As part of the development of a comprehensive animation project, by now, you will have taken on important creative activities like a beat board and an animatic. These drafts are meant to resolve story ideas, including character development. As part of the conceptual process, you will also integrate to visualize aspects of the film and undertake all sorts of research options.
At this point, along with concept sketches for a setting/environment, you should produce a detailed character sheet, to further the design of the figures in the film.
A character sheet is more than a turnaround. A rotation of at least four positions is a good start, showing a straight-on view, from behind, and two profiles. Beyond such sketches, you should draw typical attitudes and actions, particularly those that portray typical personality (motivation, behaviour, and emotions) as telltale gestures and poses, as strong silhouettes. You should also include close-up facial details, to portray expressions.
The poses are meant be more than what is in the beat board, storyboard, and animatic. You should go beyond the story and think of the characters as a whole, about their histories and biographies. Character sheets are contextual elements that help to define the who the figures are.
The design of the sheet should involve shading, colour, and detail. An animatic might only involve line drawings with perhaps shades of grey. Typically in a character sheet, you would cover aspects and qualities that complement plot, sequence, and the like.
Overall, the beat board, animatic, setting/environment concepts, and character sheets come together as a project proposal and pre-production package.
Inspiration
- Pinterest board, “Character Sheet Visuals,” here