Model Sheets - What is too much information?

[Werewoof]

Hi there,

This is my first post; I hope it's in the right place!

A little about myself: I'm a self-taught artist and 2D animator. Art since 2001, 2D animation since 2009 or so, although I don't do it very often. For my brief portfolio, I drew my avatar.

I love animation dearly, mostly 2D. I doubt I'd ever get a show of my own, but I'd like to be better prepared to get one off the ground should the opportunity present itself. I'd like to at least try.

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This will be part question and part answer, as I've been attempting to figure out stuff from research and intuition. Mostly question, however, because I still feel like I'm lacking certainty. I have no experience in the animation industry, as my major is computer science.

My overall big, ambiguous question today is this: how much model sheet information is too much?


Things I can guess/assume beforehand:

• The simpler it is to construct a turnaround of a character, fewer details will need to be provided to an animator for them to construct said character from several angles. Conversely, the harder it is to construct a character turnaround, more details will need to be provided.
• The more details and measurements provided to an animator about a character, the more consistently they can draw said character. Conversely, the fewer details and measurements....
• Having more poses and facial expressions of a character provided to an animator can better attune them to the approach the designer had in mind for animating said character. Conversely...
• The more detail on a character, the more time it will take the animate them. Conversely...
• The lack of necessary information about a character can mean an animator (or several) filling in the blanks out of necessity, and not necessarily with much consistency.

I started making character reference sheets last month: a front view, a 3/4 view, and a side view. (I probably ought to at least have a back view, but better to finish the 8 angles.)

I start with a circle for the head: I then use the head to measure how tall the character is. That's quite elementary stuff, but I often get tempted to specifically measure other aspects about the character, that an animator might be able to just replicate closely enough by "eyeballing" the measurements.

Still, I worry that maybe animators can't do that, somehow. So I will say that the shoulder-length of Character X is [so many heads-and-halves or heads-and-quarters] wide. The space between their eyes is [roughly a third of the width of either eye, plus maybe a sixth the width of either eye].

Is that too much? Because it sounds like too much, even for me.

And maybe that's my answer. Maybe I've answered all my questions already. But having no experience in the industry, I'm looking for professional insight as to what kind of information is just too precise for animators, and whether measurements like the ones I described above are commonplace or too specific. I'm sure they could follow such specific measurements, but it seems to me to that it would take more time to follow a rule that a character's shoulder-length is 2 and 1/3 heads wide than to just eyeball it... right? I assume that animators have to be able to adapt when information is left out, but for animations like The Legend of Korra, the process of eyeballing it must be a little less consistent and forgiving? Maybe I'm wrong?

I don't know. Could somebody provide insight or opinions on this please?

(The model sheets I'm working on are not super-simple cartoons: not quite anime, but not elementary shapes either.)

Sláinte,
-WW

 

[Dudley]

It depends on how strict you want you want your characters to be on model when others draw them.


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[Rhaynebow]

I believe the story you’re trying to tell can affect how much information you should put on your model sheets. If you want slapstick comedy or fast paced action, that has more emphasis on visuals, you don’t want your animators weighed down by cluttered model sheets telling them exactly how Character B is supposed to run into a wall. If your story is more dramatic and has action with a little more thought put into the choreography, then you’ll need strong model sheets so your animators can make it look clean so it can be taken seriously.

I think a cartoon’s tone really affects how far off-model you’re allowed to get. Case in point, Steven Universe vs Ren and Stimpy. Both shows encouraged the artists to go off model for artistic freedom. The difference though is that R&S is a slapstick cartoon. It’s understandable why the characters can change proportions, have limbs change size at the drop of a hat and react to the environment in different ways. No one is going to complain because the story is just as wacky. Compare this to SU which is a slower paced and very often dramatic show that has more talking than action. Audiences are more harsh on this show going off model because to see the characters change heights over and over again among other things can distract them from the story. It’s also relatively sloppy on the crew’s part as again, the show has more dialogue than action, so there’s no reason why characters should be off model when they’re simply talking.

TL;DR, if you’re making something ‘cartoony’, ease up on the detailed model sheets and let the artists have at it. If you’re making something more dramatic, include the details so the visuals can be taken seriously just as much as the story.


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[Werewoof]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Very good answers.

I think I should make strong (but not obsessive) model sheets for the characters, then. Although I have dry comedy in mind, I think my model sheets should reflect a more realistic tone. I'd also like moments of slapstick fluidity, so maybe I can have to develop a system that trades back and forth between rigidity and fluidity.

Thanks again,
-WW