Chapter 2: Proportion Systems

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Proportion Systems (Head Counts & Stylized Grids) for Costume Concept Artists

Why Proportion Is a Costume Problem

Proportion is the scaffolding that gesture and construction depend on. For costume concept artists, proportion systems govern silhouette authority, scale of motifs, seam placement, drape length, and how accessories read at gameplay distance. Whether you’re on the concepting side (finding the signature) or the production side (locking manufacturable truth), a shared proportion language lets design, rigging, cloth sim, and marketing align on the same body and costume math.

Head-Count Systems at a Glance

Head counts express figure height in “head” units from crown to chin. Use them as style contracts, not dogma:

  • 6 heads (cute / SD): Big head, short limbs; read favors face and emblem. Capes and coats must be cropped; hems past mid‑shin erase locomotion.
  • 6.5–7 heads (cartoon / stylized): Exaggerated hands/feet; broad gesture. Pouches, trims, and plaids scale up; large buttons and simplified buckles.
  • 7.5 heads (naturalistic game default): Balanced realism; easiest to retarget across rigs. Most AAA heroes and NPCs sit here.
  • 8 heads (heroic): Longer legs, narrower torso; vertical elegance. Cloaks can extend; lapels elongate; belts ride higher visually.
  • 8.5–9 heads (idealized / fashion / mecha pilots): Extreme leg length; femurs stretch. Use long, clean shapes; avoid noisy micro‑detail.
  • >9 heads (mythic / anime tall): Graphic read dominates; cape geometry becomes banner‑like; minimal fold noise. Pick a head count first, then calibrate costume elements to its unit scale so variants stay coherent.

Stylized Grids: From Box-Mannequin to World Logic

A stylized grid divides the body into repeatable blocks that match your game’s look and technical needs. Three common grids:

  1. Box Mannequin Grid (construction): Ribcage and pelvis as boxes, limbs as tapered cylinders. Great for seam logic—center lines, side seams, sleeve spirals—because faces and edges map cleanly to panel breaks.
  2. Rhythm Curve Grid (gesture‑first): Spine LOA plus counter‑curves for clavicles, belt, and knees. Ideal for cape and sash flow; trims follow rhythm for fast, readable shapes.
  3. Genre Grid (style contract): Pre‑agreed distortions (e.g., 60% leg, 40% torso; 110% shoulder width; 95% head height). Encoded as rules so multiple artists produce the same flavor. Publish your grid with the project. Costume decisions—lapel angle, hem arcs, pauldron spread—must respect it.

Landmark Map for Costume Construction

Use consistent anatomical landmarks to anchor construction and maintain proportional truth across poses:

  • Head: crown, brow, nose base, chin (1 head unit). Hats/hoods size off this.
  • Torso: suprasternal notch, nipples line (~1.5–2 heads), navel (~2.5–3 heads), ASIS/iliac crest (~3–3.5 heads). Plackets, closures, and belts align here.
  • Arms: acromion (shoulder), elbow (~3.5–4 heads down), wrist (~4.75–5). Sleeve seams spiral with forearm rotation.
  • Legs: greater trochanter (~4 heads), knee (~5.5–6), ankle (~7.5–7.75). Hem lengths and boot shafts reference these. These anchors turn expressive sketches into stitchable plans.

Scaling Costume Elements by Head Unit

Translate major costume components into head‑unit proportions so they survive body swapping and LOD changes:

  • Capes & Coats: hero capes 3–4 heads long (8‑head grid), NPC coats 2.5–3 heads. In SD/6‑head styles, capes ≤ 2 heads.
  • Belts & Waistlines: sit at 3–3.5 heads; exaggerate tilt with gesture but keep the average.
  • Lapels & Collars: width = 0.2–0.3 head; height aligns with 1.5–2 heads.
  • Pauldron Span: ≤ 1.2 head widths overall to avoid head occlusion in TPP.
  • Boot Height: ankle to mid‑calf = 0.5–0.7 head; knee boots to ~5.5–6 heads.
  • Insignia: smallest read at 0.1 head; faction badge at 0.25–0.33 head for HUD crops. Write these on your ortho so production, vendors, and marketing stay synchronized.

Proportion & Gesture: Keeping the Energy Honest

Proportion without gesture is mannequin‑stiff; gesture without proportion collapses in production. Establish the LOA first, then drop your grid and landmarks onto it. Center lines, side seams, belts, and hems must tilt and twist with the pose while retaining unit distances. Example: a coat hem on an 8‑head grid that is 3.5 heads long stays 3.5 heads in the pose, but arcs longer on the low side and shorter on the high side. This keeps both believability and style.

Body-Type Families and Inclusive Fit

Define proportion rules per body family (slim, standard, strong, large, youthful) within your grid so costumes don’t break on different rigs:

  • Shoulder Width: 0.9–1.2 head widths across bodies; pauldron design scales by width, not absolute cm.
  • Waist‑to‑Hip Ratio: declare ranges and how belts/holsters compensate (extra darts, longer strap lengths).
  • Vertical Distribution: where height changes (torso vs. legs) and how hems adapt. Publish fit notes: gussets for mobility, slit depths, and adjustable closures. This allows consistent identity while honoring diverse silhouettes and mobility needs.

