What Is Character Design? And How to Get Started

Character design refers to the process of creating characters for animated films, comics, TV, toys, and publications. A character starts as a concept: a collection of personality traits, behaviors, and physical attributes. Then the designer sketches the character or uses design software to bring the character to life in print, onscreen, or as a physical object.

Discover what makes effective character design, the daily activities and salary of a character designer, the software character designers use, and some steps to guide you through your first character design.

What is character design?

Character design involves bringing concepts to life by giving them features that include personality, behavior, physical appearance, and aesthetics. You do this through a combination of art, psychology, and storytelling in various media, including video games, comics, film, animation, and toy design.

3 components of good character design 

Three main components of character design are silhouette, color palette, and exaggeration. Compelling character design makes a character interesting and memorable to an audience and sets one character apart from others. 

• A silhouette shows the outline of a character’s shape and excludes interior details like facial features and colors. By using what’s called shape language, you create meaning through the lines, curves, and angles that make up a character’s silhouette. These choices make the difference between a character that looks soft and cuddly and one that looks menacing and dangerous, for example.

• A color palette refers to your use of different colors to make a character unique. By using color theory, you can choose colors that evoke emotions in the audience. For example, red can convey a character’s passion or intensity, while green can convey serenity or a connection to nature. 

• Exaggeration refers to making some of a character’s features more prominent than others, such as by enlarging the eyes or having the character make dynamic gestures. Depending on what you exaggerate, you can make a character appear comical, beautiful, evil, heroic, and more. 

Tip: Look for instances of good character design in the media you consume and note the silhouettes, use of color, and exaggeration. For example, many will know the Disney character Mickey Mouse by the size and shape of his ears, broad smile, and optimism.

What does a character designer do?

Character designers, sometimes called character animators, choose each detail of a character to communicate a personality, a role in a storyline, a relationship with other characters, and other essential aspects. Some specific duties and tasks you may perform as a character designer include: 

• Exploring character concepts

• Designing characters’ visual appearances

• Developing characters’ personalities, behaviors, facial expressions, and body movements

• Drawing upon psychology to explore a character’s psyche 

• Exploring different impacts on a story’s plot and themes 

• Collaborating with other creators on a team to create characters 

• Making sure characters match a given script 

• Using digital design or software to create visual representations of characters

• Staying up to date with the latest animation and 3D design technologies 

Read more: What Is 3D Design? And How to Get Started

Depending on your interests, you may want to focus on a particular area of character design, such as: 

• Anime character design: Features humanlike characters with exaggerated facial expressions and large, expressive eyes, while bodies are relatively proportional 

• Fantasy character design: Often features elves, witches, fairies, mermaids, or other supernatural creatures

• Cartoon character design: Features characters that appear in a cartoon series or animated film and that are intended to look drawn rather than true-to-life 

Character designers: job outlook and salary

The median base pay for character designers in the US is $76,554 per year as of August 2024, according to Glassdoor [2]. Including base salary plus additional pay such as profit sharing, tips, commissions, and cash bonuses, character designers make an average of $82,615 [2].

Character designers are in demand. The expected job growth for special effects artists and animators from 2022 to 2032 is 8 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics [3].

What degree do you need to be a character designer?

In general, career sites recommend that you earn a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, graphic design, animation, computer science, or a related field to apply for jobs in character design. According to Zippia’s resume data, 72 percent of character animators (designers) have a bachelor’s degree, while 8 percent have a master’s, 10 percent have an associate degree, and 10 percent have a diploma or other degree [1]. The most popular major among character animators is animation, with 43 percent of degree holders having studied this field [1]. 

Character design industries

Some of the industries you can work in as a character designer include sports, gaming, entertainment, nonprofit volunteer organizations, language learning, software development, IT, consulting, web design, faith and spirituality, and education. Companies that are hiring include Netflix, Disney, Sony, Dreamworks, Squarespace, Deloitte, Snapchat, and more.

Is freelance character design profitable?

Yes, with the right skills and customer base, freelance character design can be quite profitable. ZipRecruiter reports the average hourly rate freelance character designers charge as $23 per hour, but the range is between $9.38 and $68.99 per hour [4]. As a freelancer, you can set your own rates based on your experience, skills, location, and the design specialties you offer.

Read more: How to Become a Video Game Designer: Skills, Steps, and Pay

Character design software 

Explore the cost and features of five different character design software programs. Use this table as a starting point for finding the best software program for you.

How to design characters: getting started

Designing your own characters and building your portfolio is one way to get freelance work or gain experience to prepare you for a career in character design. If you’re ready to design your first character and see your ideas take shape, follow these steps: 

1. Prepare and plan.

The first step is to decide on the kind of character you want to create. Take a look at some prompts to guide and narrow your preparation: 

• What kind of story will the character be a part of?

• What is the story about? Describe what happens and how the story ends. 

• Identify the genre, such as fantasy, comedy, or mystery.

• What is the character’s role in the story? 

2. Use character design prompts.

The next step is to explore the character’s psyche and essence more deeply using character design prompts that spark your imagination. 

• What goals and motivations drive the character to act? 

• What personality traits set the character apart from others? 

• How will these traits correspond to the character’s most important physical features? 

If you need more character design ideas to fuel your creative energy, look online for pre-made resources by searching the following terms: 

• Character design generator: This can be an app or internet tool for auto-generating ideas or even a basic visual appearance for new characters. 

• Character design sheet: A character design sheet provides an overview of a character in multiple poses and details the character’s personality, psyche, and role in a story. 

• Character design template: This may be a pre-drawn outline or sketch of a stock character. You can modify a template by changing or adding details as you fine-tune a new character.

3. Gather character reference materials. 

Before you start sketching and designing your character’s physical appearance, you’ll need some visual examples and inspiration to serve as reference material. Consider creating a mood board on Pinterest or collecting posts on Instagram from other accounts. Examples of reference material you might need include: 

• Hairstyles

• Facial expressions

• Poses

• Clothing or costumes

• Gestures

• Body types and proportions

4. Create a thumbnail sketch. 

A thumbnail sketch is a visual mockup of the character you want to create. The sketch is an important step, even if you’re not a trained artist. When sketching, use your design templates and sheets to capture the basic shape of your character, proportions, the most salient physical features, and the colors. Next, you’ll fill in details, such as adding buttons to a costume or more volume to the hair. 

5. Use software to finalize your character.

Once you choose a character design software program, your final step is to turn the thumbnail sketch into a polished digital illustration. Familiarize yourself with the software program’s features to get the most out of the final design work.

Learn character design with Coursera 

Earning online credentials can be a great way to formalize your training in character design. Launch your games career with the Epic Games Game Design Professional Certificate, which introduces you to engine fundamentals, blueprint sculpting, and more.

Or learn from professional character designers and observe them in action in the CalArts Character Design for Video Games, which is a part of the Game Design: Art and Concepts Specialization.