Help with Character Design: Body Proportions and Clothing

[TheHappySpaceman]

Hi! So for those of you who haven't read my previous thread, I'm creating a webcomic centered around two anthropomorphic cat sisters going to college. Right now, I'm struggling with their designs and could use some help from other anthro artists.

The two main characters are Cass and Mae. Cass is the older sister of the two. She tends to be the more focused on her work, but is also snarky whenever need be. Mae, meanwhile, is the more playful, carefree spirit, and often times more reckless.

Does anyone have any thoughts about their body proportions (height, weight, bust/waist size) or clothing they should have, given their personalities?

Thanks in advance!

~TheHappySpaceman

 

[acommabeforedark]

Hmm I don't know how much body-shape itself would have to do with their personalities, but I suggest thinking about their clothing and body language first, and going from there! For instance, someone focused on their work might wear business attire, more formal clothes, more neutral colors etc, while a free spirit might wear more fashionable or idiosyncratic clothes. And similarly, their body language may be different, like Cass may be more prone to, say, crossing her arms, standing up straight, things like that, while Mae might have more loose and expressive body language. In any case, I suggest thinkin about stuff like that, and then seeing what kind of body type would mesh well with what you have in mind.

Good luck! ^^

 

[TheHappySpaceman]

Hmm I don't know how much body-shape itself would have to do with their personalities, but I suggest thinking about their clothing and body language first, and going from there! For instance, someone focused on their work might wear business attire, more formal clothes, more neutral colors etc, while a free spirit might wear more fashionable or idiosyncratic clothes. And similarly, their body language may be different, like Cass may be more prone to, say, crossing her arms, standing up straight, things like that, while Mae might have more loose and expressive body language. In any case, I suggest thinkin about stuff like that, and then seeing what kind of body type would mesh well with what you have in mind.

Good luck! ^^

Thanks for the feedback. I'm working on some sketches of the characters, which I will post as soon as I finish them.

 

[PlusThirtyOne]

You could go the obvious route by molding the characters' designs around there personality OR if you're writing a comedy, you could play on their designs for laughs by molding their designs opposite their personalities. A skinny girl who eats nothing but junk food, a health nut who's significantly overweight. Maybe a stoic straight faced deadpan character who likes comedic TV. Perhaps a character in glasses who dislikes education, playing off the opposite stereotype that those in glasses are smart or nerdy. Work the characters into a duo with differences and similarities and don't be afraid to give them FLAWS. Make the main characters stand out on their own both visually and with evident personalities. Each main character should be able to stand on his or her own in their OWN story. if you write and design your characters well, their stories will literally write themselves.
Part of the challenge in comics is portraying chatacters' body language in such a way that shows their character. if you were writing a novel, it'd be super easy to just TELL us what they're like. in visual media, you have to SHOW.

 

[KinkyDesign]

hey there, i have a few suggestions for your design problem.
Since Cass is the older one i would choose a bigger proportion ratio... like 6-7 heads high and mae more like 6 heads or 6 1/2 heads.... clothwise i would dress cass into jeans and sweatshirts. You wrote that both are in college so cass could wear glasses which could express that she is sticking her Head into books a lot. Mae could wear skirts,blouses and more lighter clothings. You should put their hairstyle also into consideration. Cass could wear a Ponytail or shorter hair, where mae could wear medium length hair and some accessoires like necklaces,earrings and so. think about a normal daily situation and try to imagine how each character would behaveand try to think about somerhing that would be typically for that particular character... for instance cass could take off her glasses and clean them while she is thinking or being critical about something. I wish you good luck with your comic!

