Hi, I was wondering if you could give any tips on drawing SU body-types, as you make such varied and unique ones. If you can't, that's okay too!
First off, thank you! These are tips that I personally find useful when I make my characters. If these don’t work for you that’s fine! You might find something better.
Study realistic body types This will help you understand the basic of anatomy and how certain types work.
Break cartoon characters down into basic shapes or outlined them as silhouettes. Some people have already done this to give you a better picture (1), (2), (3), (4) (last one isn’t SU related, but it definitely fits in with this tip).
Make a silhouette/character line up sheet. This can help you avoid reusing the same body type (and even design elements) over and over again. Let me show you some of mine for reference.
Once you have a basic understanding of anatomy, exaggerate your body types. Don’t be afraid to experiment and push out of your comfort zone.Similar to the point above, vary up your proportions. There are so many body types you can use, but they can look different if you vary its proportions. One of my favorite tips that can help you achieve this is learning about the no ladder effect. Here’s a detailed post on the subject.
Use silhouettes to help diversify your characters. You’ll be able to see their shapes easier and see if the character sticks out from the rest of your cast.
Base your body types off of the mineral itself! Some of them have really interesting raw/natural shapes you can base your character’s body types on. You can also use gem cuts too. Here are some examples:
This is all I can think of for now. I’ll add on to this if I can think of anything else.