any fun ref layouts?

I don't think mine are particularly interesting, but I've been doing a lot of them since quarantine fried my creativity lol. This is the format I usually use, and I think Magnus' ref is the best I've done so far out of them. I like doing some headshots with different expressions bc it's more visual and I can show specific things rather than writing them all out. I also like to do little blurbs everywhere, either pointing out specific things in their design or just general info bc I find it more fun to look at. also, I know a lot of ppl like to do turn sheets but, one, I'm bad at them lol, and two I feel like I don't really need them for my purposes, it cuts down on the number of fullbodies I need to do too.

I also have a smaller version with no headshots if the character has less info, or if I'm lazy. I like to add some doodles or some kind of vague background to these too bc it makes them a bit more visual. Hope this helps!

I mainly go for function over aesthetics, but here are two of my sona's references! I don't mind if they're used as inspiration since they're so simple o/

These are a bit older (I'd swap the gender for pronouns + I'll probably do just first name/nickname instead of full name), but I've been happy with my layout since I try to go for readability! I also just like doing expressions because if I'm handing these along as a reference, then it at least gives a little idea about personality :D

The problem I run into this format is I never know what to do with the space on the left I usually leave for the eyes LMAO... I've been thinking about putting accessories or something in there, but it's not applicable to every character so I'm just [lies down]

i TRY to make them look fun but in the end these arent meant to be pretty, theyre meant to be something for people to look at when drawing my characters Here's an older one I have thats a little funky, but it still does its job and shows my progress when compared to the others at least

And then these newer ones definitely show a marked improvement and i kiiiinda like them but its SO hard to try and have a good aesthetic while being overwhelmed with text to clarify stuff yknow?
i swear i spend more time arranging everything than actually drawing stuff

OOOO i love how cool these are! super clean n fun to read!!

for some reason i forgot the background can be a different color than white. will definitely try messing with that LMAO

most of the recent ref sheets i've done are for adopts, so they're not too detailed. but here's kara's; i like the layout i did!

I struggle with making reference sheets look visually appealing too, however I will say that you really just need it to be functional. Simple and easy to read is always better, and make sure your character stands out against whatever background colour you choose! A common problem I often see in other people's ref pages is they often make the background colour similar to their character's colour scheme so the character ends up blending in, or the background is too detailed or busy with patterns or textures etc. to the point it draws attention away from the character design itself.

There's a couple of my own attempts at making reasonably nice ref sheets under the spoiler. Feel free to take inspiration if these kinds of layouts appeal to you.

personally i struggle with this exact same thing, this thread really helps!!!

Here is mine for Edith! it didnt take me long and i loved doing it; jotting down random facts about them. even though my charcs just live up in my head, it was fun to make! just a little time consuming ^^;