Me being put among these guys makes me feel like I’m actually good-

When it comes to me creating characters specifically, I usually resort to something 3rd party in order to make my “first draft” of the design. One I use primarily is heroforge.com, but I try not to limit myself with it past that first draft. I usually build on that design when I get to making the figure, so it comes out even a little bit differently from the initial concept. On other occasions, I make an inspiration board filled with objects, characters, items, colours, etc, and I use that to put my ideas to form. Those work well as references for when I make the figure as well, as I can grab ideas from it on the fly.

Tricks and techniques that I use? That’s a tricky one. I use lots of trapezoids, you’ll find them everywhere on my figures. Putting a circle between a trapezoid and another node easily fixes the issue of there being an empty space. I try to make sure that most if not all of the non-static nodes are able to be smart-stretched. I don’t animate as much as I used to, but this helps for stuff like squash and stretch and exaggeration. I can’t really think of any tips and tricks, and I know I have a ton, but I don’t really know what the question is asking for. Sorry lol

Even though i was not pinged and extremely unpopular (also drama with gigan) i am still gonna answer these questions.

1. I mainly gather information about stickfigures i want to make, like for example an employee from the welfare team (guy in blue suit with black vest and badge on right/left arm). However i STRUGGLE at making vests properly. Especially since there are 7 departments (Information. Safety. Training. Central Command 1. Central Command 2. And Welfare) that lack vests..

2. I mainly use the default for reference, so i can make different stuff on stickfigures and make it look better. Like 9 or 13 nodes (i forgor 💀) instead of 2 for arm badges. Especially with stuff like shields that can be paired up with a baton or machete. Or if i ever want to make an abnormality in the future.. ill use a bunch of different nodes and parts. So like Double Triangle Head (ZAYIN)
Or Nothing There (ALEPH)

give up

1. I think about what I’m going to make. I don’t necessarily plan or sketch anything, I mostly just plan everything in my head and experiment with it.

2. When I’m making figures, I mostly just try to flesh out the illusion of what I’m looking for. If I wanna go hyper-realistic, I use ellipses for shading which works surprisingly well for very intricate detail. When I’m going for my normal style, the point is not to make it look realistic by adding features something realistic would have (i mean intricate detail) but create thr illusion with a few specific methods:
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1. 3 dimensional illusion (you could learn this from looking at underbaselevels figures)

2. Elliptical highlights (you can learn this from scout trooper, or infinite guess who now uses it. *usually seen in hair*)

3. Gradient use (you could learn this from jackfly more than anybody, look at how he uses gradient. Also just common sense for where to put it such as shadows. A neat thing I like to do though is to create a 3d effect by having one ellipse. Putting one behind it, make it darker in color and add a black inner gradient)

4. Light source (always take into consideration of the light source from all light-emitting objects.)

5. Add a round line brighter than the object at the side where the light source is. Split segment and add gradient at both ends that connect to each other at the middle. (Gradient is optional, I sometimes use it and sometimes dont)

6. Add an ellipse At the other side that is darker than the rest, and add an even darker gradient at the center.

7. Also add random ellipses similar to the elliptical highlight around the object if necessary.

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The finished result is a look like copoctatius.
Its basically a combination of what other users do, put all into one figure to come out with a “realistic” result. If the figure isn’t large, this doesn’t take up that much nodes as it would look to take Imo. Copoctatius is large though and is up to 2000 nodes.

Some examples

1. I don’t sketch my figures before hand. Usually I think up a design in my head and search the internet for references for that design. Hair styles, clothing and the like. In rare cases I look up a color palette, but I usually just eye-ball that stuff.

If the character is from a line of other characters then I line up those figures in the animation window before going into figure creation. Helps give reference for height and proportions since I want the characters to look good together. Creating a line of figures is good for character design too. A “tall” character is only as tall as other characters are short I’d say.

2. My figures are a bit unconventional, but tips from the process for my quarter views are as following.

Everything starts with a half ellipse. This forms the hips, and the rest of the body (including the legs!) are attached to it. Then you can build the torso by offsetting a rounded node. Real easy way to create perspective and an even easier way to make a front view later by centering the rounded segment.

Before I move onto details, I make sure the general shape of the figure looks right from both sides. Flipping your creation before you detail it is a good habit to form, as something that looks fine from one angle might look off from another. Once I’m satisfied with how it looks from both sides I move onto colors.

Darker colors and shaded areas should be more saturated! Bright colors can be lightened even further via desaturation! I picked this up from JackFly. Things in shade are more appealing when it’s slightly more saturated than the brights. And if you want to make a highlight on an already bright color, than desaturation can achieve that effect. As a side note, try slightly tinting the blacks and whites in your designs. This can add warmth or coldness to a design, and in my opinion, add more color harmony.

Adding creases can help detail clothing. I’m no rendering expert by any means. But adding a few creases in areas that bend a lot can help make your clothing look more like clothing and less like spray paint. Just a couple of ellipses in front or behind the elbow, the back of the knee, or the middle torso can make the fabric more real.

Shade the neck and the back of the head so you can model a jawline. I started doing this way before I did quarter views figures, and it helped a lot with defining my heads. Another tip is feminine jaws are soft and round while masculine jaws are straighter. Do what’s best for your character and get creative!

ADD A HIGHLIGHT TO YOUR PUPILS! Seriously, it adds so much life to my eyes. You’d have to see yourself to recognize how much of a difference a single white circle node can make to an eye. Doesn’t even have to be a circle either. If your character is more serious, maybe the circle can be replaced with a triangle. If they’re cutesy, you can add a bunch of circles. Hell, maybe your characters eyes are supposed to be lifeless, and in that case don’t add a highlight at all. Little details can make all the difference, and the eyes are the center of the face, so be unique with them!

And lastly

Quarters front, side, and quarters back views are enough for a decent turnaround. Obviously the addition of straight front and back views are preferable, but the three I mentioned are enough to make your character turn around convincingly, at least at higher frame rates.

A lot more I could go into, but this is pretty long already. Hope it helps!

Okay, lightning round of Mellow’s tricks

USE CURVED NODES FOR (some of) YOUR LIMBS! Especially, in my case, for legs.
Seriously, something as simple as this can save you plenty of time trying to get the right shape down.

Add a trapezium and voilà, you got yourself a leg

this was without a doubt the biggest page of any post I’ve ever seen… My head can’t process the information