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When designing a cast of characters, I always start by mapping out their archetypes. Lay out your heroes, sidekicks, brutes, and the major poles of good and evil. Making a big map lets you see everything at once. You can see how the characters move between these poles and how their designs fit together into a cohesive universe.
Unify the World
A great way to hold a cinematic universe together is through chromatic consistency. You can use a single dominant color to tether the entire color palette. You can also use recurring materials to build continuity. Giving multiple characters a similar rubbery texture or a shared maritime vibe links them across the world.
It helps to establish a clear design theme before you start drawing. For example, you might decide your world is a retro future where everything is recycled from the past. This gives you a massive grab bag of inspiration. You can pull from street culture, punk, and pop culture to dress even your background characters.
Subvert Expectations
Don't be afraid to play with gender ambiguity or flip traditional roles. You can put a rugged action hero in a backless shirt. You can use corsets on male bodies to create a severe, high-fashion look.
You can also invert the classic hero's journey. Make your heroine the active badass with the powerful poses and bizarre haute couture textures. Let the traditional male lead play a more neutral, supportive role.
Another great trick borrowed from fine art and high fashion is removing utility. Giving a character pants designed like heavy sports gear but with zero actual function elevates the design. It takes the costume from standard sci-fi to something highly stylized and memorable.
Shape Language
Use basic shapes to communicate character roles instantly.
- Rectangles: Perfect for a neutral, dependable hero.
- Triangles: Great for austere, religious, or mystical characters.
- Top-heavy shapes: Ideal for monstrous, malformed evil brutes.
- Severe geometric shapes: Best for strict, state-controlled police brutes.
When designing a weak sidekick, try using bizarre, severe angles in their poses. You can mash up wildly different eras to make them stand out. Combine tight 1970s leisure suits with elaborate 1950s dress framing. It creates a truly unique visual that contrasts perfectly against your main heroes.
The Aesthetics of Villainy
There are classic visual cues you can lean on when designing an antagonist. High collars are almost always villainous. You can also push their color palette into sickly greens and purples. This creates a gross, slimy feel that contrasts heavily with the warmer colors of your heroes.
You can borrow asymmetrical hairstyles or historical dictatorial allusions to make them instantly recognizable as the bad guy. Sometimes avoiding the traditional sharp, angular villain shapes makes the character feel even more unique and unsettling.
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