Alrighty, I kinda have a bit of jumbled thoughts when coming up with this, so apologies if its a little confusing.
So I'm watching some music clips, animations, and such from various shows and movies. And a thought crossed my mind, thinking back to like style, proportions and such like that. But with all the different styles with how the characters are drawn, doesn't that also change the. . . . well. . . I guess basics on how a character is done? To do a deep dive on character design to try and find a style I can do.
I can see the parts of the character that are enough to make them the character, but what builds that? I mean, looking at the rubber hose style of Cuphead, the look of characters from movies like Wolfwalkers and Song of the Sea, the floppiness of characters in some of the cartoons nowadays, heck....even video game characters that really push it like the Prototype from Poppy Playtime, the Ink Demon from Bendy, even monster designs in animated shorts I've seen like the Freaks from the Autodale series (by a YouTuber called Dead Sound) and similar? Even the aliens from Ben 10 (particularly the originals). The characters can't be anymore different from each other.
So many different characters that seem to push the limit, and yet they have a head, proper limbs, and a proportional body.
With different styles, how does someone know a character in a particular style is done right? Theres a vast massive majority of different styles done by different artists with a wide variety of different characters.
A friend of mine said if a character is believable enough with design, proportions, and features, then it works. That there's more to characters then just how they look, personality and what they wear. Which I could see, its sorta just something I'm trying to figure out. Friend also suggested I practice by drawing in styles I'm familiar with and like, and eventually something will come of that. Character design is a lot more complex then I thought.
We end up touching on quite a lot of things here, even unintentionally, so I’ll answer by trying to start from the roots.
Finding your own style can be time-consuming, but as I often say, drawing is about observation and practice—in that order.
Style doesn’t necessarily determine how a character is constructed... buuut it also can. Depends where it starts. Is it existing already or you're about to make a brand new?
If a character already exists, distinctive details and character-defining traits are what make it recognizable, no matter what style is used.
arts by RinoRusso, admiralDT8, and the last two by richietoons
I think Artfight is a great example of this: there’s a specific character, and tons of people draw them in their own style, but the character remains recognizable nonetheless.
When you’re designing a character, you have to decide: what do you want to do with it?
The head, body, and limbs help, but they aren’t necessarily essential. Just think of supporting characters like Dora the Explorer or Toy Story. Sometimes a character is alien as a body structure, but they’re still a character. I think it depends on whether you can associate with them and whether they add something to the story. You know what to connect them to, what to compare them to.
The Prototype: a grotesque humanoid form in a jester’s costume on a mecha spider body. Check—I recognize the details, even though there are a hundred of them. I can describe it.
Demon Bendy: a bulky minotaur-like form with a set of human teeth. I can describe it; I recognize the details.
Freaks: bipedal, four-armed bison-like creatures. I can describe them; I recognize the details
Wildmutt: a blind, orange dog-like creature
Upgrade: a humanoid with an interesting construction and skin
These are easy.
Buuuuut if I throw these in here:
So again, what you want to do with it? Do you want it to move? Should it even have limbs or recognizable human features? What's its role in the world, and how does it interact? Once you can describe it and it's role, it interacts—even if only occasionally—and participates in the world, we’re talking about a character.
When you decided the basics, the construct (body, let's say bc it's easier that way), so you have idea for the body.
What then? How to decide a style, how to find and create my own?
'To do a deep dive on character design to try and find a style I can do.'
Step 1:
When you come across a style or anything you like, save it—even if it’s just a small detail. Build yourself a reference folder, then take the time to analyze it. What exactly do you like about it? Put it into words, literally.
Step 2: The next step is figuring out why. Is it something you genuinely want to incorporate into your own work, or do you simply enjoy looking at it? There’s a big difference between admiration and creative envy, and neither is wrong. I love the style of Soul Eater, for example, but I have no desire to draw like it.
But when you catch yourself thinking, "I wish I knew how to do that, I wish there was a way to steal the artist's skills from their head directly" you've found something worth studying. That's your ding-ding-ding, the cue to add it to your "skill envy" list.
Step 3: Now that you've identified the elements you want to incorporate, it's time to put them into practice. Start with the easiest and gradually work your way toward the hardest. Small wins early on keep you motivated, while the more complex parts will require deeper analysis, more focus, and patience.
The key here is to incorporate lots of small aesthetic changes—anatomy, color theory, line art style—which will eventually develop into your own style. When the fundamentals aren’t quite sufficient to replicate the characterization, make a list of what you still need to study, and do this for each item. If you like the way an artist stylizes their anatomy, you’ll first need a certain understanding of the fundamentals of anatomy—what a real body looks like—and how that particular artist shapes it in their own style. Create a checklist of everything you need to learn, starting with what comes easiest and most naturally to you, and working your way up to the more difficult aspects.
It takes time, but it's absolutely worth it. Hope I didn't drift too far off topic—I just wanted to explain from bottom to the top... hopefully.
I used for the style finding topic some Marc Brunet wishdom bc that's what working for me, he just has better way of wording things.
