• 75 drills

Character Design Exercises

One character drill at a time, sorted by what it trains: silhouette, shape, model sheet, variation or pose.

Character Design Exercises

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  1. Long ago, today and far aheadDress one character for three periods. The outline of the hair or hat should survive all three.

Next step Pick an outfit to swap inGet a brief to design from

All 75 drills

Silhouette 15

  • A cast of five in a row, all in black Tall, short, wide, thin and top-heavy. No two figures share a height or a widest point.
  • A figure made of its gaps Draw only the white shapes of a pose: under the arms, between the legs, round the head. Fill the rest black.
  • A silhouette the size of a stamp Draw the black figure no taller than a postage stamp. If the role still reads, enlarge it. If not, simplify and repeat.
  • Add one big shape, take one away Start from a black figure. Make ten versions that each add or remove one large shape: a cape, a tail, a backpack.
  • An old design filled in flat black Lay tracing paper over an old character and fill it black. Whatever vanishes, such as a prop held in front, move it out.
  • Black shape first, character second Fill a black figure before you know who it is. Then draw the character that fits inside without moving the edge.
  • Both hands clear of the body Draw a black pose in which both hands, and whatever they hold, stand clear of the torso. White gaps should show.
  • One black head under six hats Draw the same head in black six times and change only the hat or the hair. Which would you know across a street?
  • One black shape, three characters Trace one filled figure three times. Draw a different character inside each and keep the outline exactly.
  • One job on five different builds Fill five black figures who all do the same work, each on a different frame. Mark the one you did not expect to read.
  • Symmetry broken five ways Fill a mirror-image figure in black. Redraw it five times with one change on one side only: a bag, a tilt, a sleeve.
  • Ten figures cut from dark paper Cut each figure straight out with scissors, no drawing first. Scissors refuse fiddly detail, so the big shape decides.
  • Ten props in black, then their owners Fill a ladle, a lantern, a broom and seven more. Beside each, draw in black the owner its shape suggests.
  • Twenty silhouettes of one idea Pick one role, such as a baker. Fill twenty thumb-sized figures in solid black, no inside lines. Ring three that read.
  • Waving, carrying and sitting in solid black One character, three actions, no inside lines. A friend should name each action without a hint.

Shape 15

  • A character found in a scribble Draw a closed scribble without thinking. Turn the page until a figure shows in it, then add as few lines as you can.
  • A detailed figure cut down in four passes Redraw with half the lines, then half again, then as five shapes. Stop at the last pass where it is still them.
  • A page of heads that begin as a pear Flip the pear, stretch it, tilt it, squash it. Add features last. No two heads on the page may match.
  • A whole body inside one egg, brick or kite Fit the figure in a single shape. Limbs may poke out, but the body may not leave it. Draw all three.
  • Big, medium, small Design a figure from one big shape, one medium and one small. Redraw it three times, moving the big shape each time.
  • Head, chest and hips as three blocks Stack three simple blocks and draw eight stacks, changing which block is the largest. Add limbs as plain tubes.
  • Limbs that flare, limbs that taper Draw one figure with arms and legs that widen toward hands and feet, then one whose limbs narrow. Pick one and say why.
  • One character in circles, squares and triangles Build the same character three times, once from each shape. Keep the outfit and change only the build.
  • One shape repeated through a design Choose a shape, such as a diamond. Use it for the eyes, the buckle, the collar and the hem of one character.
  • One trait pushed in three steps Draw a plain figure. Push its main trait a little, then more, then as far as it will go and still be the same person.
  • Straight edge against curved edge Draw ten arms and legs with one side straight and the other curved. Then draw one curved on both sides and compare.
  • Torso as a bean, a box and a wedge Draw one standing pose three times, changing only the torso shape. Which of the three looks strongest?
  • Two characters trade body shapes Draw a round character and an angular one. Swap their body shapes and keep their faces and clothes.
  • Two heads tall, then three, four, five, six Draw one character at each height, counted in its own heads. Mark the step where it stops looking like a child.
  • Very tall and very short from the same parts Give both figures the same head, hands and feet. Only the lengths between those parts may change.

Model sheet 15

  • A finished view against the window Turn the sheet over on a bright window and look at it reversed. Fix whatever leans, then draw the view once more.
  • The cast on one ground line Stand four characters side by side with a ruled scale behind them. Write each height in heads of the shortest.
  • Colour swatches tied to their parts Paint flat swatches beside one view and join each to its part with a line. Use the fewest the design can stand.
  • Front, side and back on ruled lines Draw the front view first. Carry its crown, chin, shoulder, waist and knee heights across with a ruler to the other two.
  • The full figure at a quarter of the size Redraw the character small. Decide which details drop out at that size and list them on the sheet.
  • On model, then off model on purpose Draw one pose correctly, then again with one proportion wrong. Ask someone to find which part, and by how much.
  • One clean view with six notes Add short notes with arrows: hair length, eye spacing, where the collar sits, the thing that never changes.
  • One head at five angles Front, three-quarter, side, three-quarter back and back, on shared lines for the eyes and the chin.
  • Plain forms under the finished lines Draw the character as a ball, a box and cylinders only. Trace the finished lines over that on a second sheet.
  • The prop from the front, the side and above Draw whatever they carry three times, with the hand beside it once for scale.
  • The same head tipped up and tipped down Draw it looking at the ceiling and at the floor. Watch where the ears sit against the eyes in each.
  • The sheet covered, the figure redrawn Study your own model sheet for a minute, cover it and draw the figure again. Lay the two together and circle each drift.
  • Standing, seated and mid-stride Draw all three on one ground line. Measure the arm and leg lengths of each against the standing view.
  • Their hand: open, closed, pointing, holding Draw all four at one size. Finger length and palm width should match from one hand to the next.
  • The three-quarter view in between With a front and a side view done, draw the view halfway between. Check the nose and the far ear against both.

