Let's Design: An Animated Series Character!

Character Design is such a broad discipline, with really so many different purposes, or ways they can be used. They can be a 3D character in a video game, a 2D mascot that only ever has one pose, I thought we could start a series designing characters for a specific purpose. First, we’ll do a little research on what existing characters in that medium are like, why they’re made the way they are, and then try our hand at one, starting with characters from series animation.
The ALL NEW Learn Character Design Course is a comprehensive Character Design Curriculum, available now: learncharacterdesign.com
There’s a brand new Biko’s Backpack for September, now available on / bageldenizen
To get a critique of your own, select either the Novice Bard tier on Patreon, or the Expedited Critique at brookeseggleston.com/shop.
Brookes Eggleston On Social:
/ bageldenizen
/ bageldenizen
/ bageldenizen
Character Design Forge has new videos every Tuesday.

[@mattdoesstuff8987]

Wait, I'm sorry, some people consider the act of not hand-drawing every single frame _lazy?_ That sounds like a nightmare.

[@JeffreyThrash]

In my experience, while hand-drawing every frame takes a bit longer, it is SO much simpler and has such a smaller learning curve, and because the computer is not calculating in-betweens, you don’t need a fancy computer or tablet to make high-quality stuff-you don’t even need a computer, if you come from an area that doesn’t get/offer a lot of renewable, sustainable energy and drawing on tons of paper is the lesser of the two environmental evils. Cut-out computer animation, on the other hand, has a higher learning curve (mainly because of rigging and each software being drastically different about it) and can actually take LONGER if you don’t know what you’re doing. But, this method has become the industry-standard as of late so it is worth learning.

[@GlaceonStudios]

@@JeffreyThrash Personally, I find Moho (Anime Studio) a pretty good software for animation. I don't know how good I am at perspective exactly, so I can simply rig up some head turns, do squashes and stretches as needed, and overall create a more sustainable rig. Plus, I use interpolation on occasion (which is, for some reason, an overlooked feature of the workspace) to help smooth out some curves. Of course, the reason my most popular Solar System Intro looks different from my two unfinished remasterings is because back then I was a lot younger and less experienced. Compare Venus' head-turn in the original to in "the venus scene."

[@JeffreyThrash]

@@GlaceonStudios Hey, I used to use Moho Animation when it was called Anime Studio! It’s a very intuitive piece of software, even back when I was 16 (ten years ago!!), but like you, I probably could make significantly better stuff with it now. The last thing I made with Anime Studio was “The Garnch Who Stole Christmas.” It’s still up on my KZbin channel, but...I’d rather you not look at it, it hasn’t aged well...

[@GlaceonStudios]

@@JeffreyThrash I use Anime Studio Pro 9; when I get a better computer I will likely upgrade to Moho 12. I've been trying to make my first smart bone rig and maybe succeeding.

[@icecreamhero2375]

Its not lazy but rigs never look as good.

[@everfluctuating]

i used to think animation was easy until i tried making a flipnote on my DS when i was like 14-15. even a bouncing ball was difficult to keep consistent in shape and speed

[@youraveragekindofperson6129]

8:40 “...and she could at least make for a good background character...” Me: this is the best I can do for a main one.......

[@gabbydagg3412]

Sams but u know what and that is OK and that’s valid and u are vaild for that i’ve always wanted to be an animator but it never had the money or the resources but now I’m realizing that I have to do for myself I’m never going to do it so I’m going to start off by making a small TikTok about one of the character’s making

[@rootsnootthnute8598]

The "Calarts style" meme bugs me a lot, especially since all the people I know who make that joke don't understand illustration or animation in the slightest, or they just don't like stylized cartoons and think that Filmation stuff is superior because the characters are more realistically shaped.

[@cd47art86]

Honestly i don't understand why they make such a big deal about it. And why they inclue gumball on this topic when there's literally a ton of different styles in that show. I guess people can't have anything in common in their styles now

[@KikoElGatito]

Some of the shows that people claim have the "cal-arts" art style aren't even created by people who attended cal-arts.

