6 Animated Films to Inspire Your Character Designs

Discover industry-leading animated films with fun and expressive characters to use as references for your own designs

Natural expressions, gestures, and small details bring illustrated and animated characters to life. Knowing how to capture these movements and features is an important part of developing your character design skills, and creating unique and memorable characters.

Looking at the work of other artists is a great way to explore new styles, and see examples of different poses, facial expressions, and gestures! In this article, you'll discover six animated films packed with great references to help inspire and evolve your character designs. It's a useful resource for beginners starting out in character design, as well as for more experienced illustrators, animators, and comic book artists.

How references can help with your character design

Omar Lozano (@0marito) is a Mexican video game concept artist and illustrator who has worked for over 10 years on comics, children's books, video games, and character design projects. In the latter, he has worked for Marvel and DC on Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Justice League.

Anime and Japanese culture are important references for Omar—especially the dynamic design of Dragon Ball characters. As part of his style, he seeks to convey the experience of living in each illustration. Below Omar shares some of the animated movies he's used as references to learn how to draw characters with incredible movements and expressions.

Exploring various references is a useful activity during the research and creation stages of character design. As you observe these characters think about where they come from, how they behave, what they are wearing, and why. During this process of observation, explore the ranges of facial and body expressions used in different situations to help you understand the thinking that leads them to react in certain ways depending on the scenario.

1. Wolfwalkers, by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart (2020)

Boasting several European nominations and international awards for its dazzling design, this animated fantasy film portrays a time when superstition and magic reign and wolves are considered a demonic force that must be eradicated. Robyn is a young apprentice who travels to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last group of wolves, but the situation changes when Robyn saves Mebh. Their friendship leads her into the so-called "Wolfwalkers" world, transforming her into what her father has sent her to destroy.

It is an excellent source of inspiration as each scene seems like an illustration straight out of an old-fashioned book

2. Inside Out, by Pete Docter (2015)

This Disney Pixar animated movie was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 2015 Oscars and took home a BAFTA and a Golden Globe that same year.

Growing up can be bumpy, and Riley is a girl who experiences all kinds of feelings. Although Joy has dominated her life so far, she is also affected by other emotions when she is forced to leave behind her life in the American Midwest as her dad finds a new job in San Francisco.

Riley doesn't quite understand why Sadness has to exist in her life. Inside Out is a good reference for imagination, intelligence, and humor.

3. Wreck-It Ralph, by Rich Moore (2012)

Wreck-It Ralph is a 3D animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures in 2012. This work stands out for its creativity in designing spaces and characters.

The story revolves around the world of video games, where Ralph, tired of being the bad guy in the story, decides to take matters into his own giant hands. He sets out on a journey through different worlds and generations of video games to show the world that he, too, can be a hero.

4. The Secret of Kells, by Tomm Moore (2010)

The Secret of Kells is an Irish-Belgian-French co-production that proves great animation can be made on a small budget.

Beautiful and ethical, it tells the story of Brendan, a 12-year-old monk who lives in the remote fortified abbey of Kells in 11th century Ireland. With the other monks, he helps build a wall to resist Viking raids. A new life of adventure lies before him when he meets a famous master who arrives from foreign lands, caring for an ancient and unfinished magical book.

Hoping to complete it, Brendan leaves the abbey for the first time and enters the dangerous forest inhabited by all sorts of creatures.

5. Akira, by Katsuhiro Ôtomo (1988)

Legendary Japanese animated movie Akira is considered one of the best manga and animation works for adults. For many illustrators and designers, it is a must-see title—spectacular and violent—that has earned its place on its own merits as a great cult film.

Created in 1988 by Japanese director Katsuhiro Ôtomo, it is a fantastic anime feature set in 2019 (the future at the time) in Neo-Tokyo, a city built on the ruins of the ancient Japanese capital destroyed after World War III. Japan is a country on the verge of collapse. In secret and by order of the army, a team of scientists resumes an experiment to find individuals who can control the ultimate weapon: a force called "absolute energy."

6. Blame!, by Hiroyuki Seshita (2017)

Directed in 2017 by Hiroyuki Seshita, this sci-fi animated movie tells the events of a distant future where chaos reigns. In Blame!, Killy sets out on a mission to rescue a civilization on the verge of extinction from oblivion.

The story in the original work, published between 1998 and 2003, takes us to a dystopian future in which human beings have become alienated by a reality dominated by technology.

Which 3D animated characters inspire you most? Let us know in the comments below! And, if you want to learn how to breathe life into your designs and draw expressive characters packed with detail, check out Mexican illustrator Omar Lozano's online course, Drawing expressive characters.

More resources to develop your character design skills

- From facial features to figures, learn the art of female character design in these online courses.

- Discover new favorite characters in these unmissable animated movies and TV series from 2022.

- Learn how to design female and male characters with curvy, muscular, or slender body shapes in this character design tutorial.