Chapter 1: Beat Boards & Relationship Charts

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Beat Boards & Relationship Charts for Character Concept Artists

Why beat boards and relationship charts matter

Beat boards and relationship charts are the connective tissue between story intent and shippable character packages. A beat board sequences emotional and plot milestones as visual frames—mini key‑art panels that track mood, palette, and wardrobe state over time. A relationship chart maps who affects whom, how, and when—revealing costume influences, shared motifs, and readable shifts in allegiance. For both concepting and production concepting, treating these tools as production assets (not just pitch art) ensures color scripts, emotional arcs, and wardrobe progression are synchronized with gameplay cameras, rigging limits, and UI/Audio hooks.

What a “beat” includes

Each beat is a compact contract: Story micro‑logline (one verb + one object), emotional state (two‑word affect), palette swatch (3–5 colors with value notes), lighting key (direction and hardness), wardrobe delta (what visibly changed and why), mechanics tie‑in (movement or system unlocked/limited), and readability test (thumbnail and grayscale). When every panel carries the same metadata, Design can tune mechanics, Animation can plan acting, Tech Art can budget cloth/FX, and UI/Audio can prep motifs in lockstep.

Emotional arc lanes and how to visualize them

Run parallel emotion lanes beneath your beat images: agency, trust, burden, resolve. Draw each lane as a value curve (low to high) with notches at beats; place small icons (anchor glyphs) where the emotion triggers a wardrobe or palette shift. For clarity, keep lane color assignments stable across projects (e.g., agency=teal, trust=gold) but let the palette swatches within beats vary diegetically. Add a counter‑lane for antagonistic forces so you can stage purposeful color clashes or convergences in later beats.

Color scripting that supports wardrobe arcs

A color script is more than a rainbow timeline; it’s a value architecture that protects readability at any crop. Start with macro value blocks per act (Act I mid, Act II dark, Act III high‑contrast), then assign accent hues that symbolize relationships (mentor’s umber, faction indigo). Bind palette to lighting motifs—e.g., warm rim during safety, cyan top‑light under surveillance. For wardrobe arcs, define persistent anchors (belt leather, sash color) that shift saturation/value rather than hue so players track identity while feeling growth. Provide color‑blind‑safe alternates and maintain contrast ratios for UI overlays.

Wardrobe progression by motivated deltas

Every wardrobe change should be diegetic: found, built, earned, lost, or vowed. On each beat card, list the delta verbs (shed, bind, reveal, repair, elevate) and what that does to motion and interaction (e.g., “bind cloak → less cape noise; reveal gauntlet → unlocks grip UI panel”). Show seam logic and articulation gaps so the change won’t break skinning. Include a small before/after inset for layered items (collar up vs down, cape split vs whole) and note simulation tiers (cinematic vs gameplay).

Relationship charts: structure and readability

Treat the cast as a graph with nodes (characters/factions) and edges (influence). Use edge styles to encode relationship types: solid=ally, dashed=tension, dotted=estranged, double=mentor. Add arrowheads for directionality (who affects whom) and a weight for intensity. Place waypoint markers along edges at beats where the relationship turns; these correspond to beat board panels. Visually embed small wardrobe/insignia chips next to each node so the chart doubles as a costume glossary.

Influence → wardrobe translation

Relationships alter looks. On the chart, annotate motif transfers at specific beats: a borrowed clasp, shared trim pattern, or mirrored asymmetry. Mark taboos (motifs never shared) to prevent muddy faction reads. Where betrayal occurs, show negative motifs—removal scars, cut threads, inverted palette—to keep the shift legible from gameplay cameras. Pair each transfer with a mechanics consequence (e.g., “mentor bandolier → new slot UI; removal → inventory capacity drop”).

Beat board panel design for production

Keep panel sizes consistent (e.g., 3:2) with a safe‑crop box for storefront and social formats. Stage characters with the shipping gameplay lens as a check alongside any cinematic lens you prefer. Provide each panel in color + grayscale and include a tiny‑size strip to confirm class reads. Maintain a single key light yaw across adjacent beats unless the story explicitly relocates or time jumps—this helps downstream material consistency in look‑dev.

Aligning beats with mechanics and encounters

Map beats to encounter types (tutorial, puzzle, boss, stealth) and mobility demands (vault, crawl, sprint). Where a beat introduces or removes mobility, reflect that in costume deltas and color temperature (e.g., cooler hues in restrained beats, warmer in liberated ones). Put reach markers and collision envelopes in your notes when silhouettes expand (new cape, backpack) so Level Design and Tech Art plan doors, ladders, and vehicle fits.

Sound and UI hooks per beat

Under each panel, list audio motif cues (e.g., “quieter buckles, cloth damped” after a vow) and UI anchor updates (e.g., “forearm HUD gains rank glyph”). Keep a motif ladder—three intensity levels per sound—to scale with beat stakes. That ladder helps Audio and UI plan escalation without inventing new assets mid‑production.

Relationship heatmaps and scene blocking

Convert the relationship chart into heatmaps for proximity and conflict across acts. High‑heat pairs need staging priority: ensure their costumes interlock or contrast clearly under your color script. Provide blocking thumbnails for pivotal confrontations showing negative space between bodies, weapon arcs, and cape clears, so Animation and Cinematics can stage safely without last‑minute redesigns.

Continuity boards and delta maps

Maintain a continuity board—a single strip of the character across beats at identical scale in neutral pose—beneath the cinematic panels. Add a delta map overlay for each transition, highlighting changed regions and stating the reason (diegetic + production). This double view protects against accidental retcons and enables outsourcing or parallel production without style drift.

Accessibility and localization

Design color scripts to survive monochrome, low‑vision, and color‑blind modes. Reinforce critical changes with shape language (collar up vs down, emblem geometry) not just hue. For relationship charts, avoid culture‑loaded symbols and include RTL‑friendly layouts where arrow direction and labels remain readable. Provide text‑light icon versions for regions with strict localization budgets.

Handoff package

For each project, deliver: 1) a beat board deck (color + grayscale) with metadata bars (logline, emotion, palette, wardrobe delta, mechanics, audio/UI hooks); 2) a relationship chart with legend, motif transfers, and beat waypoints; 3) a continuity strip of neutral poses across beats; 4) palette cards per beat with material/shader notes (roughness targets, emissive caps); 5) readability strips at small sizes over noisy gameplay backgrounds; 6) platform crop overlays (16:9, 4:5, 9:16, 1:1); 7) a change‑control register—versioned entries describing any retcons or palette shifts.

Common pitfalls

Unmotivated wardrobe changes; color scripts that only change hue, not value structure; relationship charts that read like subway maps without hierarchy; beats framed with lenses that contradict gameplay cameras; motifs that drift between factions; delta maps missing articulation logic; and panels that collapse at thumbnail size. Avoid using micro‑patterns that moiré and ensure emissives don’t strobe under motion blur.

Quality bar

A great beat board sells the arc in five seconds, survives grayscale and tiny crops, and encodes wardrobe changes that Animation and Tech Art can actually build. A great relationship chart explains why those changes happen and how influence flows through the cast without confusing the player’s readability. Together they form a living spec that aligns Narrative intent with production reality.

Final thought

Think of beat boards as time and relationship charts as force. When you design both with emotional arcs, color scripts, and wardrobe progression in mind—and annotate the production realities (metrics, motion, UI/Audio hooks)—you equip every team to tell the same story. The result is a character journey that feels inevitable on screen and is efficient to ship.