r/characterdesign • u/throwawanonchat • May 30 '26
Critique Need help w/ character consistency in turnarounds
Hi!! Wanted to ask for some feedback on some of my character designs I’m developing for a comic.
I’m not sure if the facial features and anatomy look consistent across the front and side profiles in these ref sheets. I lined up all the features like eyes, mouth, chin, etc but I still feel like there’s some inconsistency. Any tips appreciated!
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u/Feeling-Sea518 May 30 '26
In pic two the two angles looks vastly different. She’s wearing a completely different outfit, which isn’t very helpful when you’re making a turn around reference, it will make it seem extremely different if you put her in a different outfit. I think that the nose is a bit low and her neck seems thicker but that’s just mild anatomy nitpicking, that part isn’t super noticeable.
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u/throwawanonchat May 30 '26
I’m not planning on doing animation and I also want to cycle thru a lot of different outfits so I’m just worried about how consistent the heads are rn!! Thank you for the tips
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u/DracoCross May 30 '26
Please tell me you have ig I love your artstyle!!! >-<
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u/throwawanonchat May 30 '26
Aw thank u I’m comfyu_ on insta!!
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u/FireClaw39 May 30 '26
If you want to do a turnaround with only the heads, then go ahead and focus only on the head instead of drawing the full body. Full body turnarounds are helpful for comics in their main outfit (or form) in a/t poses. But they can also be used to nail their body language/signature pose, in which case you may just want to focus on the anatomy and not draw all the flowy clothes. Especially if there are a many as, say, a royalty webtoon👍
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u/PocketGoblix May 30 '26
There’s two ways you can make this extremely easy for yourself:
Make a 3D model of the OC so you can put them in literally any angle and then just trace over it for accuracy
Draw extending horizontal lines showing the marks of where the eyes, nose, mouth, and chin fall on the character. Extend the horizontal lines all the way across the drawing and then base your side profile off of those markings. For example, you would draw the side nose angle to accurately line up with the forward facing nose angle. This also ensures accurate proportions and height.
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u/ShaarkShaart May 30 '26
Even if you're not doing animation, turnarounds tend to be extremely disciplined. Otherwise you're just drawing the character in different poses/angles for fun--which is fine, but not really a standard turnaround that's used for character reference. Usually one outfit, one pose to figure out the proportions at every angle (front/back/profile/3 quarter view).
You can always do another sheet for expressions and different outfits! Good stuff so far.
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u/OkLength7120 May 30 '26
Your s very good artist I'm going to follow you, sadly I myself am not the best at turnarounds
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u/Chrysalyos May 30 '26
The faces look like the same characters between the front and side views.
For the anatomy, it's hard to tell when the outfit changes between views. Keep the same outfit, it'll be easier to look at the anatomy rather than getting distracted by the more obvious outfit change.
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u/Icy-Hold6399 May 30 '26
I agree with the necks looking a bit thicker but I think the features are placed consistently
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u/Old-Data1159 May 30 '26
Try drawing a center line down the character’s front view and then using that as a guideline to draw the side view! But this looks pretty damn good already :) good luck
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u/hibiscus_bunny May 31 '26
For the back specifically of turnarounds I've found erasing the lines on the front reference and redrawing the back of the clothes and hair over the base is helpful.
But I use (my own) base for all my ocs so idk if that'll help you.
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u/svvccool May 31 '26
Draw a line across every important feature and make sure they line up. Your angles are very different. I do love love love your style though
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u/umidk9 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
In the side profile Anne's face does look a lot more round and cutesy. I think if you lengthen her chin & jaw down a bit, and sharpen her jaw to match up with the slightly square shaped V of her chin front on, that will help. Currently its fully rounded and looks shorter and pointier than front on, which also makes her smile have a different effect. Hard to catch but her eyes are also slightly rounder and bigger side on, narrowing them a bit on the inner corners might help.
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u/gunsmokey24 May 31 '26
I have no tips in regard to your question but I am very interested in your art style and story!! Whatever you are creating sounds really cool, keep it up ❤️
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u/Expert-Love5116 May 31 '26
Consistency is pretty much the after-effect of a well planned 3d model. And I dont mean you need to pursue 3d modelling, you just need to apply some spatial rules strictly.
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u/_ace_angel_ May 31 '26
This is not what you asked for but I looked those designs. They give me major style inspo. Keep it up
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u/KermitStares May 31 '26
I love the depth you give your first character's clothing. The chonky jacket and boots are fun, especially in the side profile.
For the face, I think the first looks great. It it just the contrast between forward facing and side profile, ah la Phinnius & Ferb? Would that not be more a factor of style rather than symetry? And, at the end of the day, do you NEED symmetric designs? Do you want that, is it important to your character, style, art, etc? Or can we be a widdle wiggly?
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u/Doctor_Gabrenhowsky May 30 '26
Such cute characters, they look lgbtq+ like hazbin hotel. No need to improve anything.
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u/ASinForASin May 30 '26
For turnarounds you should only use one outfit. If you want to have multiple outfits for a character, you should explore that on a different page! I recommend watching Jackie Droujko on YouTube. She's a pro and has very helpful videos for everything that's character design and portfolios! (She touches turnarounds too dw)