Help me with my ref sheets! | Check Latest Post!

[Pokemanz]

Totally wanted a third "opinions" thread here wooop.

Anyways, I tried sprucing up my reference sheets and I was wondering if they look okay? They used to be all crowded and gross or whatever but now I made them bigger so there's lots of room for stuff!

As usual Amber's is my favorite: [x]

Then there's these two: [x] [x]
And my mayor's: [x]

*Nathan and Amber's have been updated using advice given since this thread was posted! I plan on fixing the others later! My mayor's has been completely remade!

Please note that these sheets are specifically designed for my OCs! If you say something seems "unnecessary", know that it probably won't be included in sheets I make for others. I like to explain things on my sheets so you can draw my characters as accurately as possible! Plus these sheets aren't just for requesting art, they're for other things too! (i.e. explaining/showing characters to people).

Anyways, what do you guys think? They've been for sale in my shops for a while now but nobody's taken an interest in them. Maybe now that they're cleaner they'll sell?

 

[Prabha]

There's many pictures and like 3-4 different fonts in each of them.
I think you should strive to make it a little more simplistic or else it looks to complex/messy.

Other than that, they look good! I don't buy ref sheets so I can't suggest any prices or anything xc

 

[Pokemanz]

There's many pictures and like 3-4 different fonts in each of them.
I think you should strive to make it a little more simplistic or else it looks to complex/messy.

Other than that, they look good! I don't buy ref sheets so I can't suggest any prices or anything xc

I try to fit at least 3 examples on the sheet. If I don't it usually looks empty or whatever (i.e. the mayor one)
As for fonts, some look better here or don't show certain text (some only allow caps or don't show numbers or whatever) Not counting the character's name/title of course, those have to be in a font that shows the character's personality!
Of course these are ones for me, if I were to do something for someone else I'd stick to making it more simplistic like you said!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Naiad]

I'll be frank here, I really dislike the backgrounds for Nathan/Amber. It hurts the eyes and overall makes the page look far too cluttered. I also agree with the fonts thing, while I do appreciate different fonts for headers, description, etc. Using different fonts for the "body" text, as I would put it, feels a bit uneeded.

 

[Pokemanz]

Alrighty, here's an update to Nathan's sheet with the fonts changed: [x]

Now there's only two fonts used: one for basic text and one for the "smaller" text in the bubbles.
The problem is that the main text does not support colons, parenthesis, or any type of symbol which is why there were two different fonts to begin with. Sooo all the colons/whatever are in a different font.

I'll be frank here, I really dislike the backgrounds for Nathan/Amber. It hurts the eyes and overall makes the page look far too cluttered. I also agree with the fonts thing, while I do appreciate different fonts for headers, description, etc. Using different fonts for the "body" text, as I would put it, feels a bit uneeded.

Thanks for the feedback!

I agree with Amber's, I might try to find a new background. The one for Nathan's I feel is less straining if anything, plus I made that background myself so I kinda want to use it. xD
I mean, I could just use some basic color for a background, but that's too boring y'know?

 

[cheezyfries]

ah i feel like our styles of digital design (whatever this is called) are vastly different so feel free to throw my opinions in the trash or something lol but i hope this helps in some way!

Spoiler: warning: wall of text ahead

nathan's ref sheet (updated)- i would definitely change the background- maybe to something a lot more simplistic and less distracting? the orange and yellow are both really bright and kinda make the text hard to read even though the black does show up really well! i see how orange and yellow are colors that are associated with nathan, but i would make the background something that contrasts with those colors well rather than similar colors. i love the addition of the shadow, it makes the art a lot easier to see. the likes and hates look compressed (both the "pie, going on adventures, etc." and the "likes" and "hates" if that makes sense) and i would see what it looks like if the "likes" and "hates" are bolded. when i create things i love to just experiment and i usually end up having changed the font color and font about fifty times before the end product also the "notes" area is sorta hard to read, might be because of my **** eyesight, but the font is just small so i'd maybe take out a little bit of art or move the "age" part a little to the left and make the font bigger. i really hope this helps! if you (for some reason) want me to look at the other ref sheets, let me know and i'll try to do those whenever i can, i just need to go watch the bachelorette soon c:

again, sorry for my rambling, i hope this helped!

