#okay here's a secret cheat code to drawing characters actually. I'm a master at it:

[shimmershy]

Heya! I'm a big fan of how you draw your characters! Do you have tips for drawing people and finding your style? I suck at it

Hi! Hmmm...trying to think of advice to give is difficult because for me, it kind of just developed over time and I never did anything specific to find my style, necessarily. I know that like, everyone says this when giving art advice, but I think this is genuinely one of those times when giving it a lot of time and practice is the best thing you can do. It's really cool to see your style develop into something more recognizable over time, because at this point it kind of just comes naturally to me? I don't know if it happens like that for everyone but it makes sense that the more you get a feel for drawing, the more you get comfortable drawing a certain way, I guess.

So I mean, another thing you could do is try drawing in a lot of different ways! That may seem counter-intuitive, but if you do that, you get better at noticing all the different factors that makes an art style distinctive, and you can figure out what you like drawing the most because you're trying a bunch of different things. Sometimes I like trying to imitate other people's art styles in my sketchbook. You could try taking parts of other people's styles that you like and incorporating it into your own art. Like, say, you like the way someone draws eyes or hands or something. You could try focusing on getting really good at that specifically. Just, of course, don't trace other people's art and post it or anything, ha ha.

In terms of drawing people and characters in general, though, using references and practicing anatomy helps a lot. I don't do it a lot honestly because I get bored of it really quickly lol, but usually I grab some photos of complex poses and sketch them in my sketchbook to get a feel for how the poses work. If you're struggling with anatomy, it might also help to trace over the image and break it down to simple shapes beforehand (I do that sometimes, too).

But that's about all the advice I have. Practice, try using anatomy references, and take inspiration from the art you like.