Lesson 2: Why People Ignore Your Characters

“Be so good they can’t ignore you” - Steve Martin

Imagine applying it on your characters?

“Pose your character so good they can’t ignore it” - 2DAnimation101

If you feel like no one is talking about your character, it can be because they just honestly don’t care.

Good characters have to leave an impression.

People talk about the things they feel involved in.

You share a funny video, or meme on the internet because that video or image gets to you. Right?

Same with characters. You talk about the characters that get to you. Maybe they resemble someone you know. Maybe you just like it.

Pay close attention: It can be because the character is getting to you. It’s telling you something with its pose.

So far we learned that the secret to have an irresistible character is to have a good nonverbal communication that expresses a clear emotion, attitude or intention.

In other words, Expressive Body Language.

But careful, you need your character to have the correct pose.

Having the character in a wrong pose

If someone looks at your characters, maybe they only see a still, not even an animation, just a drawing, and they don’t talk about it ever, then your character is being ignored.

If that happens, ask yourself. Is my character in the best position it can be?

Next time you see someone showing you a character that you don’t find interesting, ask the author: “What is your character feeling?”

Most times than not, they would be surprised about the question and won’t be able to answer.

That is because they have no idea their character was supposed to be feeling something, they just wanted to draw a character.

No wonder they don’t know how to pose it. The character is drawn in a wrong pose.

Don’t let this happen to you.

To avoid it, decide two things.

Attitude and Intention.

From there, you can start working with a pose.

So, how do you practically get your characters to express emotion through an awesome pose?

Well, with the line of action.

Line of action

The line of action is what determines the attitude and intention of your character.

If you have a specific emotion, and intention, it’s easy to decide for a line of action.

There are 3 types of Line of Action

• Straight Line
• Curve
• S curve

It is recommended to use Simple Curves, because it’s a way to get a very clear intention and attitude from your character.

Now. Let’s see some examples to understand correct poses and incorrect poses.

Curious character

The character is feeling curious (emotion) and wants to know about what’s on the other side of the door (intention).

Shy Character

Character is feeling embarrassed (emotion) and wants people to stop looking at her (intention)

Proud artist

The artist is feeling proud (emotion) and wants everyone to be amazed by his work (intention)

And if you know about the 12 principles of animation, you know that the line of action is a great way to exaggerate the attitude or emotion.

Quick Summary: