Main types of Characters used in e-learning courses.

1. Types of
Characters
used in
e-Learning
OPEN
Photo Album

2. Index
Doodles
Pictograms
Humanoids
Icons
Silhouettes
ClipArts
Cut out People

3. Doodles
Doodles, stick figures and outlined
characters are the simplest drawings which
we might use to represent the characters of
our course.
Having limited budget and time, we can
quickly sketch basic shapes and lines to
represent a character. These characters are
used for storytelling and to explain about
processes.
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Doodle videos have become a popular way
to explain concepts because of the graphic
depiction of ideas and the movement of the
hand calling viewer’s attention.
Fig. 1: Static Stick figure
Fig. 3. Doodle video
Fig. 2: Animated Stick figure

4. Pictograms
Pictograms are custom characters created
using basic shapes. Graphic skills are not
required to build them; combining circles,
squares and other shapes, we can easily
have our custom character.
Pictograms are used in a number of
situations in which verbal messages are
not possible.
They work great for procedural and safety
training where the learner needs to follow
step-by-step sequences and they’re also
used for students with special needs.
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Fig. 4
Fig. 5 Fig. 6

5. Humanoids
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Main advantages of using 3D humanoids:
•Gender and race neutrality
•Concept representation: sometimes,
they’re more suitable than real people to
depict abstract concepts.
•Wide variaty: there is a large pool of these
graphics available to choose from.
•Ease of editing: adding or removing a
person or an object, changing its color, it’s
possible in a few minutes.
•Lack of expression: their positions and
actions are enough to convey the meaning.
•Humor: The vector graphics are cute and, at
times, even funny.
Reference: Upside Learning
Fig. 7

6. Icons
Icons should be easy to understand at a first
glance, this means their visual is closely
related to the idea which needs to be
communicated.
From the simplest icons to the more detailed
and coloured ones, we can use icons to
represent an specific person or activity.
Iconic characters also help in better
communication between the users and the
application interface.
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Fig. 8 Iconic characters in different styles

7. Silhouettes
Creating silhouettes is pretty easy. And using
them in your elearning courses can add a
little bit more visual and make the courses
more engaging.
The main advantages of using silhouettes:
•Be politically correct: as silhouettes are race
neutral, they’re a good option to make sure
no one’s offended.
•Focus learner’s attention on the slide:
they’re nice to create contrast with the
background of the slide and to help learners
to focus and isolate information.
•Used as icons or to create a progress meter.
Reference: Rapid e-learning blog
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Fig. 9 Silouettes used to represent a concept
Fig.10 Silouettes used to focus attention

8. Cliparts
Cliparts are inexpensive images; there are lot
of royalty free clipart available online.
It’s good idea to stick to one Style. The type
of clipart depends on your audience, when it
comes to developing professional eLearning
for the workplace, use less cartoon-y clipart
and more high quality vector artwork and
silhouettes.
The main advantage of using Cliparts (or any
vector image) is the easy of their edition.
No graphic software is required, with
PowerPoint, you can change colours and
background, and create the Character you
need for your elearning course.
Reference: Flirting with eLearning Blog
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Fig. 11 Cliparts in different Styles

9. Cut out People
Whether we decide to use illustrated or
photographic Characters, cut out people
images are a great way to make our courses
more engaging.
Character packs are sets of the same
character in many poses and angles. As they
have transparent backgrounds, we can easily
combine them creating scenes, dialogs,
presentations and simulations.
Using poses and expressions makes it much
easier to get emotion and give a realistic
looking to our elearning stories and
scenarios.
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Fig. 12. Illustrated Characters
Fig. 13. Photographic Characters

10. References
The Rapid e-Learning Blog:
• 5 ways to use silhouttes in your e-learning course
• 7 ways to create Characters for your Training
course
• Create your own custom Character
• How to build your own graphics for online course
Blog Commlabindia:
E-learning characters
Upside learning:
10 reasons to use Humanoids instead of Photos
Flirting with eLearning Blog:
Choosing graphics for eLearning: Photos vs Cliparts

11. Images source:
CLOSE
Fig.1 Stick figure by Randy Borum
Fig.2 GIF stick figure by By As09rl CC-BY-SA-3.0
Fig.3. Video The Science of Persuasion
Fig.4 Pictograms by Tom Kuhlmann
Fig.5 Own work
Fig 6. Pictogram by Jeff Kortenbosch
Fig.7 Humanoid by 123RF
Fig.8 Icons by Freepick
Fig.9 Meeting Silhouette by Feepick
Fig.10 Silhouette screen by Tom Kuhlmann
Fig.11 Cliparts. Styles 554, 1252, 1255, 1268
Fig.12 Articulate Character Male 14 in various poses
and expressions.
Fig.13 ElearningArt free character in various poses
and expressions.