Designing Animated Characters for Children of Different Ages

 

In order to examine the relationship between stylistic elements of animated characters and the target ages of their audiences, we performed a series of qualitative and quantitative studies.

June 21, 2016
Interaction Design and Children (IDC) 2016

 

Authors

Elizabeth J. Carter (Disney Research)

Moshe Mahler (Disney Research)

Maryyann Landlord (Disney Research)

Kyna McIntosh (Disney Research)

Jessica K. Hodgins (Disney Research)

Designing Animated Characters for Children of Different Ages

Abstract

Animated characters are commonly used in children’s television, movies, and applications. Artists seek to create characters that maximally engage their audiences and tailor these characters carefully. In order to examine the relationship between stylistic elements of animated characters and the target ages of their audiences, we performed a series of qualitative and quantitative studies. By using existing media, we determined that characters created for younger children have larger head height, larger eye height, and rounder eyes than those created for older children. However, we found no systematic differences by age when we had children express preferences for existing characters or create their own characters. These results suggest that current artistic trends do not accurately reflect the character design preferences of children.

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