Construction Pass: Turning Proportion Into Stitch Logic

On the production side, convert unit decisions into construction:

  • Center/Side/Shoulder Seams follow grid lines; label their angles relative to the LOA.
  • Darts & Panels: place where curvature departs from the base box—bust, seat, calf—so form fits without fight.
  • Closures: button spacing and zipper length expressed in head fractions (e.g., 0.1 head spacing).
  • Trim Sheets: map trim widths to unit tokens (TRIM_0.03H, PIPING_0.01H) to keep scale consistent across assets. These notes make outsourcing reproducible.

Camera & Readability Implications

Different cameras reward different proportion choices:

  • FPP (first‑person): hands/forearms enlarge; sleeve openings and glove proportions dominate. Keep cuff diameters and forearm lengths consistent in head units to avoid drift between characters.
  • TPP (third‑person): leg length bias helps stride read; shoulder width affects occlusion. Guard pauldron span and hood depth.
  • Isometric: head and hands carry expression; push 6–7‑head styles or compress torso to keep gesture readable at small sizes. Run distance thumbnails per camera to verify that unit‑scaled details don’t strobe or vanish.

Indie vs AAA: Proportion as a Production Tool

Indie teams benefit from a single, published grid and a small set of head counts (e.g., civilians at 7.5, elites at 8). This keeps reuse high: one trim sheet, multiple fits. AAA projects maintain multiple grids—standard hero, bulky tank, youth/elder rigs—with conversion charts. Proportion tokens (e.g., CAPE_LEN=3.5H) ride through LODs, variants, scanning, and vendor handoffs so identity survives across complexity and platforms.

Deliverables That Encode Proportion

  • Proportion Chart: front/side figures with head bars, landmark lines, and accessory tokens; include male/female/androgynous or body‑type variants as needed.
  • Turnarounds (Orthos): dimensions in head units and cm; seam/closure logic tied to landmarks; center/side/shoulder seam angles.
  • Palette & Motif Scale Page: micro‑pattern ladders at 1:1 with “head‑unit” overlays to prevent aliasing and keep insignia readable.
  • Fit & Mobility Map: hem lengths, slit depths, cape states (idle/run/crouch) and how they scale with body type.
  • Variant Matrix: shows how head‑unit tokens persist across palettes and trims; identity anchors listed.

Collaboration Map: Who Needs Your Proportion Math

  • Design uses it to size silhouettes per class; defines friendly/enemy readability lanes.
  • Rigging/Tech Anim maps anchors and deformation along seams placed on grid lines.
  • Cloth Sim sets constraints using hem lengths and slit depths standardized in units.
  • Materials/Lookdev keeps micro‑detail scale consistent across characters.
  • UI/UX chooses icon crops based on reliable head/shoulder ratios.
  • Marketing plans key art poses that showcase the proportion signature.
  • Outsource relies on unitized tokens to rebuild intent without drift.

Exercises to Train Proportion for Costumes

  1. One Body, Five Grids: Draw the same pose in 6, 7.5, 8, 9 heads, plus SD; redesign coat/cape/boot lengths each time.
  2. Landmark Overlay: Place construction lines and major seams on a blank mannequin using the landmark map; check against orthos.
  3. Unit Audit: Take an old concept and measure everything in heads; document where scale drifted and correct it.
  4. Camera Translation: Redo one costume from TPP to isometric keeping tokens fixed; adjust trims and collars to preserve readability.
  5. Body‑Type Fit Pass: Apply the same costume to three body families using the unit tokens; solve for mobility and coverage.

Common Failure Modes & Fixes

  • Head Drift Across Variants: Insignia/buttons change visual weight. Fix: lock insignia at 0.25–0.33 head and trim widths as unit tokens.
  • Hem Chaos: Capes inconsistent between poses. Fix: encode lengths in head units and state charts (idle/run/crouch).
  • Shoulder Occlusion: Pauldrons too wide for camera. Fix: cap at 1.2 head widths; bevel edges; add sprint state clamp.
  • Pattern Strobe: Micro‑checks alias at distance. Fix: ladder patterns with head‑unit overlays; choose twill over check in motion zones.
  • Rigging Pain: Seams ignore bend lines. Fix: align panel breaks with joint axes; add gussets where curvature spikes.

Definition of Done (Proportion‑Aware)

Your costume is proportion‑done when: (1) the head count and grid are declared on the page; (2) key elements (hem, belt, lapel, pauldron, boot) are expressed in head units; (3) seams and closures align with landmark logic; (4) the read holds across cameras via distance thumbnails; (5) body‑type fits are accounted for; and (6) the deliverables include a proportion chart, orthos with unit tokens, and a fit/mobility map. When proportion is explicit, gesture can sing and construction can ship.