Research and Reflection based on Unit 1 practice

Character design is an important part of character animation. I gained a lot from my research and study in Unit 1. In response to the problems and solutions that emerged during the research process, this blog mainly explains the impact of lines and movements on character performance, from the aspects of character dynamics and character emotional expression. And based on this, I will reflect and improve my work.

When I’m designing a character, I’m used to adding more details, accessories. However, this often makes the character’s thumbnail look cumbersome, causing the audience’s attention to focus on the character’s appearance, thus ignoring the character’s personality traits. This may work in a static orientation, but is a bit complicated for animation and very time consuming to draw it.

These sketches show details of the clothing, but the movements and expressions are relatively simple. Combining the life drawing course and after-class material search, I noticed the important role of lines in character dynamics. Powerful character torso lines can make the emotional expression of the picture more effective. Therefore, in animation, appropriately exaggerated movement range and effective visual guidance lines are essential. At the same time, characters should remain recognizable while being simple enough to fit the animation workload.

The book mentions that the first thing to draw when constructing a figure is the line of action. In the animation ‘Tom and Jerry’ or Disney animation, characters often have clear lines of action. This allows the audience to understand character behavior very well, making the frame effective and interesting. While using character movement guide lines, I should also match them with appropriate facial expressions. All actions can be appropriately exaggerated based on reality, which will make the work more appealing.

In general, it is very necessary to give the character a clear action line. When examining my past work, I found that most of the problems lie in:

1. There are many details in the character design, which will block the action line
2. The character’s movement range is small and the movement line is unclear, which cannot guide the audience well
3. The expressions of the characters are not properly exaggerated, and the audience may not be able to convey the emotions

These research have brought me a lot of gains and thoughts. In the subsequent animation drawing, I will continue to consider these tips：

• When designing the character, the integrity of the design should be considered to make the overall look simple and beautiful without affecting the action display
• Pay attention to whether the action lines of the arms, torso and legs look comfortable and reasonable, and design the character’s movements based on the action lines

The above is research and reflection based on the work done by Unit1. In my spare time, I will try to do more exercises, practice the basics of animation, and improve the efficiency and ability of sketching.

Mingyu Deng

14/Feb/2024