Any advice for how to make more visually interesting and expressive character designs?

[NickRowler]

So do I just need to color these characters in? Because they each have different hair.

I have been ill an my brain has turned to mush… so I get a bit confused when you reply to comments I made half a month ago.

I feel like I already answered this.

Anyone is going tell you that you need to have enough variation in your characters designs so that you can tell them apart. You can do that with color, like with Care Bears or OG Ninja Turtles. You can do that with hair design, like with Sailor Moon where even in the manga you can tell them apart.

However, I feel like most readers like when there is diversity in the designs. Characters related to each other can have similar features but they should also have something unique about them.

[JoshRaed]

However, I feel like most readers like when there is diversity in the designs. Characters related to each other can have similar features but they should also have something unique about them.

Wait when you said “the character’s key traits” did you mean just my characters?

Also they’re adopted siblings, of different races, so they’re not really supposed to look like siblings. I messed up by not saying that earlier.

The thing is unless I go full steven universe where literal rail thin people exist and heads can be literal squares, I don’t see what else I can do. One character is skinnier and has a rounder head and a different face and different skin tone, and i’m not sure what more I could do.

[Kelheor]

Nick already told you they've been sick for some time and get confused why you reply to posts half a month later and that this question was answered previously.
People are trying to be patient, they already given all the explaination they could and no one cares about how your characters look as you do, don't return to the same stuff over and over again.

[joannekwan]

@JoshRaed looking through the history of this thread, you seem to be hyperfocused in only replying to people you have a rapport with already from your previous threads. A bunch of new folks have posted extensive replies with great textual and visual information and you don't even give these posts a like. It's behavior like this that gives off the impression that you aren't listening to new advice or growing, and it's hyperfocusing on a few individuals that it starts to come off as harassment.

[JoshRaed]

Sorry. I have read and made efforts to follow most of this advice. I just kind of ended up talking to just those people.

[NickRowler]

Wait when you said “the character’s key traits” did you mean just my characters?

I'm talking about character design in general...

For example, here is two characters on the right in Azumanga Daioh I kept mixing up. Their designs are too similar. They did later on give one of them a tan which did help. Sometimes readers don't notice the small details that you put into your character.

I guess this is my own personal way of designing characters. What is the unique thing about your character that applies to only them that won't be just placed on everyone else?

Even from my other example, you can see a tall girl, a girl with glasses, a girl with big eyes and flat hair, a short girl with red hair, etc. That is what I mean by having a diversity in design, you could go to a more extreme case like Steven Universe but you don't have to.

[choilyriel]

Dude, just focus on improving your art especially anatomy wise. Find your own style, stop having fixation on small things like this

I agree with @Kelheor. No one cares about how your character looks. There's bunch of popular artists with same face syndrome and their works is highly popular. Having fixation on this is just ridiculous when your art is not improving.

Try to improve your art slowly, makes better characters and plot story, test the market with a one shot or short comics/novels and if you have a strong characters design and development, this will help attract audiences who will love your work

[daeygurart]

100%. The reality is no one cares. No one will care until you start producing content, improving your art, and gaining an audience. People who do are either beginner artists themselves who are wanting to help a fellow novice, or those who spend too much time trolling on the internet. Drawing takes skill and skill takes time and dedication. What you need to focus on right now is make your comic, improve your art, and continue to grow no matter what level you are right now. Fixating on things like this won't help you improve because any artist or novelist is going to face a lot of criticism.

Some that sucks, and some that will help you put a new perspective on things.

Right now, just have fun with it and practice while you're at it.
Trust me when I say perfectionism and denial can only get you so far. @JoshRaed

[JoshRaed]

I know. I don't actually have any real plan to seriously change anything at the moment. I don't think there's anything wrong with the character designs I have now that I think about it, at least body type wise. But I also don't know what would need improving about my grasp on anatomy. Is this something that will just fix itself with practice or do I need to genuinely know where the anatomy is wrong to improve it?

[JoshRaed]

I actually intend to make a one-shot just to get a feel for comic making, without ruining any specific ideas I have because none of what I make in that one shot is going to be in the final product except for the parts that I like after the fact.

[daeygurart]

With practice comes learning and studying. In order to get better at something, you have to study. You're always improving something as an artist, and yeah stylization and what-not is good, but also understanding how the body works and bends can really help. There was one time I read a manga and was like that's not how the body works??!?! So, it can take your readers out of the experience.

So, to answer your question. You always need to know where the anatomy is to improve it. Watch proko, do gesture drawings, and while you're practicing realism and anatomy you can tune your cartoon style. Every manga artist and cartoon artist know how to draw at least a bit realistically before stylization comes into play.

It's late, so rip my advice coherence.

[daeygurart]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

[Lensing]

Every artist has to start at zero

It´s normal that your drawings lack everything without practice.
My drawings really looked bad when I started relearning and I was 40 at that
time and I have been already publishing comics when I a teenager

Proko is a good recommendation by @daeygurart
He also has a cheap beginner´s course which I really recommend where
you learn things like line quality and how to sketch

[smokesalty]

Lmao writing this as I just got back from my concept art class! The key is to find inspiration, do an f ton of sketches with different elements. Even if you don't know if something will work, give it a try.

I'm in a class where our first assignment is to design a character and make an accurate turnaround sheet and posed illustration of them. So far, our steps have been to make an inspiration board (I made mine on pinterest), thumbnails (small doodles of ideas that don't need to be refined or work), a ton of sketches exploring and refining our idea, colour swatches, a refined design and then an accurate turn-around sheet. It takes time! It's been super interesting seeing my classmate's designs change and evolve over time as they get a better grasp of what they want out of their character design.

A lot of it has to do with coming to a point where you have a clear vision of what you want the character to be and their personality helps. Even just brainstorming ideas with words can help. You have to be willing to look for inspiration and try things because trust me, you first idea most likely isn't your best. That's why you just gotta throw some ideas on a page and figure out what direction you want to go.

[choilyriel]

With practice. I said this a lot of time, practice by tracing your favourite artist

Do not post it anywhere or commercialized it, instead just use it as a practice. I remember tracing a lot of fairy tail art and black butler, to the point I can even make my own character easily. It took me about a month to be good, and I practice one art everyday

[Lensing]

I agree with you and it´s a good practice.
I developed my own training routine which is:
tracing - copying the reference - drawing from memory - drawing blind
It helps a lot with pretty much everything.

There is so much to improve on, line quality, shapes etc but in the beginning
it´s just important to make it a habit and get a lot of mileage

[JoshRaed]

It's been forever but I recently did a redraw of this character to be the most extreme take on each character design. How does it look now? I honestly really like the sort of Tim Burton child look that's going on with Penny now, and I think I'll lean into that.

[Leyelle]

Try looking up different fashion styles and finding one that fits the vibe of your character.

Style: Streetwear

Idea: this character doesn't fit conventions and is sick of trying to be shoved into a box, hence, this style makes sense for her.

Style: Soft boy

Idea: he's a very gentle, quiet person. Also the fact that he always wears blue relates to his character quirks

[JoshRaed]

Thank you. I will do that. I think it might make the process a lot easier.

[JoshRaed]

So I kind of deliberately broke the characters and did a bunch of things that I did not intend on keeping just to see how far I could push them and it honestly made for some really good choices design wise and now I'm pretty sure I have good idea of how to make these characters look when I get them in the proper art style I'm going for again.