Designing a character can be a difficult process. There are many factors to take into account: colour scheme, whether they fit in well with the designs of your other characters, and whether the design fits the character themself are just a few.
However, taking a few tips into account might help to make character design a bit easier.
1. Keep it simple and coordinated.
Details can really add to a character design, but there’s such a thing as too much. For example, this character (from Final Fantasy):
This design has way too many details. First, the designer made the easy mistake of including too many colours, making the colour scheme over-complicated and unpleasant to look at. It’s usually not a good idea to use more than two to five colours for a character design.
Aside from the colours, this character just has too many unnecessary things added to the outfit. Why are two belts needed? What purpose does that badge serve? Did the designer have some grudge against the game artists who have to draw this character repeatedly?
Due to all the details, the eye is drawn every which way, distracting from the important elements of the character. Usually, the eyes should be drawn to the character’s face. However, if the details fit well together, contribute to the overall design, and are at least somewhat colour-coordinated, they can be used. (Just maybe not this many. Please.)
2. “Sexiness” is not a measure of good character design.
This is a misconception I see a lot. Just because a character is ugly doesn’t mean they’re poorly-designed - and in the same way, a character being attractive doesn’t mean they’re well-designed! (However, it is true that conventionally unattractive main characters usually won’t sell well (with a few exceptions) - so watch out for that.)
Below is an example of a character who is attractive, but poorly-designed (Irene Belserion from Fairy Tail):
Listen, I support everyone’s right to wear what they want, but maybe if you’re a character who is actually going to be fighting, leaving all your vital organs exposed is not such a great idea. Not only that, but how does her outfit stay on? Unless she cast some anti-gravity magic on her chest, it would probably be falling out of her shirt. And why do her gloves have nails? What is the point of those clamps? What even is her hat?
On the other hand, characters the majority might think are ugly aren’t automatically “badly-designed”. Think of monsters, elderly characters, or ones who are just strange-looking. Countless examples exist of characters you may not want to bang, but the designs themselves can still be great. Also: adding in a portion of characters who aren’t conventionally attractive allows for much more variety in designs!
3. Functionality is important!
This is kind of an obvious one, but it seems like a lot of creators - especially in the manga and video game industries - still don’t get it. If someone is going into battle, they’re not going to be leaving all their vital organs exposed. (The only exception is Kill la Kill.) A similar principle applies when your characters are in a cold place: unless you want your characters getting frostbite, give them clothes appropriate for the weather!
The same applies for the opposite situation: characters in hot places won’t be wearing winter coats, unless they’re trying to commit suicide by heatstroke. There are exceptions, though - for example, characters may dress differently for cultural purposes. Additionally, covering the entire body slows the rate of sweat leaving the body and protects the skin from sunburn, which is why those living or travelling in the desert tend to cover up more.
4. The character’s design says something about them.
Usually, a character’s physical appearance can be used to portray some aspects of their personality. For example, a character who likes to fight will likely have red or orange hair. Colour schemes are the most common method of this.
Here’s a helpful chart for the symbolism of some colours:
Colours aren’t the only method of symbolism in designs, though. The size and shape of the eyes, the posture, hairstyles, and fashion choices are all different ways to communicate a character’s personality through design. Using the example given above, the red-haired character who likes to fight may have sharp/upturned eyes to symbolize aggression. They might also be frequently seen in a fighting stance, and probably wearing clothing suited for combat.
5. Most people have more than one outfit.
It’s easier to design just one outfit than many different ones. And for short stories that take place over the course of only a day (or less), this may be all that is necessary.
However, if you’re writing a longer story (or a short one that spans over more than a day), it’s necessary to design more than one outfit for your character. The only exception would be armour - but your character still needs something to wear underneath!
(Of course, this is assuming your character doesn’t have some sort of magic that keeps their clothes clean.)
6. Nothing is original, but you should still try!
With all the different books, movies, TV shows, and cartoons that are out there, nearly all elements of a character’s design have probably been done at least once before. That said, it’s completely fine to take some inspiration from another character whose design you happen to like.
Still, you shouldn’t completely rip off someone else’s design. If your character looks too similar to theirs, you’ll probably be facing copyright lawsuits.
If you want to take inspiration from someone else’s character, it’s best to only take one or two features that you like. Although the “expy” trope is a thing, not all authors are happy with that, so it might be best to stay on the safe side.
And of course, sometimes trying to come up with a design element nobody’s used yet results in things like Yu-Gi-Oh hair.
7. Your characters should look different!
“Sameface syndrome” is a huge problem in a lot of media - and it’s not just the facial features. Reusing the same body type over and over is also a huge issue. Of course, even in real life there will be people who look similar - and depending on how exaggerated your art style is, there may only be a limited range of available body types.
To avoid sameface, try giving your characters a wide range of different:
Noses: Small, large, round, with a bump on the bridge, flat, long, pointed. There are tons of different ways to design noses. You really don’t need to give every single character the same small, “cute” nose.
Eye shape and size: This is a great one for differentiating between characters since it’s usually where the audience will look first on a character design. Try sharper eyes, different kinds of pupils, larger eyes, rounded ones, etc.
Body type: Don’t be afraid to draw different body types! This includes height - and depending on how “cartoony” your art style is, you can give your characters wildly different heights and bodies. Your characters should be easily distinguishable from a silhouette.
Facial shape: Try round faces, square faces, sharp faces, and more. In fact, experimenting with different geometrical shapes can spawn a huge range of different faces.
However, while your characters should look different, remember to keep their designs faithful to whatever location or time period your story is set in.
Not all of these tips apply in every single situation - in fact, it largely depends on your art style and what kind of story you’re trying to write. If you’re writing a story about a bunch of clones or something, disregard number 7!
Also keep in mind that, like everything else, designing your own characters from scratch takes a lot of practice. It might take months to design a character who looks right. Just keep sketching, re-designing, and practicing!
