---
name: character-design
description: Designing characters as people and as visuals - role, want versus need, flaw, ghost or backstory, voice, relationships, arc, silhouette and shape language, costume, expression, and character sheets - for books, film, animation, and games. Load when creating or reviewing a protagonist, antagonist, or cast, writing a character profile, planning an arc, or turning a personality into a readable visual design.
---

# Character design

Story track: `worldbuilding` -> `narrative` -> `character-design`. Visual track: `art-direction` -> `visual-development`. This skill spans both.

## Purpose
Create characters whose inner life drives the story and whose look communicates that inner life at a glance.

## Inputs
- World facts: culture, era, status (`worldbuilding`).
- Plot role and story needs (`narrative`).
- Style guide, shape language, palette (`art-direction`).
- Pillars and tone (`creative-direction`).

## Framework
1. **Role**: protagonist, antagonist, ally, foil, mentor. A foil contrasts with the protagonist to sharpen them.
2. **Want vs need**: the want is the conscious external goal; the need is what they must learn or face. Tension between them drives the arc.
3. **Flaw and fear**: a specific weakness or false belief, usually rooted in a past wound, that makes the want hard to reach.
4. **Contradiction**: one trait that cuts against the rest, to make the character feel real.
5. **Voice**: how they speak, what they avoid saying, habits and tells.
6. **Relationships**: how they differ in each pairing; conflict between cast members.
7. **Arc**: starting belief -> pressure -> choice -> changed (or tragically unchanged) belief. Keep arc beats tied to plot beats.
8. **Visual design**:
   - Silhouette: distinct in solid black among the cast.
   - Shape language: round, square, triangular traits matching personality and the style guide.
   - Costume, colour, props, posture: each tells something about history, status, or attitude.
   - Expression and pose range to confirm they can act.
   - Model sheet: turnaround, expressions, scale comparison with other characters.
9. **Cast check**: line the cast up; differentiate by silhouette, colour, voice, and goal.

## Output
```
CHARACTER SHEET
Name / role:
Want / need:
Flaw / fear / backstory wound:
Contradiction:
Voice and habits:
Relationships:
Arc (start -> pressure -> choice -> end):
Visual: silhouette, shape language, palette, costume, props
Expression / pose range:
Cast differentiation notes:
```

## Quality checklist
- Want and need differ and conflict.
- Flaw has a cause and a cost in the plot.
- Character is identifiable by silhouette alone.
- Design details reflect culture and status of the world.
- Each cast member could be told apart in a crowd and in dialogue.

## Anti-patterns
- Trait lists with no choices or conflict.
- Perfect, flawless protagonists; villains with no logic or want.
- Design by costume gimmicks that carry no story information.
- Characters who exist only to deliver plot.
- Visual design that contradicts personality or world.

## Handoff
- Arc needs and conflicts -> `narrative` for beats; setting questions -> `worldbuilding`.
- Approved sheets -> `visual-development` for scene and keyframe work; style conflicts -> `art-direction`.