Character Design

Recorded vocabulary snapshot. This page is generated from a saved database extract, not a live connection. Rebuilding the site does not refresh its measurements. Draft wording comes from review notes; check recorded decisions for approved meaning. Stored values alone do not prove current prompt or filter behavior.

part of Design · recorded level: Craft · Image · 1 pieces of work carry it · 3 entries in its comparison notes

The level names are Service → Discipline → Craft. This page uses the level recorded in the snapshot. Its definition and parent links still need individual review; the level name is not approval of either.

Recorded definition and use

Brands hire character design for mascots, campaign characters, and character development for games and film — the 'Character / Character Development' capability studios tag their work with (BUCK, Elastic, 23lunes).

Designing unique character visuals — the look, anatomy, costume, and personality styling of original characters — often in a specific artistic style for storytelling or branding. The design of the character, as distinct from making it move.

Tag it when…

Tag when the visible craft is the design of an original character: model sheets, turnarounds, mascot reveals, or pieces whose centerpiece is a designed character's look. The character must be a designed creation, not a filmed person.

Never tag it when…

Never tag for merely FEATURING people or pre-existing characters. Making the character move is Character Animation (that goes to Animation — M:N with this leaf is legitimate on one asset). A designed character rendered as a finished scene is Illustration; exploratory character look-dev is Concept Art.

Comparison notes for 3 other entries

These recorded notes compare this entry with related services, disciplines, crafts or other descriptions. Their wording remains subject to review.

• character animation (canonical id group: 2d animation character animation · 3d animation character animation) — Character Design is the LOOK; Character Animation is the MOVEMENT/performance — the DN-187 worked pair; both may tag one asset when both crafts are visible. Filter by the canonical_id GROUP, never one physical row (Option-F)
• design concept art — Exploratory development frames of a character = Concept Art; resolved character sheets/reveals presented as the design = Character Design
• design illustration — A finished drawn scene that happens to contain characters is Illustration; the tag here requires the character's DESIGN to be the work

At what size it applies

Dual-grain by canon (DN-187 example): Character Design on a hero image is an ASSET tag (Design side); a designed character appearing in a beat of a commercial is a MOMENT (Animation-side parent keeps its craft).

Pieces that settle the definition

• Only the Nastiest Get the Nicest | Nike Vapor Edge Kobe 6 | Nike — Nike spot carrying designed character work (DB-verified content_disciplines link; analyzer provenance, non-primary)

Where to look next

• The whole services tree — the services index.
• Every other vocabulary — the vocabulary index.
• How work gets credited to a craft — the entities chapter.