@griffin Hi Griffin, good question!
Re your point about struggling with consistent looking characters, do you mean consistent design for the same character - so the viewer can tell it's the same character across multiple images? Or do you mean consistency in your style?
If it's the latter, I've found that just using the same features on a couple of anatomical points can enhance consistency. For example, Marco Bucci often paints his children with thin limbs and almost rugby-ball shaped heads. Even that shows consistency/recognisability of design, yet allows him to push the design in other anatomical areas to make for variety/interest.
Not sure if that helps.
Best wishes,
Adam