 

[Pokemanz]

ah i feel like our styles of digital design (whatever this is called) are vastly different so feel free to throw my opinions in the trash or something lol but i hope this helps in some way!

Spoiler: warning: wall of text ahead

nathan's ref sheet (updated)- i would definitely change the background- maybe to something a lot more simplistic and less distracting? the orange and yellow are both really bright and kinda make the text hard to read even though the black does show up really well! i see how orange and yellow are colors that are associated with nathan, but i would make the background something that contrasts with those colors well rather than similar colors. i love the addition of the shadow, it makes the art a lot easier to see. the likes and hates look compressed (both the "pie, going on adventures, etc." and the "likes" and "hates" if that makes sense) and i would see what it looks like if the "likes" and "hates" are bolded. when i create things i love to just experiment and i usually end up having changed the font color and font about fifty times before the end product also the "notes" area is sorta hard to read, might be because of my **** eyesight, but the font is just small so i'd maybe take out a little bit of art or move the "age" part a little to the left and make the font bigger. i really hope this helps! if you (for some reason) want me to look at the other ref sheets, let me know and i'll try to do those whenever i can, i just need to go watch the bachelorette soon c:

again, sorry for my rambling, i hope this helped!

Great feedback! I'm gonna get these sheets right once and for all!

As for the background... if I were to darken it somewhat, would that help?
If not I can always just find something else!

 

[cheezyfries]

Great feedback! I'm gonna get these sheets right once and for all!

As for the background... if I were to darken it somewhat, would that help?
If not I can always just find something else!

thanks and good luck!! hm, i'm not sure what program you use and how changing the background affects everything else, but i would work with a darker background first that's very simplistic- maybe thick chevron or a mild ombre. if that ends up not looking very good, then i would lean towards a lighter one if that makes sense? for me it's all about experimenting haha

 

[Pokemanz]

thanks and good luck!! hm, i'm not sure what program you use and how changing the background affects everything else, but i would work with a darker background first that's very simplistic- maybe thick chevron or a mild ombre. if that ends up not looking very good, then i would lean towards a lighter one if that makes sense? for me it's all about experimenting haha

I use Paint Shop Pro 8. It's a really old program that's newer than my laptop, so... yeah. The background itself is a separate layer so I can easily swap it out with something else.

Next update: [x]
Not sure if the background looks better or not now? I'm biased so I dunno xD
Also changed the font in the notes area and made it larger!

- - - Post Merge - - -

Updated Amber's with a new background that I'm happy with! [x]

Kinda boring, but at least it doesn't make your eyes burn. xD

 

[Pokemanz]

Changed Nathan's to a new background too: [x]

 

[Pharaoh]

I actually think "boring" backgrounds work a lot better with character reference sheets, because then the viewer can focus on the character, that's the most important thing after all! I think Amber's new update is great, the color is really nice, and the slight texture is still interesting than just a solid color.

 

[Pokemanz]

I actually think "boring" backgrounds work a lot better with character reference sheets, because then the viewer can focus on the character, that's the most important thing after all! I think Amber's new update is great, the color is really nice, and the slight texture is still interesting than just a solid color.

Yeah, makes sense when you think about it! I thought the same thing when I changed the color! I originally used a gradient but that was just meh, then I used a preset texture and it just looked way better somehow!

Thanks for the input!

 

[Pokemanz]

Boop!