Variation 15

  • A friendly character redrawn as their rival Use the same parts with one rule changed: sharper corners, the palette reversed or the hair parted the other way.
  • A parent, a sibling and a cousin Draw three relatives of your character. Share two features across all of them and vary everything else.
  • Age-up: child, teenager, adult, elder Draw the whole figure at four ages, side by side. Keep one feature fixed in all four and let the build change.
  • Another species, the same person Redraw a human character as a bird, a cat and a frog. Carry over the posture, the outfit and one facial feature.
  • Costume swap: one body, five outfits Work, rest, rain, celebration and sleep. The stance and the face stay the same in each drawing.
  • Dressed for heat and for snow Draw one character in summer and in winter clothes. The winter layers must not hide what made the outline theirs.
  • Long ago, today and far ahead Dress one character for three periods. The outline of the hair or hat should survive all three.
  • One line drawing in three palettes Trace a drawing three times. Colour it warm, cool and nearly grey. Which changes who they seem to be?
  • One thing they carry, designed five ways Give the same character five versions of it. Each version should say something different about their work.
  • The outfit new, then after a long trip Draw it twice: fresh, then mended and faded, with one thing lost on the way and one thing picked up.
  • Six parts, one missing each time List six parts of the design. Redraw it six times, each without one part. The version that fails names the key part.
  • Ten heads, one change on each Copy one head ten times and change a single thing: brow, jaw, hairline or ears. Find the copy that is no longer them.
  • Three small alternatives beside the original When a design feels wrong, draw three thumb-sized fixes next to it before touching it. Choose one and redraw.
  • Two rules, one broken at a time Write the two rules of a design, such as round and red. Redraw it breaking one, then the other. Which loss hurts more?
  • The uniform, and how they wear it Draw a uniform everyone in their job wears. Then draw their own version: rolled sleeves, a pin, odd laces.

Pose 15

  • A pose acted out, then drawn Take the pose yourself, feel where your weight sits and draw it from memory. Check in a mirror and fix the hips first.
  • A pose that starts from the hands Draw two hands busy with something: knotting, counting, hiding. Then add the body that belongs to them.
  • Five things their hands do while thinking Twisting a ring, tapping, pocketing and two more. Draw the full figure each time and not the hand alone.
  • Four characters through one doorway Draw each one coming in. Before any face goes on, the stance should say which is which.
  • Gesture first, costume on top Lay in a loose gesture of the pose with no detail. Dress it as your character without stiffening the first lines.
  • One action, three personalities Draw a shy, a proud and a tired character each lifting the same cup. Hide the faces: only the body may tell them apart.
  • One chair, six ways to sit Seat the same character six times. Each pose should tell a different story about how the day went.
  • One stride, four ways to walk Marching, creeping, bouncing and trudging. Change the spine and the arm swing and leave the leg lengths alone.
  • One sweeping line, then the figure Draw a single curve and hang a whole figure on it. Fill a page: ten curves, ten figures, none standing straight.
  • Standing still, five ways Draw your character doing nothing: weight, arms and head somewhere new each time. Pick the one only they would do.
  • Three builds, one high shelf Draw a tall, a short and a careful character each fetching a jar from the top shelf. Three bodies, three plans.
  • Three reactions seen from behind Good news, bad news and a strange noise, all in back view. Shoulders, neck and hands do the work.
  • Too far, then halfway back Draw a pose pushed much too far. Draw it again halfway back to normal. Keep whichever still looks like the action.
  • Twelve stick figures with a mood each Bored, alert, sulking and nine more, with no faces. Someone else should be able to label them.
  • Two characters, three greetings Draw the same pair meeting three ways. Height, lean and reach should show which of them is more at ease.

How it works

Character design exercises are drills you repeat, not briefs you finish. Each isolates one decision, such as the outline or the build, and most say how to judge the result. For character drawing practice, pencil and cheap paper suit most drills.

Read the full guide

Five things a design has to do

A silhouette is the character as one solid shape with nothing inside it. Shape is what the body is built from. A model sheet fixes the character's look from several angles, so a second drawing matches the first. Variation tests one change at a time. Pose puts body language on the design.

Begin with the outline

Small black figures are quick enough to draw twenty of, and they settle the outline before any detail goes in. Shape comes next, then the model sheet.

Repeat, then compare

Most drills are meant to be drawn many times on one sheet. Ring the strongest version and the weakest, and write one word beside each saying why.

  • Work small. A figure the height of your thumb cannot hold detail, so the big shapes get decided first.
  • Use tracing paper for the variation drills, so the parts you are not changing really stay the same.
  • Date every sheet. The same drill drawn a month later shows what has changed in your designs.

Questions and answers

How do you practice character design?

One drill at a time, repeated on a single sheet: twenty silhouettes, ten heads with one change each, three views on ruled lines. One group in a sitting is plenty.

What is a model sheet in character design?

A document that standardises a character's appearance, poses and gestures, so that drawings by different hands match. It usually shows the head and body from several angles, with hands, feet and a few basic expressions.

Why is silhouette important in character design?

Filled in black, a design shows what its outline alone tells a viewer, with no face or costume detail to help. The Silhouette drills test that: twenty small black figures of one role, then a ring round the three that still read.

Is this character drawing practice for beginners?

Yes. The Silhouette and Shape drills are built from solid black figures, blocks and simple shapes, with no anatomy asked for. With no character of your own yet, take a written brief from the character design generator.

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