I've been admiring your art, while consistently struggling myself to keep Sora and Riku's faces consistent...whether that's bc of emotion or angle or how soft their features are, I'm not sure. You'd think that after 2 decades of looking at these characters I could draw them properly.
Can I ask what facial features you think makes them distinct?
*RUBS MY HANDS TOGETHER* This is the best question you could have asked me and I am frankly STOKED to answer it (even if it took me a hot minute). It's something I've personally made notes of and have thought about a lot, SO! You came to the right dude.
For starters, it helps that Sora and Riku were made to be complementary. Riku was specifically designed counterbalance to Sora (as stated by Nomura in the KH1 Ultimania Gallery comments) and is something they’ve continued to lean into over the years. So thankfully it’s really easy to single their features out when compared to each other, specifically.
To boot, I have a lot of fun trying to boil down designs into an easily recognizable visual language just in general. Developing visual shorthand for a character, boiling them down to their bare essentials, etc. How low can we go? It’s a fun exercise and great for strengthening silhouettes!
And from what I’ve found, to put it simply;
Sora is Round. Riku is Angular.
Where Sora is short, Riku is Long!
Like this;
Simple, right? You can tell which is which? Just zhuzh it up a little and you’ve got the boys!
While these are very simple examples, reducing them down and still being able to readily tell who is who even as little circles is the point! It let’s you know what to focus on as you shift from little caricatures to more detailed drawings at any level. And you’ll see how much these simple little rules/identifiers carry all the way thru!
Let’s start with their faces;
Round vs Angular.
Sora’s cheeks are more prominent and rounded, sloping lower on the face and pinching in to a smaller round, pointed chin. It makes his head look more round and short! His Jaw is also softer, less defined, which is an easy way to make somebody look youthful. (this is a tip I learned from tf2 actually?? lmao)
He’s got a bit of that baby face!
With Riku, his cheek bones peak higher up and cut in cleanly down to a more prominent chin. This leaves a lot of space for his jaw which can make his head seem taller. It also affords his features more space which can serve to make someone look “more mature”. His jawline is also sharper and more defined, cutting inward compared to sora’s outwards slope.
He’s just a handsome guy!
But it doesn’t stop there!
When it comes to their noses, I really like to lean in to the little things.
With Sora, I like to accentuate the upturn (hence the accent lines) but his nose is shorter and more rounded with a prominent tip pointing up and out. Some might call this a pixie nose
Riku’s is broad and straight (haha) and one of my favorite features of his. It’s a strong shnoz, longer than Sora’s and with a flat bridge. A detail of which I’ve always really liked and make sure to include. Gives it that strong handsome look.
I’m sure you’re getting the idea, but every feature follows these rules! Short and Long! Round and Sharp!
The eyebrows are something I feel always go missed, so I wanted to bring them up specifically.
Riku’s eyebrows are longer and have a high arch to them as they wrap around his brow.
Sora’s are short and much thicker towards the bridge before quickly tapering out.
You can see this along with their eyeshape a lot more clearly on their models.
(Sora’s eyebrows are my favorite i love em I think they’re just the cutest thing. Really adds to his expressions, especially his pouts.)
What’s fun is that these are all things I’ve observed in official material in one way or another (namely Nomura’s art, the 3d models tend to round things out more.)
Once you know what to look for, it’s easy to spot their consistent features. I’ve grabbed some fun examples;
Sora: upturned nose, round cheeks pinched in to a pointed chin, rounded jaw
Riku: Harder jaw, prominent chin, straight nose
You can see here how the curve of riku’s jaw goes in towards the face as sora’s goes out.
Riku: The Nose even more clearly, chin pointing out, and though mostly covered, you can see that strong jaw.
Sora: the same as above, really, but it’s consistent. Who says you can’t draw characters facing slightly to the left for a living.
You’re starting to see a pattern I’m sure.
And here you can see the flat bridge on riku’s straight ass nose! A flat of which Sora doesn’t have by comparison.
You can also see here the different points their cheeks turn in, Sora’s being notably lower than Riku’s.
Anyway, you get my point!
For a generalized ending statement;
Riku is always drawn with harder, yet graceful masculine features. He’s both very handsome and beautiful, wow. Package deal.
Sora has a more boyish cheekiness. He’s got a baby face he’ll probably never outgrow along with other “cute” features. His can be a harder balance to strike, he’s cute but he’s also a dashing young man, a little charmer!
Focus in on those details n just remember compared to each other;
Round vs Angular
Short vs Long
Soft vs Sharp
They’re complimentary opposites, both in concept AND design!
I love it!
I hope this was sufficient, kind anon. Good luck to everyone and I hope to see more strong Riku noses in the future.
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