[@rootsnootthnute8598]

@@cd47art86 It's mostly people who just want to be critical of a certain thing, so they conflate it until it fits their definition of what they're conflating it with. I know a guy who defines all warlike fictional species as orcs, no matter what they are or why they do what they do, if they're warlike they're orcs to him, and he calls all shows with characters who have roughly bean shaped heads Cal-arts style too.

[@cd47art86]

@@rootsnootthnute8598 hhh, i hate this kind of stuff. Its poorly disguised arrogance and lack of understanding. Not fricking everything similar is the same thing, not every fruit is an apple (as an example)

[@JeffreyThrash]

I actually had a professor in my Animation degree use this dumb CalArts argument. To be fair, he was a general education teacher, not an animation one, but did he honestly expect a bunch of aspiring animators to not get triggered when he says that animation in general has gotten terrible since they stopped making hand-drawn animated movies and the only “recent cartoon” he’s enjoyed was 2001’s Shrek? I had most of his classes in 2014, for context.

[@TheFlamingGamerYT]

This is interesting. And yeah, budget is kinda misinterpreted as lazy work and stuff. But of course, that depends on how much of a budget the studio has. Quite nice to learn this stuff about the animation industry

[@Lobstro]

I liked the Hanna Barbara reference showing that TV cartoons have always been low-budget. The reason why I think people are complaining about current cartoons (besides the fact that we have been blessed with Avatar the Last Airbender which has permanently raised our expectations) is that many of them are stylistically identical. To your credit, I think the character you made for this video really stands out and breaks the mold.

[@smolmuffin]

I end up getting into arguments with people about modern vs classic animation and one of the most common things I see is how modern animation is "lazy" or "not as good compared to hand drawn stuff" So I'm very glad that you took the time to debunk those claims and explained the process. As someone who is considering creating their own show in the future (honestly with the world rn it might be too late, I might be too old and I really need to improve on my artwork, but I'll try to have a better outlook on things I am still technically young and everyone can grow in art regardless of starting age or skill level) this channel has really helped me out. Edit: thank you for the heart! I didn't expect that. (wait its gone... does editing the comment delete it?)

[@CharacterDesignForge]

possible! It's back now.

[@emmielaine7352]

It's never too late to follow your dreams. Go for it!👍🎉

[@mxsochist]

Little Dandelion are u too old or are you young? 😂

[@smolmuffin]

@@mxsochist I'm 21... and I'm so used to seeing others already excel at art at my age or younger so its discouraging, but at the same time I'm aware that 21 is still technically young so its ???

[@mxsochist]

@@smolmuffin lol same I always see other ppl my age drawing commissions and getting internships but you just have to keep working, ur never too old for art 🥰

[@suzysquidink]

I remember seeing a comment on an animated short, saying something like 'in five minutes they've done better than the naruto animators did in hundreds of episodes' and i was just like... way to completely miss the point. 0.0

[@mxsochist]

SuzySquidInk do they know how much time and skill it takes to animate 100 episodes which each episode consist of 24 minutes?

[@davidulu9596]

naruto episodes are still consistently better than modern cartoon network shows like adventure time and uncle grandpa

[@baldingpatriot]

This would probably be difficult, but I'd be interested in hearing how animated characters are adapted from books. Examples include characters from Lord of the Rings, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Jungle Book. All the inferences and deductions required to determine a good animated version of a character would probably be very interesting to talk about!

[@Brianna-eo8nu]

I’d love to see a let’s design episode for puppetry and puppet characters!

[@willcarroll3712]

my thoughts exactly

[@emilymonahan5232]

yess please omg biko puppet my beloved

[@chaelimesser6006]

I love this because its explaining the reasons of the character design based on where itll be used instead of just “how tO drAw cArtOoN cHarActeR”

[@kevinvtoons]

Thank you. Im tired of people saying "UGh, Im tIreD Of ThIs CaLaRts StyLe" or "CaRtoOns NoWadaYs SuCK, NOt LikE tHE oNes i GreW Up With". Seriously, its infuriating seeing how ignorant and biased people can be about this topic.

