoKnight0806]

Your videos are so incredibly helpful and inspire me to do my own designs. Thank you for this.

[@2DCraftsman]

Aaron is the MAN!

[@kibasmith3155]

with your help i've finally managed to make an actual character study sheet of my own with a character ive had for years, that im just now polishing and adjusting to my liking. In the future i do want to animate him! I will certainly turn to your page when i need more help. Thank you for posting videos like this to help other artists, big and small

[@brookelange1771]

Oh god Aaron, I’ve watched 3 movies today that have had me in tears, Coco and the never ending story for goodness sake, so I might be over-emotional, but when you got to the bit when you made him sad because he was rejected by the other animals I started crying again. I guess you can call that a win since the whole point of both art and story telling is to make your audience feel something, but you don’t have to be so damn good at it that you do it in your art teacher videos.

[@glendy_bluebird2]

Thank you so much, Mr. Aaron Blaise! I'm learning a lot from you.

[@bohdan_lvov]

Love that light setup!

[@bogikorpai]

I'm learning to be a graphic designer, and a character designer, and this video helped me so much! Thank you for the advices! I also agree with all of them!

[@animatormark1]

This is wonderful, thank you! I absolutely love the drawing of him pointing to the shooting star with the snow man, it is so appealing and tells such a compelling story in just one image. Thank you for all your great insight.

[@theelanetwork]

im so impressed by the process and to see the animation of the bear. it made me so happy. i absolutely love your work and im learning so much with your classes. love from Spain

[@PinkSmiiley]

Wow I cannot believe how talented and wise you are, this really helped me as I was really struggling with character design! Thank you

[@TheFingledorf]

I want an ASMR video of you just silently drawing on the tablet; those pen sounds are satisfying and relaxing. ;)

[@animeheadshot1016]

This dude helped to create some of the best Disney movies ever made! He is a veteran animator, why haven't more people watched this!?

[@MinaRoy]

First time fully listening to your videos, and boy did I enjoy it. Truly fantastic. Thank you! :)

[@mishalnelson805]

you are gold!!

[@SnowyDaBear]

AWSOME video Mr. Blaise! I LOVE POLAR BEARS!!!!

[@shastawolfamute2203]

Growing up, "Brother Bear" had been one of my favorites. I used to have those two posters that you have behind you in your studio. Seeing you design "Snow Bear" made me wonder; who you enjoyed writing and designing when you directed "Brother Bear?"

[@lulamidgeable]

This is gold dust

[@baileythemuttanimates8618]

Your a huge inspiration and help my chances of making it into an art career

[@BundaBear]

This is great, especially in addition to your article on character design that you mentioned before!

[@hosseinabdali5529]

thanks I love my dear teacher for all this helpful information

[@RandomPerson-xp6og]

I love snow bear and your lessons!

[@zoek97]

Incredible stuff aaron thank you !

[@TheBeast-nk8dx]

Big thanks to you! Your lesson helped me alot. I didn't know where my mistakes took places and now I can see them clearly. Thank you for your time.

[@EasySundayClub]

this is amazingly helpful! I'm so glad I found this on KZbin after Skillshare failed me today.

[@jordynmcintosh4528]

thank you SO much Mr. Blaise for yet another amazing instructional video!! you are my biggest idol!

[@KoldCharpley]

I'm putting a summary here only because someone else posted an inaccurate one. It's better to just watch the video and take your own notes, I'm really only trying to prevent people from having a slightly distorted idea as the possibility of that irks me, haha. Suppose our goal is to design a main character for an animation short - a polar bear. 1. Research. Learn everything you can about your subject: polar bears habitat, hibernation cycle, nutrition, behavior, mating, etc. The more real world knowledge you have, the more it will inform the story. 2. Learn how to draw the real thing. In this case, study polar bears anatomy - skull and skeletal structure, musculature, proportions, sexual dimorphism - until you understand polar bears to such a degree you can draw one from any angle executing any action. 3. Know your story and character. You need to understand the story and the character before you can start designing the character. Even if you're not the writer of the story, you need to know the story and the character inside and out. 4. Know your universe. The rules of the setting's world, the physics, the design conceit, the art direction. Is it extremely cartoonish like Sponge Bob or is it grounded? Are we talking dark fantasy, sci-fi or realistic? Modern or historic? Gritty or cute? 5. Design. Play with proportions, different looks. Experiment with the design, draw and re-draw over your drawings, keep trying different things - don't settle too soon. After you come up with a refined design draw it from different angles. 6. Explore different expressions. Play with different attitudes, different expressions, different moods. Have fun with it, now that the design is established you don't need to worry about design, but about how you can make the design emote. Go and find moments within the story to illustrate, as story moments like "excited to see a shooting star" are easier to understand and imagine than abstract descriptions like "happy character". 7. Experiment with animation. Animate your main character - how does it walk, jump, move around? Also create model sheets with example frames from an animation, to help you remember how to draw this character. Over time the way we draw a particular character will change, so it's important to have something to anchor us to the original intention of the design.

