Attractiveness or diversity in characters?

[nananana]

im so confused to how i should draw my characters... i hear that my character are too perfect and so they end up lacking special features, but when i draw them differently from each other, they turn boring. And boring isnt attractive. i dont ant to force myself with a generic anime style nor do i want to change it to any other style. i like my style the way it is, i took time figuring out my style.

[ToonDoctor]

Are you implying that diverse characters with different body shapes cannot be attractive???

[shazzbaa]

Examples of what you mean would help! A picture of the characters that others are saying are "too perfect" versus a picture of what you're trying that seems to make them come out "boring" might help us see the balance you're having a hard time finding!

I usually find that if all the characters are "too perfect" and have no real differences, that tends to look more boring to me than characters who are different from each other. But I also don't know if we're using those words the same way!

But while I probably have opinions and preferences.... there really isn't any "SHOULD" in this. There isn't a way that you "SHOULD" draw your characters. All any of us can say is what we prefer, or what we think makes a character more appealing/realistic/interesting/fun to look at. But there's usually not one Right Answer.

[indagold]

i'm confused, you don't want to make your characters different because your style changes? Do you mean look different, have different body types?

[Thesleepypencil]

Is it possible to see refrence to your characters? To see the design and style? It would make it easier for me to know what exactly to address.

from what you said some points i am confused about in how similar dl your characters look, and if they look different from each other they look boring? I personally find when characters look the same it's boring. Plus as a reader when i struggle to figure out which character is which i kinda tune out.

But for the style. You don't have to give up your style to diversify your characters. Diversity in characters can go from simple factors like weight,race, sex and other physical denominators. Or non physical denominator like sexuality. While these things change the character they shouldn't change the style.

My recommendation is refrence. Look at people, street fashion blogs are the best for that. (And you get to see col cloths bonus) study how they are diverse as well as how they are attractive OR just use them as inspiration.

Look at shows likr steven universe, the show is massively diverse in body types and skin tone while not giving up the style and the characters are interesting.
And anime wise look at full Metal alchemist. There is alot of different builds and characters that fit in that one

[lempi]

Well, I s'pose I'm not sure what you mean by "boring," but I know I'm also someone who's heard that criticism in the past... It can be easy to make all your characters look similar, especially when your style is reminiscent of anime/manga.

I don't know if you'll find this helpful, but the question that kind of "woke me up," so to speak, and REALLY helped me improve my character design was this: if all your characters were bald and in silhouette, would you be able to tell them apart?

Off the top of my head, Ouran High School Host Club is a good anime that follows this rule! Someone else mentioned FMA, as well, and that's also a good one.

[Kayke]

I agree that visual examples would help us get a better handle on the issue.

Diversity usually makes a cast LESS boring. Personally, I can't comics or watch shows where all the characters look too similar. Even sometimes in live action shows and movies if the casting is too homologous I'll get bored.

[Doubtcent]

For attractiveness, I actually find diversity and flaws to be drop-dead gorgeous. Perfect skinned and perfect figure is alright, but if I see a freckled face or a hidden mole, or perhaps a form a bit off center (as long as it's a healthy-looking type)...
They're just more visually interesting and more attractive to me.

Imperfections can = beauty

[WakaXO]

I assume your talking traits and not ethnic diversity? If that is the case it might help if you give each character a special features unique to them, like one character can have makeup done a certain way or a tattoo?
Also varying each characters body type doesn't have to be extreme, slight changes are fine, people will pick up on them, for example one character can have a longer face and nose, or a button nose, or smaller/bigger/round/sharp eyes, etc etc etc.
I hope I didn't misread your meaning and totally go off topic... 😅

[Rabbit]

Mmmm.. okay. I think I know what OP means.
And it sounds like you have a very narrow view of what you think is attractive - you shouldn't draw all of your characters looking alike, just because that is the look the find 'attractive', but at the same time you don't really need to give them huge 'flaws' to make them interesting, nor do you need to change your style.
I really don't see 'diversity or attractiveness' as something you need to choose between? Like a shy, bookworm Asian character is just as attractive as a blond, tanned surfergirl. They're both attractive, they're just.. different people.
If you're someone, like.. 'I only like short brunettes with long hair and brown eyes!! That is the only type of attractive there is!!' then you're gonna have a hard time, bro.
Designing characters means embracing all types of attractiveness - not just with female characters, either, but with male characters as well! You need to keep in mind that your own personal tastes aren't going to be shared with your whole audience; and if you only care about your own personal tastes, then don't bother showing your work to anyone else.
BUT if there are people cutting up your art just because 'everyone is attractive', and your characters don't all look alike and are different types of attractiveness... don't listen to them.
Making all of your characters 'attractive' is your own choice, so long as they don't all look alike. If someone wants you to draw more rough characters, they're just pushing their own styles onto you. Ignore them.

[joannekwan]

Yes, examples of your art and characters would definitely help us help you!

From my personal experience, over the years I've found to appreciate the differences in everybody's faces and find good traits in all of them. Everyone's different and it's great! And what's wrong with having a few homely characters? Not everyone fits mainstream standards of beauty. I don't even usually like mainstream beauties.

Another anime I'd like to add to the list of good diversity (in faces at least, because come on, they're super heroes so they have to be fit) is Tiger & Bunny. But you'll find body diversity in the supporting cast and minor characters.

[camillabluejay]

Hah, that's what I was just about to say. I think all of my characters are pretty stinkin' cute >_>

[gateofselidor]

I always focus on diversity first when designing my characters. It's a lot easier to edit several unusual faces to make them more attractive than it is to take some pretty, same-faced characters and make them more varied. Plus, the more time you spend drawing a wide range of faces and body types, the more you learn that all sorts of different features are interesting and attractive.

[Michelle]

Obviously we can't provide accurate feedback without visual examples, but this line:

i dont ant to force myself with a generic anime style nor do i want to change it to any other style. i like my style the way it is, i took time figuring out my style.

leads me to believe you're latching onto "style" before learning drawing foundations that would help you develop more diverse characters.

I could be wrong, but this is common with artists who have a bad case of same face syndrome. They develop a specific way of drawing noses, eyes, hair, mouths, etc, down to a formula, to the point that drawing outside that specific "style" results in something that looks weird or ugly because they don't understand the real anatomy behind the style.

Style is nice to have, but don't let it chain you down. Style is something that should develop over time, and it should be informed by our understanding of drawing foundations.

[Zanreo]

Yeah, I feel I've kinda had the same issue, which is why I've been trying to vary their features, build, ect. a bit more. Sometimes I can't make it look "right" but that's when I'll just try again over and over, in different ways, to make it look okay... I'd say just practise drawing different features and faces, make small stylistic tweaks if needed but still recognizably "different", adjust this balance as needed. In the end, you're the one who knows what looks best for your characters and art, but variery in character design is always a good thing that makes them more interesting. And if it just "doesn't fit your style", maybe consider tweaking the style a bit or letting it "evolve" naturally from there? Maybe you'll end up liking these changes better (and if not, well, at least you know what doesn't work)

[NickRowler]

It's had to say without presenting examples but I get the feeling it's the whole thing, "Someone seems prettier when compared to someone who is less so".

It is possible to have the majority of the characters be attractive and still have diversity. Ever After High does that...but then again, it also tries to push itself to make each character look unique and defined.

I know you seem very defensive of your style however, you should remember that "pros have styles, newbies don't", as in if your style is problematic, you should be more open to change and experimentation.

[nananana]

noooooooooooo ahahaha
my style is very boring and isnt like worthy if i were to make my art style more sparkly and cute maybe it would be... but my chaacters would end up looking some whatthe same