[@Shubaa_Dubaa]

Yo a video about the process of making character designs for nintendo games like Kirby, Splatoon, Mario RPG titles, etc... and other games like Owlboy, Undertale, Cave Story, Moon RPG Remix, Sonic Team (90s/early 2000s), etc... Would be pretty dope!

[@ravenpotter3]

If you want to learn about Splatoon character designs and world building I would reccomend to read the Splatoon 1 and 2 art books! I have the second art book and I love it so much

[@JeffreyThrash]

90’s/Early 2000’s Sonic Team would especially be awesome for me!

[@twistedbranchx5196]

One thing that always gets me is when someone says tweening is lazy. I have mad respect for animators who can tween and make it look outstandingly fluid. Tweening is m u c h harder than people think, and yet it's seen as 'not actually animation'

[@deklanb.4992]

Yaaasss oh my gosh. I've studied animation under a former Disney animator for my whole high school career, and anything under 24 fps, re-hand-drawn on every frame, on ones and twos, is looked down upon in that community XD but animation I feel, like characters and graphic design in general, is meant to tell a story. Animation is beautiful in its own art form, but if these lower budget shows can tell better, longer, more detailed stories than features because of their animation limitations. So good to hear someone say this out loud lol. Also I have literally been working on a video series that is scary similar to this so...great minds think alike I guess XD Awesome vid! Would love to see feature animation characters (like taking inspiration from the Treasure Planet Designs?) and 3d game characters!! Can't wait to see more!

[@MangoBirb22]

I personally really like the “cheap” art style. It’s clean, it’s easy, and it gives a fun vibe!

[@jared4849]

Great video. Drives me mental when internet people say: "I hate the animation of Rise of the TMNT" when the animation is just crazy good - it's the exaggerated designs (that are NB to pull off that kind of animation) are what people don't like!

[@widdershinnz]

I would like you to go over designing avatars for “talky” or “storytime” type videos.

[@dancing_drake]

Ooooo yeah this would be a cool one.

[@widdershinnz]

Dancing Drake right? Like what’s important to remember when you’re animating on a team of 1 lol it’d be interesting to know, and there would be a ton of people who would search for that type of video

[@Mjumiman]

It's great to see some appreciation of series animators! I've always been amazed at the fact that these teams can produce so much content with a consistent quality on a tight schedule. I'd be really interested in an episode about toy designs, but honestly all the topics you mentioned sound interesting.

[@mistermiss9093]

me 1 year ago who still doesn't have rigs much money and already isnt proud of their art skills: imma make an 8 season show with detailed characters!!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

If I had a nickel 😂

[@TheDarkPatito]

maybe an "anime character"? ...later in the series when there is nothing left to design, you'll surely consider this more and more >:D

[@MaxisoDenoth]

You are one evil person

[@dsyyy9925]

No

[@dsyyy9925]

It's just a option

[@thetoongrump9801]

This was a super fascinating watch! Thank you for giving a decent explanation of how budget really affects TV animation, and why certain artistic choices are made in the medium. I would love to hear about Toy Design btw!

[@lioedevon4275]

At this point, I want a video of nothing but Brookes dunking on Peppa Pig and family

[@sylvanshroom]

Love this vid and excited to see more!! From my own Very Unbiased, Unmotivated Perspective (cough), perhaps characters in a longer-running 2d comic format?

[@GunGryphon]

I'd like to see a character designed to read and animate clearly when translated to a high-bit pixel art game. These still would have detailed versions for dialog windows.

[@angelman69]

Look into celeste

[@fossilco.artrelateddocumen331]

0:00 could it be the Challenger from the cliffside, he has returned

[@curtisnordstrom]

Thanks for explaining why it doesn’t look like Pixar. I feel a lot of animators that don’t understand this even if they went to animation school. I get comments on my animations not being like Pixar , but I’m not trying to be like Pixar I’m aiming for tv quality. I’m surprised more animators don’t understand this. And I’m just one guy doing everything

[@consumedbyrage5951]

You have taught me so much in this one video that most of the mainstream animators failed to teach.

[@marianamora4203]

Samurai Jack I think is one of my favorite shows that uses it's very flat shape aesthetic to gorgeous effect. The composition in that show just ah (chef's kiss) mwah!

