Getting serious on designs

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For Bronze, the current pose is more of a "lazy" pose, he's slouching and doesn't look alert. For your goal, since you want him to be more defense oriented, he should have a shield or some other type of protective gear, and put him in a defensive stance (shield upright, aware of his surroundings, e.g.) You should also consider heavier armor, he's comparatively thin compared to the other two.

The key thing to giving personality is to differentiate how each character does common actions. Fighting games are a great resource for this, and there are plenty of sites (like this one! :p) dedicated to ripping graphics, and in some cases some even have animations prerendered! Fighter's Generation (click me!) is the best resource I know of for this. Here's some examples:


Ash's (the left one) pose is more lax; his right arm is just hanging out there, and in contrast Athena (the middle one) has her arm raised in a defensive manner. Compare that to Cable, the last one. He has an upright standard Superhero pose, and his grunting while zapping his arm suggests ACTION! ACTION! ACTION! Even with that in consideration, his pose doesn't exude "defense": His gun isn't primed in position, and he's leaving himself open. Notice how they position themselves too: Ash is a bit hunched over and his body is facing the viewer, Athena's body is facing away from the opponent, while Cable is upfront.


Some walking examples. Blade, on the left, is hunched over and has his sword in both hands, ready to react to any attack. He also walks in small strides. Shen Woo, in the middle (who's actually walking backwards :p), clearly exudes the most personality. Look at that smug guy. He's got one hand in his pocket, and the other one's egging the opponent to attack. He's not even looking behind himself! You can definitely sum him up in two words: Cocky and confident. Rogue, the last one, has large strides and her pose is similar to Cable's, upright and leaving her open. It's definitely a confident pose, but it's a different type of confidence than Shen Woo.