Actually. Here’s a thing.
Below: all canon physical descriptors of the characters. That I remember. And likely some that are made up bc my brain doesn’t have a working file system.
If any of them are incorrect please do let me know! And if there is anything significant I missed out, let me know that too! It will be very helpful as I finalize their designs 🙏
To be clear, my intention is NOT to be canon patrol. I love love love seeing all the different interpretations of characters. They are all so wonderful and distinctive and personal.
My own design development has been based on given details + incorporation of my own ideas, imaginings, etc. (Oft they are self-indulgent too. Always fighting the urge to put freckles and diastemas and prominent noses on every single person I ever draw)
Without further ado. A masterpost of sorts.
Race/ethnicity unspecified (personally imagine her with South Indian roots, through Maura ofc. Artemus is her Welsh half. Presumably. His DNA may just be chloroplasts…) See @transronanlynch’s reblog about this. Btw all these green edits are thanks to their infodumping I LOVE INFODUMPING
Short dark uneven hair, often held in place with clips
Both her and Maura are “compact, athletic, and hard to tip over.” Strong enough for the fair bit of manual labor she does on page
Weirdo clothes (affectionate). Lots of self-made or secondhand items and layering. Look at reblog for some specifics!
Contacts mostly, round gold wire-rims otherwise
High cheekbones. I think he’s even described as having a “regal” face structure but I could’ve pulled that outta my ass
Dimples!!! How did i forget to write this. I marked it as Extremely Important the moment i read about them
Tanned and fit. Described as muscular several times and was also on the rowing team, so at the very least his upper body is strong [I lied. I just read up on rower physique and they primarily work their lower body (core and legs). I’m sure Gansey’s got strong arms too tho]. Mentioned in trb that he has square shoulders actually!!
Good hair (usually styled)
Not very hairy, Ronan makes fun of him for not being able to grow a beard and Blue remarks as much at toga party
Golf club clothes fr🪦 often in brightly-colored polos. khaki slacks. boat shoes🪦🪦 fancy watch.
“White trash.” Really he is just some Creature
Tall and slim and “wiry” shoulders
He’s beautiful but it’s unconventional enough that he refuses to believe it
Dirt/sand colored hair that he cuts on his own (“close-cropped” in cdth. Nice. Always imagined he keeps it short for practicality)
Hands - yess all these are ringing a bell: they’re quite knobby, prominent knuckles and “thumbs that jut out boyishly” (thnx Ronan for being rlly gay and supplying us with these highly important details)
Alas the freckles are NOT canon but they might as well be
Secondhand uniform. Washed out/frayed. Always wears a cheap wind-up watch until he gives it to Opal in TRK. In TDT he has a dreamt watch that shows the time of wherever Ronan is
Casual: basic tees (infamous coca cola,, I think he looks so good in red tho) and jeans and cargos (wore a camo pair with the coke shirt). Has been described wearing boots. Probably sneakers too but I don’t remember a specific instance
Work: mechanic overalls for the most part. He’s often streaked and greasy from fixing cars
These three canon descriptors highly influence how I draw him: elegant, gaunt, sepia
Extra: He inherited Persephone’s tarot deck, whose cards are illustrated in pencil “vague, scratchy, and dark”
Irish ancestry (again, presumably. He wasn’t exactly bred)
Tallest of the bunch. “Built” shoulders
Dark brown hair. Buzzed. Naturally curly
Misses one shave and looks like he crawled out of the backrooms (also affectionate)
Back tattoo (later: left arm)
Niall clone. They look the same
I believe Declan has been described with a Roman nose, and the Gray Man notes some of the brothers’ facial similarities, including their noses. In conclusion Ronan’s nose is arched in some sense. But in general his features are narrower/sharper than Declan’s.
Mostly black clothes. Tanks and jeans and boots and leather jackets (on the jackets: pretty sure he wears one in TDT when he’s on the run with Hennessy and Bryde. Also found a paper from when I first read trc that I wrote a bunch of descriptors on, and it said “has a biker jacket.” Not that I particularly trust my past self much). Leather bracelets that used to be Niall’s.
Incapable of wearing uniform properly. Loose tie, untucked shirt, just imagining him in the suit jacket is an atrocity
Czerny is a Slavic surname
Pale. Light hair, eyes, and skin
Large ears yay!! I thought so but wasn’t sure enough to write it originally
Pointed, crooked nose (wonder if it was broken when he was killed?)
“Smudge” over his left cheekbone
Timid disposition, often slouching/making himself smaller. His hands often hang at his sides (it’s making me think of the typical socially-anxious “what do i do with my hands”)
Perpetually disheveled Aglionby uniform that is also perpetually on him
My guy wears Topsiders… (this makes sense but it also makes me uneasy. He’s a Vans kid in spirit. Is it even possible for him to change clothes, I have no idea. Weekends wearing Aglionby uniform would raise questions, but then again many other things should’ve raised questions too)
When he’s feeling particularly ghosty he becomes transparent/blurred/difficult to focus on. His eyes look dark and empty. The smudge on his cheek looks like an obvious injury.
Close to the end he starts lookin dead dead without Blue’s amplifying. I think bones n rotting flesh n stuff? “Soul threaded through naked bones.” Though I think what Blue perceives to be a terribly dead Noah is mainly metaphysical
Many thank to @robobee for all the Henry details (and some others above). I wrote this post at 3am and by the time I got down to Henry I was crashing out. I knew I had too little on him
“Glittering black hair.” Spiked but in a very deliberate Aglionby way idk
Can’t believe I for got the WICKED EYEBROWS they are literally my favorite part of his face to draw TT
And prominent cheek bones? What’s with all these boys and their chiseled faces
Wears showy clothing/accessories. “Snazzy jacket” I also could’ve sworn he wore Gucci glasses once but again my memory has a history of being fallible
Has been caught in HD in a Madonna tshirt
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