[@grahamwelch5011]

I love this Idea! This is one of my favorite parts of character design.

[@zenebean]

I am always interested in looks at the animation process, and this was a wonderful look at what goes into it! A look at video game character design would be cool

[@TheComposer1979]

This is gold rarely u can find this kind of knowlege in youtube very professional man continue

[@helo3132]

People who say cal arts is real are the same people who say 90s cartoons looked so diverse. Literally most of those characters heads were ovals that were wider than their height, used the same line art thickness, same color palettes, same eye shapes, and same shapes overall.

[@mackenziediaz8780]

I'm really excited for this new series! Love seeing you do new things. I want to throw an idea into to the mix, so how about pixel art videogame characters like from Undertale or Candies n Curses.

[@knightmare1474]

Looks like I got more work on series characters to do. Thanks because this was helpful.

[@dabi211]

Love this vidd

[@TsulaAngenati2292]

Same

[@keanimation6264]

I’m taking notes! This will definitely come in handy in the future. Also that turtle is so cute!

[@AmynthaEszti]

I really love this breakdown of tv shows! It's something I'm pretty invested in and get into arguments about at times due to others indeed saying that 'the computer does everything' which is clearly not the case. I do wonder what the difference then is between this way of animating series and how anime's and the more detailed shows do it? Is it purely due to budget? I myself am working on a small series together with friends, although it's not fully animated due to lack of time and not yet having the skill necessary I did take the character design of animated series into account. Since that was neccessary to create characters that are easy enough to draw a lot without losing interesting points in their design. Thank you for this great information! I love your channel!

[@SeanPlaysGamez]

Idk how I didn’t see your stuff sooner. Engaging content, well shot, good audio? That’s a sub from me bud👍❤️

[@mollyaustin676]

Thanks so much for this discussion! I was looking for something like this recently and you always deliver with great tips and thoughtful points. The little turtle you ended up with is adorable. Not sure if it's just me, but I think it would be interesting to see you render the same character (doesn't have to be the turtle) in the multiple styles as you continue the series to see the stylistic choices and changes. Would love to hear specific discussion about designing comic characters although I know a lot of your work and content already speaks to that. I just want to soak it up like a sponge. Also, in the discussion I noticed you throw up a few seconds of Glitch Techs and whew I wanted to sing praises for the animation; Glitch Techs does staging extremely well and the smear frames are on point. If my comment isn't long enough, wanted to acknowledge that people who look at an art style and immediately dismiss the series miss out on some wonderfully crafted stories. Honestly, recent animation aimed at kids or a younger age group have delivered incredible narratives and deeper meanings than a lot of adult media.

[@dragonairice3375]

This comes out while I'm animating. 😁 Great video! I've been waiting for something like this!

[@Chill1332]

You make some really great points! Budget constraints would be a huge deal. I think many people tend to forget that while animation is art it is generally not art for art's sake. They've got budgets and deadlines. And some people really LIKE these super cartoony styles. There are people that don't but others prefer it. Art is very subjective, after all. Got to admit, though, my brain finds the 'giant swollen cheek' style element a bit off putting. But again, just me. I can't wait for more of this series! This is going to be fun. I Have wanted to delve into this kind of animation for so long. I've done a TINY bit of it but nothing to all the projects running around in my head.

[@ravenpotter3]

I struggle so much with character deisgn so this series is going to be so helpful. I really want to make a web comic at some point I would love to see anthropomorphic character designs and also maybe magical girl character designs.

[@godahlrogue8587]

Good video! I would be curious to see more about 2d videogame characters, though i know youve covered that before.

[@spaceman4313]

This was an amazing video thank you for your work Brookes.

[@BlockchainBuddies]

I've gotten so much value from your channel, I just wanna send you a huge thank you!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

I appreciate that!

[@jamesfuller5002]

can someone reference me the most complex and high budget animation they can think of? would love to know how far you can push in terms of animation

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Into The Spiderverse is a good modern example, but generally all 2D Disney animated features from the 90’s, etc are incredibly high budget.

