A Guide to Stylized Proportions

A Guide to Stylized Proportions

Realism isn’t always what inspires people to create. For many people, stylized art styles (like the ones from cartoons, comics, or various anime) have the most appeal. However, many budding artists that jump straight into stylization later find that their proportions don’t look quite right.

This article will teach you some anatomical guidelines that will prevent your characters from looking uncanny no matter what art style you choose!

The appearance of the human body can vary wildly across art styles, but there are a few rules of thumb that remain more-or-less constant across each.

Firstly, we’re looking at Ligton1225’s art style! Their proportions are pretty realistic looking.

The head is mildly smaller than the ribcage, her upper arm (starting from the armpit) is around the same length as her forearm, and her thigh (starting past the crotch) is around the same length as her calf.

Next, we’re looking at the Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun art style. The body is drawn differently; her head is larger in comparison to her body and she has a more childlike appearance. However, the prior guidelines still hold up.

Finally, let’s look at what might be my favorite stylized art style of all time: the one from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt! The proportions look far more cartoon-like here, featuring prominent and sharp-looking shapes. The prior guidelines still hold up!

I highly recommend looking for universal anatomical constants like this when you’re drawing anything stylized. Pattern recognition and memorization is a good habit to have when you’re learning to draw anything! 

Human faces also tend to vary pretty widely between art styles. However, there are still some rough rules of thumb that can help make sure your faces don’t look odd no matter how stylized your work is.

The biggest one to keep in mind is the Facial Rule of Thirds! The guidelines I showed below use (from top to bottom) the hairline and the chin to define the area. The forehead and eyebrows fall into one third, the eyes and nose fall into the second, and the lips and chin fall within the third. This guideline is fairly rough; as long as each of these points fall roughly around the proper section, your face should look alright.

There’s also a section in the Apples for Artists Anatomy article that uses the whole head instead of just the area below the hairline. Both of these options work well!

This measurement can change a little under the influence of perspective, but it should remain mostly applicable.

The same rule applies for side and ¾ profiles as well!

While it may sound less fun, studying realistic anatomy is the most reliable way to turn each of these guidelines into something you can automatically do. These rules don’t always have to be followed exactly, but it’s immensely important to learn the rules of proportions before you try breaking them!

Bouncing between a cartoonish art style and a more realistic art style can also be a fun way to prevent yourself from getting bored during your art journey. Try emulating a style that speaks to you, and then check and see if your work still checks all the guidelines outlined by this article. Alternatively, you can draw a character you love in a more cartoonish style for practice, while making sure their proportions align with the guidelines provided.