You see many characters on YouTube, Vimeo, TV, Cable.

Some of them are interesting, and some of them are boring.

Where do you think your characters belong to?

Boring category? Or interesting?

A lot has to do with how the character looks, that has to do with concept art, for which you can learn the basics on our Character Design Course.

And the other element, beside looks, is – THE POSE.

How is your character posed? What is your character saying with how she or he is standing?

Is your character expressing that she is comfortable? Or angry? Or sad?

So again, in character animation; How is your character posed?

This is what this lesson is about – Finding the secret to how to pose an irresistible character. A character that gets the attention from the public.

It’s sad to see that there are many characters out there that get the audience bored.

And it’s sad because many years back, brilliant people found out how to make interesting characters.

I’m talking about the Year 1930s, the discovery found by Walt Disney and his staff.

If you read the book Illusion of Life, you will find that what set them apart from other animations back in the 1930s, was the audience involvement.

If the audience doesn’t feel involved with your characters, they won’t care.

So, one answer to the question: How can I put my character in an irresistible pose? Well, have the character in a pose that makes the audience feel involved.

Great!

Hm. But how?

This is their discovery: Non Verbal Communication.

Non Verbal Communication

The character has to express a feeling without the need to have the character saying something.

Back then, animations didn’t have sound, so it was a challenge. And now, with all their discoveries, we can learn how to pose our characters.

First of all, what is Non-Verbal Communication?

It’s all the things that the character says without talking.

And Verbal Communication?

What the character says with his or her voice.

So the key is to understand Non Verbal Communication.

In other words, Body Language.

What poses can you do with your character?

Easy, just go to Pinterest and look for Character Poses. You will get some ideas.

Now, let’s not lose focus here. Remember that our objective with the character’s pose is to have the Audience Involved.

With that in mind, what you are looking for is: TO EXPRESS EMOTION with your pose.

If your character is in a pose that is not suggesting a clear emotion, it won’t be irresistible to keep watching.

In animation, you need the audience to be interested in your character, but most of all, you want the audience to care about what happens next.

For that, you need to express an emotion with your pose.

Quick Summary:

How do you pose a character to be irresistible to watch?

By finding a pose that makes the audience feel involved.

Tell something with your character using non-verbal communication (body language)

A pose that expresses a clear emotion, attitude or intention.