[@scoutscoodles]

Really appreciate the reference to Trick Moon

[@PilferpupCartoons]

Another great video. There is always so much more that I don't know. It's nice that netflix is always recruiting more for production, but when do you feel it's best to apply or just keep refining your work?

[@ebanimations6315]

This really helped me create some of my own cartoon characters for a seires I want to make. Thanks!

[@Sanngot]

A medium I would be curious about perhaps could be a character designed to be represented as a pixelated sprite. I always find well made/animated pixel sprites very nice to look at.

[@marianamora4203]

@6:20 This! This is why I will.defend Legend of Korra until I'm blue in the face! Does it have plenty of story problems? Absolutely there's no denying that. It's no masterpiece compared to its predecessor but its no slouch either. It is still a consistently well animated and beautiful show. And not just a show. It's a freaking 2d action show, you know the kind of show that is a dying breed for primetime kids television. Jkkskskskwowkkskskskskdkd! Ahhhhh I just wish people would cut that show some slack man. It does so much that we take for granted.

[@CupOhJoe]

Great video Brookes! And I know I can't be the only one to suggest this, but sign me up for Lets Design: A 2d video game character!

[@lewisoliverleo]

Beautiful work! I'd love to hear your thoughts on feature and "staight to TV" animation movies (such as Steven Universe: The Movie)

[@mxsochist]

Lewis Leo that movie was fire

[@deathcrave3021]

I am looking forward to seeing how this video series progresses. I'm still working towards making my own Comics / Manga with the grand ideal being to get an Anime made. Since this video covers Animation leaning towards simpler / Kids cartoons, I'd be interested to see a Video about Anime Highlighting both the similarities and the differences from Western Animation. Overall a great video, I'll look forward to the next!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

UPDATE: Along with work on my OWN animated series, it's a dream come true to share that Biko, the main character, is available to give you healing as a plush, only until 11/6/22! Grab it to directly support the development of Stormfellers! www.makeship.com/products/biko-plush

[@majozajo]

Yes. People need to hear this well explained video. I also have question, character turnarounds for animated shows, dont have to have completely smooth turning animation then? Because I've seen some popular turnarounds and they don't. So its more about that they look good from all the angles? (while consistent of course)

[@abcdefu3198]

I’m glad you made this video. Regardless of what others think. A lot of work goes into series animation. So it’s unfortunate that people call it ‘cheap’ looking.

[@homemadefamily]

Thank you for this series! I’m learning a lot for a future childrens book and our current cartoon podcast my wife and I do. 👌🏼

[@Anja_Pearson]

The turtle is so cute! 🥰

[@JazzSicaa]

I think comic character designs is a good idea for a video

[@SwenRB]

This video is very insightful, thanks for making it!

[@techguy348]

Great stuff. Not going into animation, but I do like knowing how the entire pipeline works.

[@isukwithnames1811]

Great video. Any tips for taking a human photo ref and simplifying the pose/gesture for a simple stylized character? I often find myself over detailing or having a hard time converting the pose without drawing everything exactly like the ref.

[@coffeesvods905]

Kirby my favorite guy

[@alicepow260]

Great video. Saving money with time-saving tricks is part of the animation tradition. The reused reels of magical girl transformations are a particularly notable example. I'd love to see a video looking at comic strip character design. Calvin and Hobbes, xkcd, and the like.

[@ChelleMishe]

This video is super helpful!

[@wizardofarts1276]

Mao Mao is precious. And a lot of these shows are great! I think part of the issue with the "cal arts style" is that it has become associated with some shows that caused a great polarization between viewers. Like Steven Universe. Viewers either really loved it or hated it. And it also became associated with the mess (? I hear it was a mess of a show in its last season but I'm not a good judge)of Star vs. The Forces of Evil. I might be wrong though. I'm not too educated on this.

[@daegan_ftw]

Action Figure design would be a lot of fun because it can be used in other media that the toys tie in to, He-Man being a classic example.

[@liz4133]

Awesome video. Really informative and inspirational. Have a good day! ❤

[@markguyton2868]

I would like to see maybe mascots or building a character to fit a video game mechanic?

[@blakehillbourn5300]

This was fantastic!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

much appreciated!