 

[Keitara]

I have no idea about gfx stuff, but that's what I can think of:

I'd recommend different shapes. Circles or at least rounded rectangles look always much better than just a rectlangle imo. Specific shapes are also nice! For example hearts and whatnot.
I think it looks more appealing if the art is half-side on the ref and half-side outside (if that makes sense to ya).
I also wouldn't put so much information on it. Most of it the artist doesn't need it anyway or if it's specific, the artist can just ask, right? Just the most useful and important information should be on it. I can understand that one wants to write a novel, but.. it's just better if it's short ;-;
It should also be not too big, so that people are still able to put it into spoilers here etc.
I'd also take a look on pengutango's ref sheets to get an idea what you could do better etc ^^

hope that isn't too harsh. Keep it up, Nat! c:

 

[Pokemanz]

I have no idea about gfx stuff, but that's what I can think of:

I'd recommend different shapes. Circles or at least rounded rectangles look always much better than just a rectlangle imo. Specific shapes are also nice! For example hearts and whatnot.
I think it looks more appealing if the art is half-side on the ref and half-side outside (if that makes sense to ya).
I also wouldn't put so much information on it. Most of it the artist doesn't need it anyway or if it's specific, the artist can just ask, right? Just the most useful and important information should be on it. I can understand that one wants to write a novel, but.. it's just better if it's short ;-;
It should also be not too big, so that people are still able to put it into spoilers here etc.
I'd also take a look on pengutango's ref sheets to get an idea what you could do better etc ^^

hope that isn't too harsh. Keep it up, Nat! c:

I was thinking a rounded rectangle might be nice, but different shapes could always be an option in my shop. Problem is I have like no idea how to make the whole "fit inside a cloud/heart/whatevs" thing work. I think people use a shapes tool for that? Lol I can't do that ;-;

As for text, I try to only include things that the artist/whoever might ask. So personality/closest friend/likes/dislikes/detailed physical/ect. But also know that these aren't just for requesting art! I plan on using them for other things! If one were to use my character in a crossover story or something similar, they'd need all that info!

Also I'm glad TBT shrinks images down when used in spoilers haha. But I usually use the [x] link so size isn't really a problem.
Then again everyone has different viewpoints so this is just my opinion!

Thanks so much for the feedback! c:

 

[Pokemanz]

Just made a new sheet for my mayor! How does it look?

[Click!]

It's the format I'm going to be using for all mayors, except for others it won't have the trees or villagers and will most likely only have one piece of art.

I also might make the boxes and clothing smaller, especially if they want some kind of accessory included.

If the background is an eyesore again I'll change it to the same as Amber's, I just didn't want to have to use the same background again.

 

[Keitara]

Just made a new sheet for my mayor! How does it look?

[Click!]

It's the format I'm going to be using for all mayors, except for others it won't have the trees or villagers and will most likely only have one piece of art.

I also might make the boxes and clothing smaller, especially if they want some kind of accessory included.

If the background is an eyesore again I'll change it to the same as Amber's, I just didn't want to have to use the same background again.

This one is pretty good! Much better than the others imo! c:
The background is okay for me ^^

 

[Pokemanz]

This one is pretty good! Much better than the others imo! c:
The background is okay for me ^^

Awesome! I'm very happy with it lol

Might still feel a bit "cluttered", but that's just because it's mine so like I want to include everything. xD
I'm sure actual orders will be much cleaner!

Also just updated because I totally forgot to add in eye & hair color ooops

 

[Kammeh]

Just made a new sheet for my mayor! How does it look?

[Click!]

It's the format I'm going to be using for all mayors, except for others it won't have the trees or villagers and will most likely only have one piece of art.

I also might make the boxes and clothing smaller, especially if they want some kind of accessory included.

If the background is an eyesore again I'll change it to the same as Amber's, I just didn't want to have to use the same background again.

I really love that, omgg :0
It looks nice and organized, and I love how you added the trees to show his different outfits for different seasons. ;v; Keep up the good work!

 

[Pokemanz]

I really love that, omgg :0
It looks nice and organized, and I love how you added the trees to show his different outfits for different seasons. ;v; Keep up the good work!

Someone likes it yayyyyy *rolls on floor*

At first I was gonna have the background of the boxes match the season but that didn't turn out so I went with the trees! Then I thought it might look too cluttered but I'm glad you think it looks okay!! ;v;

Now to find someone who would want to buy one lol