"China, IL" JR Character Design Test

After I completed the Storyboard Test for "China, IL" I was offered the opportunity to take the JR Character Design Test. I, not being an idiot, gladly took it.

I was first given this original sketch by Brad Neely:

I was then told to create a full body turnaround along with a special pose that highlighted his character.

This is what I did:

I then was asked to create a turnaround for this character's head:

And there you go. Didn't get the job but I had a great time. I learned a lot about designing characters and it really made me appreciated the genius of Brad Neely's style.

Thanks to Joshua Rogers and Dave Newberg for offering me the test.

"China, IL" Storyboard Test

Since season two of the hit Adult Swim show, "China, IL" has started airing, I figure it's time to reveal my Storyboard and Character Design tests I took for the show over a year ago.

Storyboard Test

There were three parts to the Storyboard Test. The first was the Thumbnail. I was given a short piece of a script and told to thumbnail as much as I could. Here it is:

China, IL Storyboard Test - Thumbnails by ryanrosendal

Next came the Rough Storyboard Panels, where I was asked to create around 20 or so rough storyboard panels.

China, IL Storyboard Test - Rough Storyboard Panels by ryanrosendal

And finally we have the Cleaned-Up Storyboard Panels, which should be self-explanatory.

China, IL Storyboard Test - Cleaned-Up Panels by ryanrosendal


I won't lie, it was a difficult test. The characters were harder to draw than they initially seemed and there wasn't much action so I really had to focus on believable acting. I didn't get the job obviously, but it was a very worthwhile experience. I learned quite a bit from doing it and if Titmouse is reading this, I just want them to know I'd love to test again!

Special thanks to Corey Barnes for posting about the position on Twitter and Joshua Rogers and Dave Newberg for offering me the test. And Brad Neely for creating the show.