Choosing References to Inspire Your Character Design

Learn these basic tips for choosing and using visual references when drawing characters with Marcio Takara

One of the joys of creating a comic book character is that that person can be whatever you want them to be, strong, weak, beautiful, ugly, tiny, or huge, and you can even create a totally new universe for them to live in. Chances are, however, that you’d like to situate them in a world that at least resembles some part of your own reality.

Our imaginations are our most powerful tool, but carefully choosing references from which to create can help us design realistic and convincing heroes and villains for our stories. A good reference can also inspire you to take your drawings to new levels and different spaces.

Here is a collection of tips from comic book artist Marcio Takara (@marciotakara) that will help you find visual references and provide the basic foundations for your next illustration.

Where references can help

References are invaluable when it comes to drawing things like human features, textures, vehicles, and animals. All of these elements are objects that viewers are likely to be familiar enough with to be able to spot errors or peculiarities in, something that makes our lives as artists more difficult, and we may find it trickier than expected to recreate them.

You can divide the features of human-based characters where references can prove to be most useful into five main areas:

- Facial features
- Hair
- Clothing
- Form
- Limbs

Reference will help you place and balance these elements. As you grow more comfortable with your illustration, you’ll be able to decide how you want to distinguish your character from others and from the references they’re based on.

Lighting

Comic book work often needs to be bold and eye-catching. Therefore, it is usually a good idea to look for well-lit and striking images. Good lighting will also help you identify more subtle details that another picture would not reveal.

Angles

It is also a good idea to look for a variety of angles. This will help you when it comes to drawing your character moving or from different perspectives. Good photographic compositions can also help you in the composition of your design.

Also, don’t forget that you’re not copying the references directly–having a number of clearly-defined and subtly-different angles will help you bring the parts you like together for your character.

Yourself

You don’t have to go far to find them either. As has always been the case throughout art history, one of the best places to start is yourself. The wonderful thing about you is that you’re always close by, and you can adjust your limbs and digits to best suit the design you want to make. Using a mirror or a camera will also give you new perspectives and mean you don’t have to try to draw an awkward pose while simultaneously trying to do said pose.

Google Images

As in most walks of life in our digital age, Google is the next obvious place to look. The search engine allows you to use specific terms to focus your research. It will also suggest similar images to those you select. These suggestions, as well as the results of your initial searches, can also inform your research. For example, you may look for “hands”, then “right hand,” “right-hand fist.” By composing a collection of images, you may inadvertently create a basic mood board for what you want from your drawing.

Pinterest

Another great image database, Pinterest adds a few other features that may help your search. You can create collections of the references you find and the site’s algorithm will be able to suggest images and collections of images that other artists may have previously put together. Pinterest is a hotbed for creative inspiration and is designed to allow users to collect pictures and return to them just as you will want to when drawing your character.

Other artists

Whether in books, galleries, or online, there is a high chance that thousands of other artists have faced and overcome the same illustration challenges that you will. Seeing how other artists explored textures, features, light, and form can sometimes be even more helpful than an actual photograph. Seeing how someone else sketches the elements of a similar character can offer clues on what techniques and materials will make your work shine.

You can now use the tips to find the images that will help you bring your character to life. To learn more about character design, check out Marcio Takara’s online course Female Character Design for Comics.

You may also like:

- Illustration and Character Design for Children’s Stories, a course by Teresa Martínez
- Character Design: Creation of 2D Characters, a course by Juan Francisco Cancelleri
- Creation of Manga Characters, a course by Andrea Jen