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[snowflakie06]

Hey, I just joined this community today and I have a question, one that I've had for awhile now.

How do artists manage to draw characters with the same design?

I've tried making character design sheets but they just don't work for me, I can't even draw two pictures on the same page in my sketchbook where the character looks the same. Any tips?

Comments

[dracothrope]

Draw your first character (usually from the front) on the left or right side of the page. Then lightly pencil in ruler lines at important parts of the body -- the heels, the top of the head, the waist, the knees, the elbows, the eyeballs, the chin, the nose... you can get as detailed as you want with the number of lines you use.

Draw in the other poses (side, back, 3/4?) within the page, though depending on the size you might only get one or two other poses in. Follow the lines to make sure your character is the same height and has the same proportions. Think about whether or not the new pose looks like the same character. If it doesn't, erase it and start over with whatever is wrong.

Keep in mind that your drawing isn't precious and that you can re-do it if you don't like how it's looking. Many artists have to go through several tries before they get what they like.

Alternately, try doing quick thumbnails of your character and their pose before you go on to the real thing. This helps you get a feel down for your character, and allows you to see right away whether their pose sucks or not.

Also remember: pictures that have a story are way more interesting to look at then ones where the character is just standing there. If your character is interacting with other poses of itself, it will hold the viewer's interest more than if they were just standing and staring at you or off to one side. Giving the character some action will also help to bring out their personality! (If you've got some interaction or just plain ol' action in your sheet, it'll also help to disguise anything that looks odd. XD You won't have to worry quite so much if all of the little details look the same!)

Hope that helps!