I recently purchased a book written by Tom Bancroft and pretty much sat and read it in one day. I have to admit even though these are really rough, they're the most "cohesive" designs I've ever really produced. In the book Tom does something very few how-to books do, he informs the reader on the very basics and WHY they work. It's as if he is having a one on one conversation with you and not just saying "add this here" or "do this there." He explains great usage of lines and curves and the actual thought processes that go into creating a character without getting bogged down into the technicalities of drawing.

The character to the left is my version of Dillon, the book gives assignments to design characters in an entire setting, thats just one way I see him, the other way is highly realistic and closer to my other arts which focus on lighting and contrasts. But as he says in the book he really gets down to the "meat, potatoes and veggies" of character CREATION.

The grumpy little ball of hunger in the middle is just a design that stayed in my mind from the very begging of the book when Tom talked about shapes and how every shape gives a character a different feel. I actually created characters in sequence like the beginning of a comic strip. There are other frames I have in my head that I might try to create.

I messed with the design of my round character to put his eyes literally on top of his body because thats how I first imagined him, and I went so far as to create a nemesis for him that sports the head looking close to that of a gryphons.

I also tried to do a study and flesh out the round characters arm and hand a bit more, giving it more character in and of itself. I made this in paint tool Sai and as silly as it sounds I can't begin to express how proud I am of this.

I highly recommend getting Tom's book and giving it a good thorough read, it speaks to the mind of the artist in an interactive way and has loads of pictures ( I like dem books with the pictures) to illustrate not only the points that he is making, but also VARIETY and how a well thought out character and even recognition of shapes goes a really long way in expressing one's imagination.

Thanks so much again Tom, you've most definitely given me loads to think about and incorporate into my art to make my work more lifelike and help me achieve something I've been struggling to find for so many years.

The character in the middle is my Grimp! Toms DA page is:
http://tombancroft.deviantart.com/