I recently watched Gravity Falls for a project, and acquainted myself with the style. I tried my hand at a self portrait just for kicks, and saw how boring the design was. There was no exaggeration, nothing really that gave hints to personality. It was just plain 'ol me in a sweater and skirt. The character appeal was low. The next drawing I took to the very basic at denim/cotton. It would barely suit a background character, but it gave me something to work from. I exaggerated skirt length, which did improve character appeal, but it was still plain. Marble Pines had her iconic sweaters and headband, Dipper had his hat and vest and journal. Maybe I was missing an identifier prop like that. So I ditched proportion and style, and came up with 1) Story, 2) Pose/Expression, 3) Character (no longer a self portrait). The character's garments were designed to aid the story (something along the lines of a hobby farmer is constantly losing chickens/livestock to mysterious creatures/monsters in the woods). Sneakers for running. Half-length skirt for ease of movement. Rolled-up sleeves on over-shirt identifying someone who is ready to work. Mostly loose clothing for comfort. Ponytail to keep hair out of face. Then it was just a matter of translating this information into the Gravity Falls style. I think it was fairly successful.
