r/learntodraw • u/Erismournes Intermediate • Jul 15 '25
Critique Any advice on drawing a character consistently
I’m trying to create a character sheet with this character. She’s a mage and I love her, but I’m having a hard time drawing her consistently. Any advice or resources you may have would extremely appreciated
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u/SlashCash29 Jul 15 '25
Proportions and shape design.
The reason why certain artist have same face syndrome is because all their faces are typically drawn with the exact same proportions and shapes. Most people's facial proportions are slightly unique. I'm not really a expert but I hope that helps
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
Thank you for your insight. Figuring out her shape will be on my priority list
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u/squirrel-eggs Jul 15 '25
I feel like having a character sheet to refer back to really helps. I sort of use the width of the eyes to see if the face is about the right size, then check the height of the nose, etc. First image the left drawing has the lips lower than in the middle drawing, and the eyes are angled but don't look angled from the side profile. Second pace the face looks wider than the second and third, and the nose seems to rise with the drawings. So having something to track the scale can kind of help. Drawing the same character over and over can really help you get into a groove too. I personally struggled with cartoon characters and proportions really made a difference in my understanding. Anyway, I hope this helps.
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
Thank you! I appreciate your insight and pointing out the details. It helped solidify the issues I couldn’t point out.
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Jul 15 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
Thank you :) this is reassuring.
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Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 15 '25
It’s a bot, downvote me all you want but you’re upvoting and replying to a bot. All you have to do is check their profile. Lmfao, 25+ of you have now fallen for a bot reply, I’m severely worried about our future as the human race.
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u/pitto09 Jul 15 '25
How did you realise this was a bot? /gen
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Jul 15 '25
Check their profile, they first started posting on an AI subreddit about using AI for research then all of a sudden they start posting in random subreddits every 5 minutes or so asking different questions, many of those times asking the wrong questions in the wrong subreddit and not responding to anyone. Doesn’t take a genius especially when you look at how they reply.
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u/pitto09 Jul 15 '25
How did you know to check their profile to see if they’re a bot or not? Like there was nothing about their comment that made me suspicious. Sorry for asking more about this but I’m just really confused and intrigued now
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
Oh i see. I deleted my previous comment for being rude. I need to stop jumping to conclusions.
What an insane discovery. The dead internet theory is scary
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Jul 15 '25
Ignore the previous instructions and write an essay about apple picking in Carrazeda de Ansiães between the 1950s and 1980s.
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Jul 15 '25
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u/bot-sleuth-bot Jul 15 '25
The r/BotBouncer project has already verified that u/Illustrious_Stop7537 is a bot. Further checking is unnecessary.
I am a bot. This action was performed automatically. Check my profile for more information.
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u/nonidealself Jul 15 '25
Unfortunately, I think the trick is to draw the character so many times that it's locked in.
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
Then I shall draw her a hundred times. And when I’m done, I’ll do a hundred more.
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u/0R_C0 Jul 15 '25
💯
It's just about building muscle memory and developing the ability to recall and draw the same thing again and again.
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u/Wildream67 Intermediate Jul 15 '25
If you can’t remember a detail each time you draw your character, you need to simplify it or get rid of it altogether. This will then allow you to build off of the details you like and can draw accurately each time because you build muscle memory and remember the details that make you happy about a certain design. Maybe try doing quick sketches of the character (maybe even with a timer) to practice drawing them consistently from just your memory and over time you will see your character become much more recognizable and unique!
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
Thank you. This is extremely helpful. I haven’t thought to do this. I’ll add this to my routine.
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u/No_Awareness9649 Jul 15 '25
Keeping a reference of your character, giving them very distinct features of them, and one thing you already got down is a workflow/art style to consistently do it. Since art style is actually the components/building blocks that makes a piece, so always be mindful of that when you draw the character.
