Invader-SiCkNeSs

Well, to catch up/just watch the series, I watch it on animeflavor, which is usually updated the day a new episode comes out. I usually miss it when it's on the actual tv, so it's a very useful resource to have. For more fandom oriented things, I'd suggest joining tumblr and frequenting the SU tags or joining a forum board. I know reddit has a Steven Universe board!

For the OC's, if it's a human character, just design a human! What ethnicity are they? What body type? How tall are they? What color eyes do they have? What sort of personality do they have? Draw them expressing that! If you're trying to make a gem, there are 2 ways that I would suggest going about it. The first would be to draw the character and depending on it's appearance or personality, choose a gem that best fits that. The other way is to go completely opposite of that and choose a gem first and base a character off of it, but I feel as though that sort of waters down the process and makes it less fun.

I always find it best to try not to go overboard, because too many accessories/additions can make it look like either way too much, or in some cases a mary sue/gary stu. But if you don't care about that, go wild! It's your character, have fun with it! And don't be afraid to make changes. I have my own Steven Universe OC, and she's gone through so many design changes that it's sort of ridiculous, but each time she's redesigned, she looks so much better. So don't be afraid to change some things if you want to!

For drawing, practice, practice, practice!!! I'm sure you've heard this one a billion times, but it's true. If they're not good at first, just try to inspire yourself. Look at art you really like and say to yourself "I want my art to be that good." And then you try again and again and again! There's always room for improvement, as even the best artists are always getting better. And as a side note, I wouldn't suggest tracing pictures to get the hang of it like a lot of new, aspiring artists do. Sure, you'll get good at drawing that one picture, but it won't actually help you in drawing something else. I'd suggest just looking around. What do people look like? And before you go "I know what people look like, Via, are you stupid or something", really actually look at them. How long do the arms look in proportion to the torso? What shape does that person's face have? Everyone has a different face shape after all. How long are their fingers? How does it compare with that person's over there? And then you have to decide, what is my character going to look like in comparison to that? And that doesn't even have to just be helpful with realistic drawing. I never draw realistically, but using that method helps my art oodles.
To draw more with the style of the show, I'd suggest just watching the show, but not watching it, instead look at the art. How does the animator draw that character's legs? What about that one's arms? What sort of face shapes do they use? What about body types? Steven Universe has a broad array of body types, so trying to draw these characters with all their different body sizes is very good practice. Also, having an OC with a body type that you don't usually draw is also fantastic practice!


Phew, that was a lot of text. Did that help at all?