Can you please give me advice on character sheets for my comics?

Wei K’ung, England

Answer Koh replies

Character sheets are meant to be a good reference as well as a visual guide for how your character would look in all types of situations. A front and rear view is crucial, with a side view if the situation calls for it. I usually draw any items that my character carries around with them and any clothing layers, enabling enables me to reference them later on.

For expressions, I’ll include the basic ones, such as happy, sad and scared. I also think about their personality for more specific expressions. It also helps to make the character more unique. Poses of your character doing certain activities will also prove helpful, such as if they go into battle with a particular weapon.

I usually include a fully rendered image of my character in a pose, which ensures the character sheet looks professional. I don’t think it’s necessary to completely shade anything else because it would take too much time and it might also interfere with the clarity of the design. Arrange all the poses and elements on the sheet neatly, and place your annotations so that they don’t clutter the visuals that are on show.

I often reuse drawings, especially for clothing layers so I can save time and not redraw the entire thing again. I try to draw more than just the head for expressions because the body alters position when the face changes.