How Does Walt Disney Create New Animated Characters?

Brainstorm

Before a Disney character ever hits the movie screen, it has to start as an idea in an animators head. Sometimes a character can be inspired by an animators day to day life. Other times, it can come from brainstorming sessions. This is especially true when a main character is already established. When the supporting characters are needed, brainstorming is often called upon for establishing this part of the story. Animators can then sit down and brainstorm what types of characters would accompany the main character and what world that character would live in.

Use inspiration

Once the animators have brainstormed, they then look for inspiration to help develop the character. This inspiration can come from the facial expressions of the actors that have been chosen to voice the characters, or it could come from spending time in a similar environment that the character would live in. For example, if Disney is working on a movie with a Panda, they may travel to China. They might study pictures of China to help develop the character as well as the other supporting characters.

Observe

Once the basic character has been chosen, the animator will then observe the behavior of its inspiration. If the character is a lion, the animators will go and observe a live lion. The animator will research and record every facial expression and characteristic of the inspiration. The animator will then adapt it to the environment of the character in the film.

Draft

Once the animators have a good idea of how they want their character to look and act, they start to draft story boards. These story board sketches help the animators flesh out the character. Animators can go through many sketches of drafts before deciding on a final look and feel to the character.

Animate

Once the storyboards have been made and the characters fleshed out, the animators go to work making the film. In the last century, much of this animation was done by hand or stop motion. However, with new technologies, most animation is now done by computer. Teams of animators then take the characters that have been designed and turn them into the full featured films you see today.