In motion picture animation, a model sheet is a document used to help standardize the appearance, poses, and gestures of an animated character. Model sheets are required when large numbers of editors are involved in the production of an animated film to help maintain continuity in characters from scene to scene, as one animator may only do one shot out of the several hundred that are required to complete an animated feature film. For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ... A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ...

Purposes

Model sheets have also been used in the past to maintain graphic continuity over the years for long lasting cartoon productions of short or very short features (around seven minutes or less) such as the ones produced in the Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies series for several decades. Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ... Merrie Melodies end title Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. ...

Model sheets are drawings of posed cartoon or comic strip characters that are created to provide a reference template for several artists who collaborate in the production of a lengthy or multiple-edition work of art such as a comic book or a full-length animated movie. Model sheets usually depict the character’s head and costumed body as they appear at various angles (a process known as “model rotation“), includes sketches of the character’s hands and feet, and shows a several basic facial expressions.

Model sheets ensure that, despite the efforts of several or many artists, their work exhibits unity, looking as if one artist alone created the drawings (that is, are “on model”). They show how the character is structured, proportioned, dressed, and acts. Often, several sheets are required to depict a character’s subtler emotional and physical attitudes.

Specific annotations

Model sheets also provide notes that present specific information about how to develop particular features of the character, such as his or her head shape, hair length and style, size and position of the eyes and the mouth, and whether to show the character’s ears.

Examples

There used to be a lot of model sheets on the internet, however many animation studios demanded people to take them down. Model sheets are not in public domain. Some of these are specific to particular completed or ongoing projects, whereas others are more general and inclusive of a studio’s entire collection of characters. Animation studios besides Disney and fans also post model sheets on their Internet Web sites. Larry’s Toon Institute provides a generic model sheet for the purpose of introducing the concept of model sheets [1].

There is also an online model sheet for DC Comics' Superfriends [2] and Archie Comics. In some cases, these sheets may have been posted by fans or others rather than the company or studio that owns the characters.

Copyright

Not only the characters are copyrighted. Model sheets and any material created by the Animation Studio is protected by copyright. They are not supposed to be copied and distributed on the internet without the permission of the animation studio. A few websites owners that were displaying model sheets were asked to remove most of its content. However you may be able to find generic model sheets, and a few animation studios have them on their websites. Not everything is fair use. For more information on copyright issues, fair use, please check the website of the Copyright Office.

Unintended uses

Although model sheets originally are intended for artists who work for the studios that own the characters for which these templates are developed, other artists, such as those who create shemale art, profit from them by adapting their characters to their own uses. In addition, parents often download and print model sheets as free coloring books for their children. Individuals should remember that the characters depicted on such model sheets are owned by their creator and are protected by copyright.