Character Turnaround Sheets from the Comic, “Kindred Not”

on July 20, 2021

Character turnaround sheets are often overlooked by artists as unnecessary or boring to make. But I personally highly value them and actually think they are fun to make. So, below are the character turnaround sheets I am using for the comic I am developing called, Kindred Not.

Before finalizing these turnarounds I did some concept designs of the characters. Then, I set up a template and got to work to create the final designs. Even though color it is not necessary, I think it is worth the little extra time to color my turnaround sheets in. It helps to make them look a little more professional and fun to look at. Also, coloring the characters in helps make it more noticeable if something does not have consistent proportions at at one of the angles.

I used a lot of reference and inspiration to design these characters from Kindred Not. (You can read my tips for using references in your art.) Specifically, I was inspired by the character turnarounds from some 2d animations, including, The Legend of Korra and Anastasia. Additionally, I was inspired by various artists’ drawing styles, including, Charlie Bowater and Gabriella Bujdoso.

*Article Update: Reformatted/cropped the images so they are easier to view on mobile devices.

Character Lineup Used to Make Turnarounds

The model sheet below shows the five main characters of my comic. The horizontal lines behind them represent one foot each. Lining up the figures side by side helps me see their heights in relation to each other. I made their heights 6.5, 6, 5.5, 5, and 2 feet. These heights are easy for me to remember. But also, these heights are different enough from each other that each character has a unique height. Finally, lining up all the characters together like this makes for a good swatch template when I later go to color the comic pages for Kindred Not.

Amelie Dunald’s Character Turnaround Sheets

The first character turnaround sheet I want to show you is of Amelie Dunald, who is shown below. Although this girl is the main character in Kindred Not, I finished all the other characters’ face designs first. I was relying too heavily on photo reference when trying to create her face design. But once I stopped relying on the photo reference so much, it somehow turned out much better. I did however, rely on a lot of photos to figure out how to draw her double dutch braid hair. I love the look of braids. So although braids take quite a bit of time to draw, I find it time well spent. And after I get used to drawing braids, I am sure I will get faster at it.

For Amelie’s full body design below, I went for a lanky teenager look. She is a bit shorter than people I usually draw, so it will be interesting to draw her for the comic. Also, it is hard to see here, but I designed a floral pattern to reuse for her blouse. I had a lot of fun drawing the pattern, and I think it adds a nice little extra detail. Additionally, I still need to design her scout sash, pin, and hat, which she will wear in one of the comic’s chapters. But I might not make a cleaned up reference sheet for those, as those things are not very hard to throw on top of her design.

Caden Walsh’s Character Turnaround Sheets

Under this paragraph, we have the design for Caden. Figuring out how to draw his hair was a little difficult. I wanted a similar design to Dmitri from the movie, Anastasia. I also wanted to draw Caden’s hair more detailed than I am used to drawing. After I finished drawing Caden’s hair, I finally discovered a celebrity with the same haircut. So when I have to draw Caden’s hair in the future, I can use that celebrity’s hair as reference if needed.

There is not much to say about Caden’s full outfit design below. However, I did not realize rain boots could have so many little details, and had fun drawing them. Also, I realized I used to have an original character with the same name back in 2015, but I spelled it “Kayden.” I find this kinda of funny because the new version of Caden even looks slightly like the old, 2015 version.

Kenneth’s Character Turnaround Sheets

Below is the character model sheet for Kenneth. When drawing this I could not find similar looking references of babies’ heads. I never realized babies all look so different than each other. I used to think they all looked similar with their chubby cheeks and big eyes. Also, it was tricky making Kenneth look young enough, as I do not often draw babies. If I would have made him bald I think he would look younger, but I think the hair design I gave him is just too cute.

For Kenneth’s full body design I had to research the average height of babies. A ten month old like him should technically be a little bit taller. However, keeping him an exact two feet tall will make it easier to keep him a consistent size when drawing him in my comic. It also makes him look a little bit younger, which is good, because I do not want him to look like a toddler, but a baby. Additionally, I gave him an old fashioned cloth diaper, as my comic, Kindred Not, does not take place in modern times.

Ronan Herriot’s Character Turnaround Sheets

Next is the design for Ronan. I have not drawn too many beards/facial hair before, so that was new for me. Just like Amelie’s head turnarounds, Ronan’s head turnarounds took a while too. This is because I could not settle on the right facial shape for him. His hair was pretty fun to draw though with its short and spiky little curls on top. Additionally, I still need to design a scar on his face, as it plays into the storyline in Kindred Not.

Ronan’s full body design required a strong physique. He is supposed to be a dependable/knowledgable character, so he could not give off a wimpy look. On a side-note, after coloring Ronan, his palette kinda makes him look like Indiana Jones, but I decided that is not necessarily a bad thing. Still, I cannot unsee it now. Also, Ronan’s outfit design reminds me of Dmitri from Anastasia or of Jack Kelly in Newsies. Additionally, I could not come up with any interesting shoe design for him, so I just gave him the default shoes I draw for guys all the time.

Furthermore, Ronan’s pants have a slightly ballooned and high waisted style. As I was looking at reference photos of men’s pants, I realized I have been drawing the zipper on pants wrong for a long time. I used to draw zippers symmetrical. But I learned the center line is…centered, and the stitch line is off center to one side. A small detail, but I thought it was funny.

Mrs. MacFarlan’s Character Turnaround Sheets

Below is the character model sheet for Mrs. MacFarlan. Her hair is continuing the theme of a center part like the other characters, Amelie and Caden. I used to never draw center parted hair, but it actually makes drawing characters easier because you never have to remember what side their hair parts on. Specifically, her hair has victory rolls, a style popular during WWII. I gave her this hairstyle because my comic is somewhat based off WWII. Additionally, Mrs. MacFarlan is meant to be an old lady. Thus, I had to study a bit of neck and facial anatomy when designing her to make sure she came off looking old enough.

Next up, we have Mrs. MacFarlan’s full body turnaround. Years ago I drew an old lady with pale hair, a yellow collared dress, and an apron. For some reason that drawing always stuck in my head. And I guess that is what inspired Mrs. MacFarlan’s design. Additionally, for her shoes I gave her clogs for a quirky detail. I may change them to be a bit pointier though. Furthermore, because Mrs. MacFarlan’s hair is tied up, it cannot be used as an artistic element to show wind/movement. However, the string on her apron and her flowy dress will be able to achieve that.

Regarding Mrs. MacFarlan’s apron, I am in love with the pattern I made for it. To add it to her turnaround sheet, I used a clipping mask, which I have not really used before. Using a clipping mask is a shortcut that saves time when recreating the stripes. However it also means the stripes do not follow the folds in the fabric. So I may or may not just recreate the pattern by hand in the comic pages to make it look better.