[@izeckx]

Your quick and "cheap" background character design looks a lot better than many of the current day kid cartoons. As a young child, my daughter preffered watching old school looney tunes over most new cartoons. Like most kinds now she now watches a lot of anime.

[@Allen__hydraxian]

This video is very useful

[@pedrobarbosa3987]

Thank god I got to know your channel, excellent content thank u so much

[@moonstarstories1298]

You know that feeling when you see a comment and wish you said that first. That's the way I felt when I saw the person who originally wrote this exact comment.

[@AliceLJones]

This is a very interesting video. When you compared the costs and budget to a feature length to a TV series would the time period the animation was made make a difference? By the way, the turtle is super cute!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Thanks! Yes, timeframe is a HUGE factor. The sheer volume of episodes and the deadlines to get them out can lead to some very quick turnaround times, at least for each stage of the process

[@AliceLJones]

@@CharacterDesignForge I was thinking more like a comparing a feature length animation to a TV series made in 1950's and to one made in 1990's or 20XX...And also technology and techniques to make it.

[@moonstarstories1298]

Ooh! This sounds fun and intresting! P.S Here before 15 minutes after this video's upload!

[@friend_trilobot]

I usually hear the old cartoons vs. Modern cartoons argument about 80s shows like he-man. And I'm pretty sure the issue is that those complaining prefer a highly detailed anatomical human that moves around like a stiff paper doll over a simple character that expresses and does stuff. (Not to mention, most of those 80s toons are 1 giant commercial). That said, i think Samurai Jack is the best of both worlds :)

[@Ellis1342]

I would like to see one on comicbook or web comic design

[@manhathaway]

I'd love it if you were a teacher I had. I'm sure all your students were fully enriched

[@abcdefu3198]

I love the character designs of daytime tv more than I do film character designs they’re just speak more to me I guess

[@MMM1MM]

Yo, what's the name of the animation with the black cat with green eyes? Looks interesting

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Mao mao

[@MMM1MM]

Great looking character you made, too!

[@ingleton419]

Fun Fact Brookes Eggleston is named after Mona Brookes the artist and author who made the book named drawing with children also btw nice video

[@CharacterDesignForge]

interesting but no 😆

[@BrandonAiton]

Is it more common to animate based on a sound design or more common to have the sound design come from the animation process.

[@littlefluffy2579]

How about a character for a 3d cartoon/anime like Beastars?

[@cruncheminecrafter6574]

Nice nice nice!!

[@poadstudios6000]

2:58 lol 😂😂🤣

[@kingemerald4622]

i have always been a fan of Animation that's why i want to make my own cartoon and some people really don't understand that

[@sledgehammer_floatzel]

Craig of the Creek is one of my favorite shows!

[@VideoGamePhilosopherShorts]

Can you do a video like this for comic strips or webcomics?

[@ndmtro]

what's the song at 7:52?

[@kingemerald4622]

Animated shows don't need to be like Animated movies you know their separate things

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Yep!

[@ArtOfShannonLee]

This is awesome! She’s really cute.

[@Bryan-dg9op]

Tookes!

[@mattdoesstuff8987]

Gull3!

[@thomrik]

Very nice format and while i like gumball's art style, some shows like big mouth look terrible to me (and i don't mean south park ironic terrible, i mean just not nice to look at). I certainly won't be calling every show lazy, but some are just bad.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Oh I definitely agree there are some very styles, especially in “adult” animation

[@Kaiden_livefrl]

what app are you using

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Procreate! I have tons of videos on it and use it constantly 😀

[@damonjvr4435]

Loved this video. Another good example is Teen Titans vs Teen Titans GO. Same exact team with a smaller budget. People say Teen Titans GO is worse but with two feature films and a life span double the original clearly CN thinks its doing well enough to stick around

[@YamnielPMC]

Funny how this came out the same day as the birthday of my original character who I dream of making a animated show of😂

[@M1styang3ldoesyoutubethingz]

I have that exact kirby plush (:

[@CharacterDesignForge]

It’s great! I had to take some of the stuffing out of the hat to make it lay like a beret