# character-appeal

Applies animation principles to craft distinct character traits and movement styles. Useful for animators and game creators.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 580 installs · ★ 129
- Author: dylantarre
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/HEAD/skills/02-by-thinking-style/character-appeal/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2025-12-30
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/character-appeal

## What it does

This skill guides the agent to evaluate character design through a casting director's perspective. It translates twelve traditional animation principles into character psychology. Movement communicates inner thoughts. Exaggeration amplifies defining traits. Secondary actions like fidgeting make figures believable.

The workflow has distinct stages. You define three primary personality traits, then translate them into physical motions and rhythm. If a character looks generic, the guide directs the model to push asymmetry and sharpen the silhouette.

This is a conceptual framework, not an automated 3D rig exporter. You still need to implement the resulting poses and keyframes in your own engine or animation software.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill character-appeal -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/character-appeal/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/character-appeal/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill character-appeal -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/character-appeal/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill character-appeal -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/character-appeal/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install dylantarre/animation-principles character-appeal
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/character-appeal/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill character-appeal -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles --path skills/02-by-thinking-style/character-appeal
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/character-appeal/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill character-appeal -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/HEAD/skills/02-by-thinking-style/character-appeal/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- turn abstract personality traits into signature physical gestures
- fix bland silhouettes with asymmetry and clear staging
- define individual movement rhythms and walking styles
- diagnose why an animated character fails to connect with viewers

## Example prompts
- Define a walk cycle and resting pose for an anxious apprentice using character-appeal
- Our villain feels generic, suggest distinct timing habits and asymmetric silhouettes
- Convert three personality traits of a companion character into secondary actions

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: fae9afd942f64ac5.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE fae9afd942f64ac5
```text
---
name: character-appeal
description: Use when creating or animating characters that need to connect with audiences—hero protagonists, memorable villains, lovable sidekicks, or any figure that must have personality and presence.
---

# Character Appeal

Think like a casting director watching auditions. Appeal isn't just "cute"—it's magnetic. Characters must demand attention, invite empathy, and feel uniquely themselves.

## Core Mental Model

Before animating any character, ask: **Why would anyone want to watch this person?**

Appeal is the quality that makes audiences invest. It's not prettiness—villains have appeal. It's the sense that this character is worth following. Their movement reveals their soul.

## The 12 Principles Through Personality

**Appeal** — The principle itself. Design and motion that invites connection. Clear silhouette. Readable expression. Movement that expresses inner life. Characters you remember.

**Solid Drawing** — Characters must have dimensional presence. They need to feel like they could be picked up, like they have weight and mass. Solidity creates believability.

**Exaggeration** — Personality pushed to clarity. A cautious character is *extremely* cautious in movement. A bold character moves with *unmistakable* confidence. Amplify defining traits.

**Staging** — Present characters for maximum impact. Their best angles, their clearest poses. Give them their spotlight moment. Staging serves character.

**Anticipation** — Character-specific preparation. How does *this particular character* wind up for action? A nervous character anticipates differently than a confident one.

**Timing** — Personal tempo. Every character has their own natural rhythm. Quick and anxious. Slow and deliberate. Timing is personality in motion.

**Secondary Action** — Habits and quirks. The gestures a character does without thinking. A hair-twirl, a nose-scratch, a weight-shift. Secondary actions individualize.

**Follow Through & Overlapping Action** — Physical personality. Heavy characters settle differently than light ones. Hair and clothing respond to how the character moves.

**Squash & Stretch** — Elasticity of personality. Rigid characters barely squash. Flexible personalities stretch easily. The body type reflects the inner type.

**Arcs** — Personal movement quality. Graceful characters move in flowing arcs. Aggressive characters have sharp direction changes. The shape of motion is character.

**Slow In & Slow Out** — Energy signature. How does this character accelerate and decelerate? Gentle easing or snappy action? Each character has their own physics.

**Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose** — Character work often benefits from straight ahead exploration to find unexpected personality moments, then pose-to-pose refinement for clarity.
```
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