I want to discuss character design across different ages, because designing children, adults, and elderly characters requires understanding what changes anatomically and proportionally with age.

Children: the head-to-body ratio is higher — a toddler may be four heads tall, an older child six heads. The facial features occupy a lower position on the face relative to the cranium (babies have large craniums, small faces). The forms are rounder and softer with less visible underlying structure.

Adults: the standard eight-head proportion. Facial structure is more visible — brow ridges, cheekbones, jaw angles. Musculature is more visible on athletic figures.

Elderly: fat redistributes, muscle mass decreases, and the connective tissue loses volume. The face shows the skull structure more clearly as soft tissue thins. The skin follows gravity more visibly. The posture may change as core strength changes.

Stylized work: all of these tendencies can be exaggerated for character effect. Large cranium and small face signals youth regardless of stated age. Visible facial structure signals maturity.