Hey!
I’m guessing you’re ending up with a ghost that looks a bit like the little guy on the left…
He’s a bit flat and he just seems to have too many sides, yeah? I know I had a lot of drawing that looked like this when I started trying to draw them -not that I’m any sort of expert now- but, I’m happy to offer what I’ve learn so far :) For instance, the ghost below was started by drawing a square- you can still kind of see it, right?
So first off I’ll say, references are invaluable, little light & friends are surprisingly complex. I know there’s actually a full on reference sheet of the basic ghost model floating around online that shows it from the front, side, back- a nice solid reference for getting started. Personally, I also made my own (very rough) 3D model of a ghost so I could spin it around to get a better view of their many angles.
But as far as straight up drawing them, I’ve found a couple main points that help me.
1.) Generally, I find it’s better to start with the round body rather than the outside form. This part is consistent no matter if they’re floating at your shoulder, expanded to scan a nearby environment, or floating in a tired sphere to mark your latest death. Even at strange angles, this part will stay the same. Not to mention it allows for a more consistent scale if you have a couple different ghosts in one scene.
2.) The floating points that surround this body are really a sort of modified pyramid shape, and they’re all at different angles (well, the same angle, but in different directions). This can be really hard to visualize. To start with- each one of these bits not only curves a bit around the middle sphere, but it also touches two others, which creates a straight edge between them, but not a flat one (if that makes sense). So, a simple shape is not going to properly express this without some modifications. A triangle is probably the easiest place to start- it’s not too hard to just crop the ends off for those smooth points.
So, as much as a pain as it is- you have to remember that each of these is an individual part, and they can all move freely around the body. I’d suggest drawing each one individually, rather than one overall shape. If you’re not sure where to put them, draw an “X” or something similar through the body and that should help keep an even size between them.
Bonus.) Drawing them at an angle also helps add a lot of volume. Drawing a ghost straight on is fine, but then a lot of the form relies on any shading done, rather than the overall silhouette. And with all of those angles facing directly towards you, it can be a bit challenging to figure out appropriate shadows. It might be a little tricker to balance the perspective at times, but changing up the camera angle does show off those forms nicely.
I hope this helps!
Best of luck :)