5.25.2025

Tackling Same Face Syndrome

Same face syndrome - a phrase in the art community dreaded by many. Such topic has also been a source of great controversey, particularly throughout my earlier years of artistry.

If you don't know what same face syndrome is, it is the habit artists have to draw using repetitive facial structures or features. For instance, if you have characters where you can swap their facial features and still end up with a similar result, then you may be dealing with a case of same face syndrome.

As an artist who started out in the Wings of Fire fandom, a community where this habit is common, I've been working hard to grow out of it. Same face syndrome was a long recurring issue of mine, so much that I stopped drawing for many years simply because drawing things the same way wasn't fun anymore. So in order to make drawing enjoyable for me again, I started on a journey to give my characters more defining features.

It can seem daunting to try adding variations to your characters while still preserving your art style, especially if this is your first time attempting so. If you are a dragon artist, I've found that the most effective way of combatting same face syndrome is to start out by varying your face shapes. Experimenting with things like snout length, chin shape, and even direction of horns works well to set your characters apart from each other. A good rule of thumb is that if you can take a silhouette of your characters and easily be able to identify them, you have conquered your same face syndrome.

That being said, there is no *wrong* way to draw. Not all art styles have a need for overly varying shapes. In fact, there are many such cases where uniformity can look favorable. It is solely a matter of personal preference and what you wish to get out of your art. If you are thinking about dealing with same face syndrome, ask yourself these questions. Do you find yourself bored with drawing everything in the same way? Do you want your characters to stand out from each other? Are you open to doing things differently? If yes to any of that, then exploring variety in your designs might just be for you.