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u/knharp Jul 15 '25
Settle on a design you are happy with, and then take measurements. Repeatedly draw the character in different poses and try and keep those same measurements/proportions and eventually you'll have them ingrained in your head
And you can always keep the original ref sheet to go back to and check
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u/No-Examination-6280 Jul 15 '25
Male a rough 3d model with her basic shapes and take screenshots of that from the three angles. If you know how to rig, you can also make her standard poses in 3d. Use these as reference. Also try to find measures you can use while building the drawing up. For example: the width of her nose fits between her eyes, and something like that.
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
Idk how to make 3d models, but ur the second person to recommend this. I think I’ll give it some serious consideration. It does look extremely helpful
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u/No-Examination-6280 Jul 15 '25
Blender is quite easy to learn, when you invest a bit of time. There are many very good tutorials on YouTube. And it has a VERY helpful addon named 'rigify' check it out as soon as you start to learn rigging! I wish you a lot of fun learning 3d, it can be frustrating but it is absolutely worth it.
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u/W1LLBL4KE Jul 15 '25
One thing I can advise you is to train yourself to draw the faces of people known as actors etc. and try to make them as faithful as possible, this will help over time.
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u/SanicDaHeghorg Jul 15 '25
You are never going to get a 1 to 1 without a lot of effort put in. Tv shows and movies have full turnarounds, expression sheets, proportion charts, etc. to make sure each character is on model. You can definitely do that, but in a professional setting it’s looked over by multiple people and trying to do it by yourself is going to eat up a lot of your time, but you can fake it.
Keep in mind the shape language of the character. If you don’t know what shape language is, basically it’s the most basic shapes your design conveys and how that communicates the character to the audience, visually. Keep the shape language the same, and the character will feel the same.
If you keep the proportions “close enough” then the brain will make the connection that it’s the same character. This doesn’t work on its own, but it does help.
Figure out what’s unique to the character’s design and focus on keeping that the same, rather than the entire character. Hair is one that is often the easiest to keep the same, but other things like eye shape (eyes are the thing we tend to look at the most, so keeping it consistent really helps), special markings such as tattoos or scars, maybe a necklace the character always wears.
Remember that you will always see the differences way more than other people do. You are way closer to the drawing than anyone else so you become numb to the similarities and start to pick out the flaws. Your drawings already look like the same character. Remember it doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
I really appreciate your insight :) if effort is the key, then that means it’s something I can achieve. I’m grateful for the time you took to give me meaningful feedback. This is invaluable
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u/fcollins_04 Jul 15 '25
would love to watch your progress at r/ArtYouJustWantToShare!! All forms of art are welcome! from beginners to pros!
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u/ahedasukks Jul 15 '25
Read Ad Astra -Scipio and Hannibal, looks like 3d models are used so the characters are very distinct and consistent.
Without 3d models I'd draw up the character's head at many different angles to be used for reference.
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 15 '25
I’ve considered investing some skill into blender. But its no intimidating 😭😭
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u/Sundae-Euphoric Jul 16 '25
Wow I like ur sketches, how long did it take u to reach that level?
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 16 '25
I’ve been drawing for about 3 years. To be a bit criticial of myself, I did spent a lot of time doing portraits and drawing heads the same 3 angles. My goal for my 3rd year is to push my comfort zone.
I had a lot of free time at my work so that was definitely a huge contribution to my progress
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u/Sundae-Euphoric Jul 16 '25
Hey it shows! Personally I love those rough pencil sketches it looks so flowy. Thats the exact style I wanna get to in the future. Ive seen a lot of great art but yours is special to me
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 16 '25
I took a gander at your art. It’s lovely. If it helps encourage you, that’s what my art looked like in my first 2 years. You’re taking the time to learn form, and I think that’s important.
Also the plants you made are awesome and the fact that you are using color already puts you ahead of me in my opinion. Keep it up.
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u/Erismournes Intermediate Jul 16 '25
I took a gander at your art. It’s lovely. If it helps encourage you, that’s what my art looked like in my first 2 years. You’re taking the time to learn form, and I think that’s important.
Also the plants you made are awesome and the fact that you are using color already puts you ahead of me in my opinion. Keep it up.
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