Because the characters in Homestuck are rendered so symbolically, there’s a lot of room for interpretation when it comes to drawing them in a more detailed/realistic/stylized manner. I’m glad when people make the cast diverse-looking for two reasons.
Well the proper way to go about this is to draw that character lineup I’ve always dreamed of having time to do, but I think I’ll opt for short cuttin’ a la just writing out what I would otherwise draw….which is just as well, because 75% of the time, they don’t come out how I want them to anyways!
A prime example of this, for me, is Equius. Equius is my all time favorite homestuck character and because of this he gets tons of doodling and pondering and consideration that most other HS characters don’t get. My headcanon Equius is based somewhat off the first few panels we see, especially the milk glass scene. He’s lanky and stooping with bulky shoulders and little to no neck. I was shocked when I saw the first interactive gameplay sprites for Equius, he seemed too Hulk Hogan for my tastes. I get it, Equius is STROOOOONNNNG, but ”The truth is you’re really strong because you’re kind of a freak”. I always imagined his strength to be some random inexplicable mutant phenomena, or if associated with blood color, something he’d grow into eventually, but not now. Now it’s depicted as being out of place and awkward for everyone. I imagine Equius tall, but not too tall. Mostly he’s built in the arms and shoulders, with a really slim waist and hips and muscled calves. All muscle and bone, but still impressively strong for his size. Also worth noting is that I actually imagine him being 15, which I don’t always draw him as, for no reason I can justify. I imagine him growing up into a physique exactly like Darkleer’s, which I can describe in only two words: Nathan Explosion.
Feferi and Vriska are definitely influenced by my two closest friends. I imagined Fef having swimmer’s shoulders from the beginning, but in light of my roomate Haley’s favorite being Feferi, I now imagine her average height, with larger thighs and sloped shoulders, features running into eachother very smoothly and nothing being angular. Facially she has large and deeply lidded eyes, expressive eyebrows and that mouth you talked about, goldfish-like!
Vriska on the other hand is thin and long and tall with slim hips and small chest and a waist that doesn’t call too much attention to itself, not very curvy, more of a boyish physique. I do not however imagine Vriska’s facial features to be pointy, in my head they are in direct opposition to her body, kind of a sloped childish nose and wide excited eyes. Which makes her vindictive chaotic nature even more unsettling.
I don’t really have any set canon for Gamzee, or Eridan, or Terezi, or most of the other characters. Kanaya is tallish and slim I guess, Karkat’s probably shorter maybe? I really love the idea of Aradia having an hourglass figure, because of the time thing mostly, but that not really showing up in how she dresses because she’s rolling around in the dirt half the time and I imagine her shirt to be loose and her skirt to be unflattering. Until Equius makes Aradiabot, which is true to her form but is dressed completely different, more regal, more princessy, tighter fitting. ;;;;)
Jade and Rose especially have bodies very true to most 13 year olds, Rose generally petite and underdeveloped, Jade developing awkwardly, maybe chubby in a few places but that will turn into curves in two years time? I can see John being heavier than Dave. I really can’t see Dave being anything but very skinny.
