Welcome to 3D Character Animation

Create a lead character, with heart and optimism, for a narrative-driven comedy cartoon.

Target Audience:

4-14 year olds. They may invest emotionally in fictional characters, using them as a source of learning about the real world. The situations and stories they see on the screen can help them to express themselves, teaching them values and helping to inform their lives. They may watch cartoons in any medium, either alone or with friends and family members.

Considerations:

• Design a character, human or non-human, with a strong personality, who leaps off the screen and holds the audience’s attention. Disney is looking for surprising and unique characters that are relevant, meaningful and appropriate to the lives and imaginations of the intended core audience.

• Think beyond your character’s appearance, and consider also their hopes and dreams, fears and wants, quirks and foibles. Show your ability to infuse your character with enough depth to be a star of a cartoon comedy. Your character should be able to communicate a range of expression and emotion.

• Don’t over think the visual attributes of the characters; think of movement, timing, posing and animation as an integral part of your design. It is essential to have a well-prepared storyboard to ensure a good narrative structure for your animation.

• Disney would like to see fresh, innovative approaches to the design and animation. The constraints for technique and style should be defined by the creative considerations of the character itself (personality, behaviour, expression etc) and not by perceived norms and trends of the animation industry. Forward-looking approaches that challenge or reinvent current or classic character design idioms are preferred. Deliberately retrospective or heritage-based designs are discouraged.