Character Design for Animation

Samantha McIvery

Jul 2026 · Samantha McIvery

Ebook

183

Pages

Tools

Eligible

About this ebook

Character Design for Animation is a detailed, practical guide to The Art of Character Design for Animation for readers who want a clear path from understanding the topic to using it confidently in real situations. The book is designed as a structured learning companion rather than a shallow overview: it introduces the core ideas, explains why they matter, then develops them through realistic examples, guided practice, scenario-based explanations, and common mistakes to avoid. Readers are taken step by step from foundational concepts into everyday applications, with each chapter building on the previous one so the material feels progressive, usable, and easy to revisit. The main areas of focus include The Blueprint of Appeal, Finding Your Character’s Voice, Shape Psychology in Practice, From Thumbnail to Blueprint, Eyes, Mouths, and the Language of Emotion, Silhouette First: The Clarity Test, Color That Tells a Story, Costume and Props as Story Cues, The Turnaround: Technical Precision, Animal, Object, or Anthropomorphic?, giving the book a concrete learning arc that moves from orientation and confidence-building to applied communication, problem solving, and independent practice. The writing style is direct, supportive, and accessible, making the book suitable for self-study, classroom reinforcement, professional development, or personal improvement. It emphasizes practical understanding over abstract theory, so readers can immediately connect the lessons to conversations, decisions, habits, and challenges they are likely to face outside the page. By the end of the book, readers should have not only a stronger grasp of the subject, but also a collection of repeatable strategies, useful language patterns, mental models, and practical routines they can continue applying after they finish reading.

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About the author

Samantha McIvery is a veteran character designer and animation artist with over fifteen years of experience in feature film, television, and video game production. She began her career as a junior concept artist at Blue Sky Studios, contributing to the visual development of *Rio* and *Epic*, before moving to Pixar Animation Studios where she spent eight years designing characters for shorts and feature films. Her credits include work on *Coco*, *Onward*, and the Academy Award–winning short *Bao*.

Samantha later served as lead character designer at DreamWorks Animation Television, overseeing the design pipeline for the Netflix series *The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants* and creating original characters for multiple upcoming projects. She has also consulted for independent game studios, helping establish the art direction for the award-winning indie title *Spiritfarer*.

In addition to her studio work, Samantha is a dedicated educator. She has taught character design courses at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and through online platforms including School of Motion. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes the marriage of narrative intent with visual craft, encouraging students to develop both technical skill and storytelling instinct.

Samantha holds a BFA in Character Animation from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She is a frequent speaker at industry events such as CTN Animation Expo, SIGGRAPH, and Lightbox Expo, where she leads workshops on shape language and expression design. Her personal character project, *Wanderers of the Fringe*, has been featured in *ImagineFX* and *3DWorld* magazines. She currently lives in Los Angeles and splits her time between studio consulting, teaching, and developing her own animated short film.

You can find Samantha’s portfolio at samanthamciveryart.com and follow her on Instagram and Twitter @samciverydesign.

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