 

[TheHappySpaceman]

hey there, i have a few suggestions for your design problem.
Since Cass is the older one i would choose a bigger proportion ratio... like 6-7 heads high and mae more like 6 heads or 6 1/2 heads.... clothwise i would dress cass into jeans and sweatshirts. You wrote that both are in college so cass could wear glasses which could express that she is sticking her Head into books a lot. Mae could wear skirts,blouses and more lighter clothings. You should put their hairstyle also into consideration. Cass could wear a Ponytail or shorter hair, where mae could wear medium length hair and some accessoires like necklaces,earrings and so. think about a normal daily situation and try to imagine how each character would behaveand try to think about somerhing that would be typically for that particular character... for instance cass could take off her glasses and clean them while she is thinking or being critical about something. I wish you good luck with your comic!

I like the idea of Cass wearing glasses! I'll experiment with some of your ideas when I get down to designing the bodies. As for the hair, I've actually worked with that, as you will see in my sketches below.

You could go the obvious route by molding the characters' designs around there personality OR if you're writing a comedy, you could play on their designs for laughs by molding their designs opposite their personalities. A skinny girl who eats nothing but junk food, a health nut who's significantly overweight. Maybe a stoic straight faced deadpan character who likes comedic TV. Perhaps a character in glasses who dislikes education, playing off the opposite stereotype that those in glasses are smart or nerdy. Work the characters into a duo with differences and similarities and don't be afraid to give them FLAWS. Make the main characters stand out on their own both visually and with evident personalities. Each main character should be able to stand on his or her own in their OWN story. if you write and design your characters well, their stories will literally write themselves.
Part of the challenge in comics is portraying chatacters' body language in such a way that shows their character. if you were writing a novel, it'd be super easy to just TELL us what they're like. in visual media, you have to SHOW.

Thanks for the comments! I've learned from my last experience making a webcomic that differentiating between characters is a tough thing, so this is very helpful.

Anyway, while I was in class today, I made some rough, rough sketches of the characters' headshots:

I'm not sure if I like the ponytail on Cass. I'll work a little with that. Anyway, any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Storok]

ponytail cass is looking great

 

[TheHappySpaceman]

ponytail cass is looking great

I'm glad you like it! I'll post some full body sketches soon.

 

[TheHappySpaceman]

Well, I've taken your advice and created some rough, full-body sketches.

I'm not sure which was harder: Drawing the hands or drawing the breasts. Though now that I'm finished with it, there are 1,001 problems that I've found with it that leave me unsatisfied.

 

[KinkyDesign]

Hey there, i really like the design! so keep on it!
I really like Cass and Mae as they are now!!!
Cass looks really like she is more focused on working and gaining experience and knowledge and she doesn't care how others think about her looks!
Mae looks very sportsy and fun! I also like the Pose you have given both Mae got a more open pose and Cass a more "entertain my brain" Pose.

About the Hands... iam not the selfpromoter type but i wrote a little Tutorials about Hands and i will do a second one about clinched hands and a Reference Sheet for Hands...
You can check it out here : www.furaffinity.net: How-To Hands by KinkyDesign

 

[TheHappySpaceman]

Hey there, i really like the design! so keep on it!
I really like Cass and Mae as they are now!!!
Cass looks really like she is more focused on working and gaining experience and knowledge and she doesn't care how others think about her looks!
Mae looks very sportsy and fun! I also like the Pose you have given both Mae got a more open pose and Cass a more "entertain my brain" Pose.

Thanks! That's what I was going for with them. I will present colorized versions soon; I'm thinking maybe bright colors like pink for Mae's wardrobe and less saturated hues for Cass.

About the Hands... iam not the selfpromoter type but i wrote a little Tutorials about Hands and i will do a second one about clinched hands and a Reference Sheet for Hands...
You can check it out here : www.furaffinity.net: How-To Hands by KinkyDesign

Wow, thanks for the link! The main issue I dealt with here was the whole four fingers thing, but this is great for future reference.

 

[TheHappySpaceman]

This is probably eventually going to be the title card. Let me know if you have any thoughts before I ink and color it.

 

[TheHappySpaceman]

Well, I've finally settled on something for the designs. Thanks to everyone who helped me and gave me feedback!