Question 1

What is a character designer?

Ari Eisner · Accepted Answer

A character designer is involved in the creation and development of characters for animation, films, video games and comics. They’re primarily responsible designing the appearance, personality, and visual attributes of characters to effectively convey their role and enhance the storytelling.

Question 2

What does a character designer do?

Ari Eisner · Accepted Answer

Character designers conceive and create the appearance of specific characters. Working with Directors and/or Writers, they use all the input they’ve been given about a character’s physical traits and personality to generate a completely unique look and appearance.

Question 3

How do I start a career as a character designer?

Ari Eisner · Accepted Answer

There’s no direct, hard and fast way to becoming a character designer. Whether it be through education or just nose-to-the-grindstone experience, the common factor to both paths is doing the work. Paid or unpaid, get your animation tools ready and start to sharpen your craft. As with so many other skills and crafts, the more you practice doing it, the better you’ll be.

Question 4

What’s the difference between a character designer and a character artist?

Ari Eisner · Accepted Answer

The key difference between a character designer and a character artist is a character designer is chiefly involved in the creation of a character while a character artist is more focused on that newly-designed character’s execution.

Question 5

Do character designers need a degree?

Ari Eisner · Accepted Answer

A degree isn’t necessarily required to become a character designer. Your skills as an artist and visual creator are the chief consideration for the position. But having a degree in illustration, art, graphic design or animation (or any combination thereof) certainly couldn’t hurt your chances at landing a job.

Question 6

What software is used for a character’s design?

Ari Eisner · Accepted Answer

There are several character creative software programs available, but it’s up to the artist to decide which works best for them. Sometimes it comes down to the project, and on other occasions, personal preference, but here’s a list of the seven most popular digital tools…

Autodesk Maya
Autodesk 3ds Max
ZBrush
Poser
Blender
MakeHuman
Daz 3D

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