Young Writers Society

Howdy hey! This is going to sound strange, but I’ve been hyper-focused on character reference sheets and all the details that goes into them. In this tutorial, I will show y’all what they are and how to make one! I… hope I’m posting this in the right place.

Disclaimer: this is NOT a tutorial of how to design a character; this is only about how to make a reference sheet.

Table of Contents:

i.) What is a Reference Sheet?
ii.) Basic Components
iii.) Things to Avoid
iv.) What if I Can’t Draw?
v.) Conclusion

What is a Reference Sheet?

A reference sheet (often shorted to ‘ref sheet’) is a sheet that keeps track of the design, colors, and personality of a character.

This may seem similar to a character bio, but there is a difference: a character bio focuses on a character’s traits and stats, while a reference sheet focuses on the visual aspect of a character. A character bio may be more useful to roleplayers and writers, while a reference sheet may be more useful to artists.

Reference sheets can be useful for many things; it can be used as a guide to keep your drawings of a character consistent; it can also be used as a reference for other artists to draw your character, especially if you are thinking of commissioning (a commission is when you pay an artist to draw something).

Here is an example of a reference sheet I made for my character Molly:

Basic Components

Any good reference sheet should include the following:

—At least one full-body drawing of the character (maybe a close-up of the eyes / face if needed)
—The basic details of the character (name, age, gender, species, personality, etc.)
—The color palette used for the character
—Close-up of wings/tails / special details (if applicable)

The full-body drawing character shows people exactly what the character looks like; the character bio gives people an idea of what the character is like personality-wise; the color palette helps to keep colors consistent.

All of these combined create a comprehensive ref sheet that gets your message across.

Some people like to include other elements to their reference sheets. These are not always necessary, but they may help make your reference sheet more descriptive:

—Multiple angles of the character, such as front and back or a complete turnaround
—Multiple expressions
—Outfits that the character frequently wears
—Things that they carry in their pockets / bags

Some of these things may be useful in different situations. For example, multiple character angles and expressions may be useful if you’re planning to draw a character a lot (for a comic or web novel, perhaps).

Additionally, if your character has a special marking or detail, you may want to have a close-up of it

Things to Avoid

There are some things you should avoid when making reference sheets. Now, keep in mind that these are not concrete rules, but rather things you should keep in mind.

Shading a Reference Sheet

Normal drawings usually have shading or lighting. However, you should not add shading to a reference sheet, as it may become confusing. It may not be clear to other artists whether or not your character has markings or is shaded.

Bright / Distracting Backgrounds

Bright backgrounds on a reference sheet may distract an artist and make it hard to tell the details of the character.

Additionally, if you are adding a small character bio, then the text should be legible.

Too Much in the Character Bio

Reference sheets should have a small character bio, but don’t include too many details, such as a character’s entire backstory. Here is some basic information that is important to the character:

—Name
—Age
—Height
—Species
—Gender
—Sexuality
—Personality
—Occupation
—Superpowers / abilities (if applicable)

Complex / Dynamic Poses

A static pose is a pose where a character is standing still. A dynamic pose is a pose where a character is in motion, such as a battle pose.

A character on a reference sheet should be in a static pose. This makes it easier for artists to get every detail of your character right, because a dynamic pose may obscure details of the character.

What if I Can’t Draw?

If you can’t draw, that’s okay! There are other ways to make a reference sheet.

Bases:

A base is a bare outline made for the purpose of coloring over it. Think of it like a coloring sheet. Bases can be helpful if you don’t know how to draw. They often do not have features like hair or accessories.

Despite what some might say, there’s no shame in using a base! They can be good learning tools, and in the case of reference sheets, any ref sheet is better than none!

Bases are often just poses, but there are also bases made specifically to be reference sheets.

There are two kinds of bases:

Free-to-Use (F2U)

Free-to-Use bases are free for anyone to use. You are allowed to download them and draw over them in any way that you want.

Pay-2-Use (P2U)

Pay-to-Use bases require payment to the artist to use. Often, they are more detailed than Free-To-Use bases. You should not trace over a P2U base without paying! It disrespects the artist’s hard work!

No matter what kind of base you use, you should always properly credit the artist! Oftentimes, artists will put watermarks on their bases; don’t remove them, please!

How do I Find a Base?

To find bases, put keywords into the search bar, such as “free ref sheet base [species name]”
Google images is fine, but if you would like more extensive results, you might want to go directly to an art social media site.

!!Please stay safe on the Internet!!

Commissioning from an Artist:

You can pay an artist to make a ref sheet for you. This is often done through websites like Fiverr or Etsy, an artist’s social media page, or even an artist’s personal website.

When commissioning this type of art, it helps to have some reference photos of what kind of design you’re going for (ex: if your character has a certain hairstyle, maybe compile some photos of that hairstyle). You may even want at least one drawing of the character—it doesn’t have to be good, it just gives the artist something to go off of

Conclusion

All in all, reference sheets are a great way to keep your art consistent, and are also useful if you want to have your character drawn by someone else.

I hope this tutorial was helpful!