How to Make a Character Reference Sheet: 5 Steps

What a character reference sheet actually is

If you want to know how to make a character reference sheet, start with what it's for: it's the single source of truth for a character's design. One page (or a few) that shows how they look from every angle, in the right colors, with every accessory and marking pinned down — so you, a collaborator, or an AI can redraw them and get the same character every time.

Without one, your character drifts. The jacket changes color, the scar jumps sides, the ears get bigger between drawings. A good sheet kills that drift. Animators call the professional version a model sheet, and it exists for exactly this reason — consistency across hundreds of frames.

The sheet is visual reference, not a biography. Personality and backstory belong in a separate character profile. The reference sheet answers one question: what does this character look like?

What to include in a character sheet

Here's the checklist for what to include in a character sheet, roughly in priority order:

• A turnaround — the character drawn from multiple angles at the same height and scale (more on the views below).
• A color palette — actual swatches for skin or fur, hair, eyes, clothing, and every accessory. Label the odd ones so no one guesses.
• Expressions — three to six faces (neutral, happy, angry, surprised) so the character stays on-model when emoting. A dedicated expression sheet is worth building once your design is locked.
• Detail call-outs — zoomed-in drawings of anything easy to get wrong: a piece of jewelry, a tattoo, a weapon, unusual shoes.
• Outfit variations — if the character has a signature look plus alternates, show them.
• Key stats — name, height (against a scale bar), age, and species. Keep it to a line or two.

You don't need all of this for every project. A background character might get one front view and a palette. A hero you'll draw a hundred times earns the full treatment.

Character model sheet views: the turnaround

The turnaround is the backbone of the sheet, and the standard set of character model sheet views is five:

• Front view — the default, feet flat, arms slightly away from the body.
• 3/4 front — turned about 45 degrees, the most useful angle for showing form.
• Side view (profile) — reveals the nose, chin, chest, and posture.
• 3/4 back — the reverse 45, showing how the back of the head and shoulders read.
• Back view — for hair, capes, backpacks, and anything hidden from the front.

Draw all views at the same height. Run faint horizontal guide lines across the whole row — one at the top of the head, then eyes, chin, shoulders, waist, knees, and feet — so every view lines up. This is the difference between a reference sheet and a pile of unrelated drawings. For a deeper walkthrough of just this part, see our character turnaround sheet guide.

A quick test: fill each view with solid black and check the silhouette. If you can still tell it's your character from the outline alone, the design is strong.

How to make a character reference sheet, step by step

1. Lock the design first. Don't invent as you go. Settle the shapes, proportions, and palette before you draw the sheet — otherwise view three won't match view one. If you're still exploring, run through the character design process first.

2. Set up the canvas. Go wide and high-resolution — a landscape canvas gives room for a horizontal row of turnaround views with labeling space beneath. Lay down your horizontal guide lines now.

3. Build the five views. Sketch the front view, then use the guide lines to keep every other angle at matching heights. Flip the canvas often to catch lopsided proportions your eye has stopped noticing.

4. Refine, then add the extras. Clean up your line work, drop in the color swatches, add the expression row and detail call-outs. Label anything ambiguous.

5. Export two versions. Save a flattened PNG for sharing and a layered file for edits. High resolution matters — people zoom in to copy details.

A character ref sheet template you can copy

You don't need fancy software. Any layout that follows this simple character ref sheet template works, whether you draw it in an app or block it out on paper:

• Top strip: character name, a one-line descriptor, and a height scale bar.
• Main row: the five turnaround views, evenly spaced, aligned to shared guide lines.
• Side column: color palette swatches with labels.
• Bottom row: three to six expressions plus close-up detail call-outs.
• Corner box: outfit variations or notes.

Use this as an OC reference sheet skeleton and adjust it to your character. Traditional artists have documented this format for decades — the Wikipedia entry on model sheets is a good look at how studios standardize it, and any solid guide to color theory will help you build a palette that holds together.

Keeping your character consistent — without redrawing everything

The whole point of a reference sheet is consistency, which is also the hardest thing to hold when your character moves into video. This is where an AI director like Scriptly does the heavy lifting.

You design a character once — from a photo or a description — and Scriptly keeps that same face, outfit, and palette locked across every scene as you storyboard and generate clips. In other words, it treats your reference sheet the way a studio treats a model sheet: as the rule everyone follows. If you're planning to animate your character, our guide to consistent characters in AI video shows how that plays out shot to shot.

Build the sheet first, though. A clear reference — good views, honest colors, labeled details — makes every downstream step easier, whether a human artist draws it or an AI does. Start designing your character in Scriptly and carry that consistency straight into video.