Exercises
- Think back to when you were a child. Who were the people that you liked the best?
Who frightened you? Why? Can you use any of these people as the basis of a charac-
ter? Exaggerate! - Use kids you know for the following: Listen to kid dialogue. Write it down. Make a list
of hobbies and activities, especially noting anything that is interesting and out of the
ordinary. Ask the kids about places they especially remember and like. What places
made them afraid? What do they hate? What hurts their feelings? What embarrasses
them? What makes girls scream? What makes them laugh or cry? What does their sister
or brother do that they hate the most? Save the lists. - Go to a mall or park and watch people. How are they different? How do they walk?
What funny mannerisms do they have? How do they change their behavior when inter-
acting with different people? Do they react to their environment? Now create two
opposing characters from those that you’ve seen. Add new traits. Give them motiva-
tions. What’s the conflict? How can you make them funnier? - Observe half a dozen animals or everyday objects. What stands out about each one?
Pick an “essence” that you can develop into character traits: the happy-go-luck dog, the
sly cat waiting to pounce, or an elegant tapestry pillow. Develop them into characters
first as the animals or objects that they are and then into animated people. - Choose a classmate to work with. You’ll each think like a character, any character. Ask
each other these three questions:
A. What do you want?
B. How do you move (your walk, things you do with your hands, etc.)?
C. What do you enjoy doing?
It’s okay to make up wild and funny answers. Now change partners and ask each other
three different questions:
A. What’s your biggest fear?
B. What do you sound like?
C. Who or what are you (male, female, person, animal, object...like a banana)?
Individually, develop a unique, new character using most of these attributes. Discuss your
characters in class. - Think of the funniest thing that ever happened to you or a friend. If you can’t think of
anything, make something up. What kind of character would make that situation even
funnier? You may improve the details, if you wish. Discuss. - Develop three to six characters that you can use in a TV series, a short, an animated
feature, or a game. You may work any way that is most comfortable for you, filling out
a fact sheet, scripting short scenes, doodling and drawing, or improvising monologues or
scenes between characters.
74 Animation Writing and Development