[@isaacsalinas7890]

Wow, thank you very much Aaron, such great and clear tips to apply. Thanks for sharing.

[@adamthorntonillustration9281]

Another truly excellent video by Aaron. And it felt like a true privilege to see those clips of the animation. This is probably going to be a bit controversial, but if it were an American or Brit (like me) who was going to say "go and put some beauty into the world", it would be an American almost every time. I do love the Americans. There's something so uplifting about their spirit, and Aaron has it aplenty. I wish us British were a bit more like that. We certainly appreciate beauty and would like more in the world, but it's so unlikely you would hear a Brit suggest it so openly.

[@RICE-lq1zc]

Second time I'm hearing a big animation was inspired by Al Hirschfeld. First one was UP I may need to study him

[@alessioiellini]

amazing, the shot of the bear looking around is so natural and real. would be great to hear something about differences in animals locomotions

[@haroonalhitary9335]

I really like your art and tuts and super skill

[@komlandosseh9319]

You're a big source of inspiration Aaron !!!!! Love your works

[@MageArtGreenDragon]

I love that innocent bear already, sensei.

[@DMAC143]

Brilliant delivery! Thanks so much for sharing and inspiring. I appreciate the care, knowledge and thoughtfulness that goes into every mark you make. Thank you! 🙏🏿

[@bananakitofinternetclan8350]

This is completely random, but here's a fun fact about wolves; They have very large paws, and the paws need to be big so that they can walk on the top of the snow. Mom, I know a fact about wolves, mom! Are you proud of me now, mom?

[@bananakitofinternetclan8350]

And whenever I watch Aaron's videos my drawings come out 10x better.

[@بنبلقاسمكارتون]

i talk a littel of english .. but i pleased your works arts and i consider you as the best tech .. in the world . zakaria from Algeria.

[@jensbasement3862]

Very helpful and thorough

[@TheHimbob]

The animation portion that you did Aaron was great. It reminded my of Bear from, "Bear in the Big Blue House."

[@MrNavarro85]

Thank you so much!

[@easilydistracted5192]

When I was a kid, I went to see Brother Bear six times. For some reason, the pectorals in particular and the whole shoulder area in general stayed in my mind since then. Kenai was interesting to look at. You've been doing your research for a loong time...

[@Rikasuuart]

Really great lesson Mr. Aaron :) Thank you.

[@veronicabruno6490]

He is so cute I really love your work and this video was very helpful

[@tarcsianna4036]

Thank you for these videos🙏💕

[@Sketchartofsanchez]

Thank you for video's like this.

[@framex_media]

Plain genius. Thank you for your time

[@blahdeedah]

Great stuff! Especially liked your bear sketches and learning from your process each step of the way. Keep it up. :)

[@baffledbrandon3132]

God, these animations are great!

[@teclinsoro4523]

I am so sorry but every time I see the name Aaron my brain immediately goes to ‘A-A Ron’

[@jessewru6425]

OH this guy is gooooood

[@anniedeshasier5421]

you have given this small animator/artist motivation!!! Thank you :) your videos are amazing!

[@mihaelfajt293]

wow, that's ... amazing

[@autumngrace8541]

One of the biggest challenges for me is foreshortening...perspectives in angles of characters

[@mikehansonbryan5365]

Do you have any Tips for Developing an Art Style?

[@talkimages]

beautiful !

[@_niks_91]

You can explain things so well! I get inspired and I get the urge to create stuff everytime I watch your videos! ^-^ Keep it up!

[@tentaclesmotions4088]

thanks a lot of inspiration