Chibis, or cuter, smaller versions of certain characters.
Chibi styles differ from people to people. But generally it comes with an oversized head and a smaller body compared to it. The usual proportion of body to head used is 1:1.5 (one head against one head and a half) as you can see below:
Chuubi by Momoko122
Of course, the 1:1.5 ratio is not the golden proportion. You can develop your own style, your own ratio. An example below by Momoko122 uses the ratio of 1:2; this ratio is more “human-like” and allows more possibilities in postures in my opinion..
Xephia here uses a ratio of 1:more or less 1, and look how adorable her chibis are!
Xephia’s tumblr
Calvariae uses the 1:1.25 ratio, and you can also find below her step-by-step to drawing a chibi in her style.
A very cute tutorial by rann-poisoncage
Even more examples from rann-poisoncage HERE
Some years back, I wanted to look for my own style of drawing chibis, so I carried out a series of “trial and errors”
On the left: a 1:4, On the right: a 1:2, both…nuhhh…
Next trial, on the left: a fatty 1:1, on the right: a 1:1.5, still…nuh…
Trying again, on the left: another 1:2, on the right: another 1:1, squared, but not that bad, right?
So I tried a series of doodles on it, and decided that I would use this style.
Just that this style has some drawbacks, like above and limited postures.for instance.
I also found out after some while that there is already something similar called the graphig
Basically the ratio for this chibi has evovled into 1:around 0.3, The head is really heavy.
There are so many types of chibis, yet no wonder there will be similar ones. How to stand out from all these similarities?
- Simplicity or Complexity
Your chibis can be simply clean in linearts and details or it can be made up of complexe linearts together with details. Sometimes a good background can add extra value to your chibis!
- Coloring style
My color style is somewhat flat and simple. Yet, your chibi, your coloring style! No one can impose how you color them! As this is your touch and will make your chibis stand out eventually!
Hope this not-so-professional tutorial can help you! Looking forward to your chibis! Do share them with me!
