angstwithanP The biggest problem any artist deals with is proportion. Sure, your characters are probably not realistically drawn, but you usually have something to go on. (Long legs and large head with a tiny torso is usually my route) The best thing to do is learn real anatomy before
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(Finally got my brother to stand still.) So, take my brother for example. He has long limbs, but other than that he is rather proportional and average. And most models aren't, so we will use him.
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The head is easy, being the first thing you start sketching, with it being able to be a square, an oval, a circle, or almost any shape, you can use a lot of shapes to make the head. But the important part is that the shape is long, not wide. As you can tell, through my messy sketch, the face isn't as wide as you think. And on the average person, the neck is actually about half the size of the face.
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The torso is more a series of boxes, than curves, even on different body types, as we all have similar skeletons underneath. But on different characters this can be exaggerated to add personality, if it suits your style. If you are going for realism, exaggeration should be kept to a minimal.
Place where you want the torso and hips first, after the head, when sketching, then add the stomach.
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Then, before the arms, draw the legs. I know this seems strange, but if you don't do the legs first, they become an after thought and ignore them. The legs are also just a stack of boxes. But the thighs are always wider than the shins, no matter the design. And the shins are longer. The feet are just squished boxes.
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The arms are similar to the legs, but the forearm is slightly larger than the back arm, and they are skinnier, by a large margin. And for hands placed in fist, you can get away with squished boxes, but not in every pose.
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And this creates a full body of a person.
Now, if you don't draw realistically, and that isn't your goal, you are probably wondering why even read this?
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This drawing obviously, isn't realistic, but I still used my concept of anatomy to find the best way to sketch them. That is where anatomy shines, sketches. You can't see the boxes on a regular person, but they are all still there. A person is made of boxes, stack them into reality.
