About the Book:

Designing Characters with Personality is a great book on character design, and should be compulsory reading if you draw characters of any sort.

From Snow White to Shrek, from Fred Flintstone to SpongeBob SquarePants, the design of a character conveys personality before a single word of dialogue is spoken. If you've ever wondered what goes into designing a professional animated cartoon character. What the mindset it is and what to look for, here a book you might be interested in. Designing Characters with Personality shows you how to create a distinctive character, then place that character in context within a script, establish hierarchy, and maximize the impact of pose and expression.

Also included in Designing Characters with Personality are practical exercises help you put everything together to make your new characters sparkle. Lessons from the author Tom Bancroft, who designed the dragon Mushu (voiced by Eddie Murphy) in Disney's Mulan – plus big-name guest artists in film, TV, video games, and graphic novels. You can see the character designs from each artist, and also understand from the commentary how they were created. After reading the book, you'll be able to look at your characters from a new perspective, and for any animated films you watch, you'll be able to get an idea on the kind of the design choices that were made to the characters.

Designing Characters with Personality is an insightful and helpful book for anyone who draws characters:

About the Author:

Tom Bancroft is an American animator and film director who frequently collaborates with Disney. He has more than 25 years of experience in the animation industry, much of which was for Walt Disney Feature animation where he was an animator on four animated shorts and eight feature films of which Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Brother Bear were part of the list. He has been nominated for Annie and Rueben division awards, spoken at the Kennedy Center, and awarded an entry into the Chicago Children's Film Festival.