Creating Characters with Personality: For Film, TV, Animation, Video Games, and Graphic Novels

"I'm stumped, all my characters come out looking the same! What am I missing?"

"I'm drawing the same character as Seth, but his pictures are coming out better than mine. Why?"

"Ok, there's been a change of plans and our target audience is no longer going to be for kids in kindergarten but now 11 to 14 year old boys."

"Ok, the client is for a Honda dealership that primarily serves the Mexican market and we need a superhero mascot that appeals to these customers but doesn't turn off the other people who would be buying cars from them."

If you're researching this book chances are that you've already got some experience reading art and animation how-to books or know somebody who has. There are many books on cartooning and animation but there has been a frustrating lack of material that really digs into the meat of the creative process behind character design. Most books fall into categories that either narrowly focus on concept art from specific productions, or they discuss all facets of animation and cartooning and relegate character design to a single chapter and / or style. This book recognizes that educational void and happily is helmed by a man who not only can draw, but can explain the REASONS behind the stylistic choices employed by the best designers out there.

The REASONING is an important point that cannot be stressed highly enough and is what pushes this book beyond just another how-to-draw endeavor and becomes something that should be mandatory study material for anyone involved in the character creation process, from cartoonists, animators, sculptors, and 3D modelers, to storytellers, marketers, and producers. Tom Bancroft explains the esthetics of design appeal and allows you to better understand how your choices affect the audience's psychological response to the character's look. Going further you'll learn how to take that design awareness and modify your efforts to fit a wide range of stylistic applications so that your romanticly-loveable-yet-monstrous-and-scary frankenstein character can be drawn for an action-drama scenario or a slapstick-sendup. You'll still have to figure out for yourself however what the boss means when he asks for you to make your work "more hip and edgy!".

This book is filled to the brim with excellent and inspiring artwork and text which is both easy to comprehend and is satisfyingly complete. When you're finished going over this book I guarantee you'll either have learned something useful or you'll be applauding Bancroft for finally delivering the goods on a topic so many of us love but haven't seen explored to this extent outside of the studio or classroom.

Bravo, Tom, and thank you!

this is a very good book for all kind of characters you doing, it gives very good info. i refer to it often when creating characters.

There are few books that tackle the art of character design. This book does so in an informative and fun way. This book addresses the most important part of any art and design which is the "process". It also hosts a few cameos from renowned illustrators who are practicing succesfully in the field. Well done. From another artist I am highly recomending this book..

I've been a professional Illustrator for 4 years now, and before then an avid student of art. But during all that time, I've bought piles and piles of "How To Draw" books, namely by Christopher Hart. I was in the book store one day and saw this one and almost just bi-passed it as just another amaturise attempt at trying to make a "How to Draw Cartoon" book, the cover being the main turn-off.

In my 8+ years of buying these types of books, this is the first time I was simply astonished by what they were presenting; MOVEMENT!

It is rare that anyone write's these books with any mention on how an artist can try to achieve a sense of force and movement, and that is why I so highly recommend this book. The incoporation of how to apply the knowledge to comic book work was also great, not to mention the fact that Tom Bancroft also had the "Assignements" in the book which gives you a real look into what can go into creating charachters.

From novice to seasoned professional, this truley is a great book!

Strong book. This will give you the foundation you need if you are looking to get into the design of characters. Covers all the points necessary to give your characters life. Very handy book to have around. One of the only commercially available books on the subject.