#but don’t be afraid to borrow and be derivative. mix and match! and i don’t agree with this in a number of cases (particularly if it’s

[ducktracy]

Do you happen to have any character design tips or tricks? I have a folder full of model sheets and scans from funny animal comics and cartoons that I look at for inspiration, but I fear that might be making my designs too derivative. I'm starting to think there might be only so many ways to draw a toon wolf haha.

WELL… your method is the exact same as mine LMAO. so the first thing i’d say is don’t worry about being too derivative or not derivative enough! it’s GREAT to be conscious about the decisions in your designs, and very important too! but it can get stifling if it’s all you focus on. be derivative—you have time to change things later if you’d like!

i’m like you, i hoard anything i take inspiration in (and sometimes don’t look at it ever again because i get so caught up in the hoarding over applying HAHA), and that’s a great start. your mind is a bank—the more you store, the more you have to use from. expand from your horizons and search in corners you may not think to look, because you may find something you want to incorporate!

it’s no secret i don’t draw much original art, which is something i aim to fix this year. it’s not on purpose, i just have so much that i want to draw and not enough time to do it that i try to prioritize what i want to see the most, and my own characters aren’t the highest on that list

(but it’s growing… the reason i’ve been relatively quiet on here outside of work is because i reset my Animal Crossing island and plan to put my characters in it so i have motivation to keep the island HAHA so i’ve been preoccupied with that. Bluebear says hi)

IN ANY CASE, i think the importance of shape language does get a little too much exposure; i don’t like sticking to the formula of men are stocky strong squares women are futile hourglass figures etc etc etc, i strongly encourage breaking those old stereotypes and drawing the way you want, BUT with my own designs i do like to incorporate the importance of shapes.

to self advertise i’ll use my character Tyson as an example since she came from Me Own Brain and has been with me for awhile. below is Ye Old Evolution, from 2016-2021:

almost all of these designs are VERY derivative in some form, and her current design is purposefully derivative! the second and third were heavily inspired by Camp Lazlo, Ren and Stimpy, SpongeBob, and Chowder, and it shows (i just straight up stole Chowder’s nose and Ren’s eye colors)—the fourth was post-LT, where my own style was coming into play. slightly more constructed and less stylized/flat

the last two are purposefully “generic”, so to speak—i referenced drawings by Otto Messmer and Jim Tyer and tried to incorporate what i liked about them in her design. i aim to make a webcomic with her and the rest of the characters, and my goal is to make it look as close to an actual comic book from 70-80 years ago as much as i can.

as a result, i borrowed a lot of design clues; i simplified her leopard spots to be generic, opaque circles, matching with the “funny animal” style of leopards, but also to make people instantly say “okay, that’s a leopard”. same with the cat ears—she looks much more like a kitten than a leopard, which is also slightly intentional. i felt the triangular ears also gave her a bit more energy as opposed to the soft, circular ears—diagonal angles convey energy and movement, but i rounded them out to still make her seem young and “soft”.

Tyson’s current design is very purposeful. leopards are quiet, elusive, good at blending in with their surroundings. i wanted Tyson to be the total opposite—she’s a brash, hyperactive overly optimistic kid who has a big heart but loves to get into trouble. she tries to make friends with everyone she meets and is undoubtedly annoying. so, to reflect her antithetical nature, i made her bright red, social, and loud, purposefully contradicting everything leopards are not. she’s the odd one out and isn’t ashamed of it for a second.

i made her uniform baggy and dirty to make her seem a little naïve, inexperienced, out of place while unafraid of getting down and dirty. she’s the only character on the team without shoes to make her seem more “wild”. it’s hard to see with the raised cheeks, but (for now) i have her eyes slightly angled off, with round tops but a flat, squared off bottom, like a tall half circle shape. i feel it gives her more rigidity and energy, and taps into certain design trends of yesteryear

THIS IS SO LONG AND I AM SO SORRY. here i am dumping about my characters when it’s the last thing you asked. the truth is—i’m not exactly sure! because you’re method is mine as well. but taking inspiration and keeping a vast reference of things you enjoy will help you wonderfully, and you can always change your designs however you see fit. while i think shapes shouldn’t purely dictate the personality of the characters (seeing as it can lead to certain tropes or stereotypes), i do like to do it in little doses as an “easter egg” of sorts. i don’t expect people to point out everything i just said when i show my designs, but it’s something i CAN mention when discussing them, and it’s certainly something i will mention when introducing my other characters.

in my case, having an end goal certainly helped—i purposefully want to mimic the look of funny animal comics and draw inspiration from them constantly, so that’s an easier situation for me when i’m purposefully trying to be derivative, but i also try to make them my own. take it from me personally—your style will develop naturally. you ask yourself how and how and how and why and it’s not developing and this is stupid the internet lies to me, and all of a sudden you have a style. you can change it anytime you like. sticking to one style of drawing is very limiting and suffocating. but it WILL happen and you will find a method that works for you.

if at all possible, try to enjoy the process more than focusing on if you’re doing something right or wrong! the more you draw and more you surround yourself in things that inspire you, the clearer things will be.