Character Design- Design a "Princess"

There are lots of kinds of princesses out there: there are warrior princesses like Raya and Mulan, dreamers like Jasmine and Belle, and go-getters like Rapunzel and Tiana. But now it's your turn: create your dream princess, in the style of the Disney princesses. Will she have a bit of magic? A bit of romance? A fighting streak? It's all up to you in this design class. Your princess can be anyone from any place in any time! 

In this class, I will walk students through every step of the character creation process, from gathering inspiration materials to putting her together. We will be using the internet to gather images both during class and outside of class. Students can share their images however they prefer- pinterest, google slides, or other. Students will also be doing some sketching, including of what their final princess looks like. I will show examples throughout. Students may collage, if they prefer. 

I will be sharing pinterest boards throughout the class.

Throughout the class, we will analyze Disney movies and characters to understand the "anatomy" of a Disney princess- to find out what truly makes her tick. We may look at clips or pictures from the movies. 
Week 1: Setting the foundation
Before anything else, we need to figure out where your princess is from. We'll use the internet to gather images from the web of beautiful places all over the world. Your princess does not need to be from a totally real place, but all princess locations are at least inspired by a real place. Knowing the place she is from will also help establish parameters to work with in terms of the types and style of adventures she will have, what animal sidekicks can join her, as well as what her conflict can/will be.
HW: Create an image board and start gathering images of locations. 

Week 2: What kind of princess is she? 
There are 3 ways to become a princess: be born into royalty, marry into royalty, or "commit an act of heroism." We'll analyze and discuss Disney princesses to determine which categories each qualifies for, and decide which we would like our character to be. They can be more than one! We will also discuss common princess tropes, and decide if any of them are right for our own princesses. 
HW: Decide what kind of princess your character will be. 

Week 3: Humble Beginnings 
Whether she is born a princess or becomes a princess, most princesses come from humble beginnings. Here we'll start to build the character's story: what has happened in her life so far that will lead to her "moment"- the character's story. We'll analyze our favorite princess movies for personality traits, and determine what a good princess back story consists of. We'll also discuss borrowing from classic stories and myths to help create our character. 
HW: Set up a backstory for your character. This can be written or drawn. 

Week 4: Wardrobe 
Princesses, whether they're fighting in a war or working from inside a castle, have amazing wardrobes. All princesses have at least 2 outfits, and many have more. They usually mark key points in her character development, so as we plan her outfits, we'll also be planning her story. 
HW: Create an image board full of outfit inspiration. 

Week 5: Villains and Side Kicks
Our princess is our heroine, but she needs her helpers and her villain, too. Most importantly to her development will be her "mirror character" who can take the form of her villain, family member, friend, side kick, or love interest. We'll look at some mirror character relationships form Disney, including Jasmine/Aladdin, Merida/her mother, Ariel/Ursula, to see how those mirrors help us understand our heroines better. 
HW: Loosely develop a mirror character for your princess. 

Week 6: Themes & Symbols 
Every story needs a theme. We'll analyze the princess movies for their themes, and determine our own story's themes. We'll circle back to our settings to help hammer down the specifics. Since princesses are visual characters, we will create a symbol for her that represents her hardships, strengths, and desires. 
HW: Create a list of themes and a symbol for your character. 

Week 7: The Story
Although this class is about character design, we should create a loose outline of her story to guide the character development. We'll sketch out some scenes and denote where certain characters will arrive, what she wears when, and key moments of character development. 
HW: Create your presentation! 

Week 8: Present
Present your princess! Students will create a slideshow, or a series of illustrations, and tell the class about all about their character. If time allows, we will imagine what the characters might be like if they were in each other's stories. 

I will provide a graphic organizer to help organize all of the information we are gathering as we go along. 

Students may create a princess of any gender identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, body size or shape, or ability level, that they feel is appropriate for their character. Students will not be confined to existing princess parameters!