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I am perfectly aware that this method isn't perfect, but I can't help it. One Piece's art style is extremely gender coded and there's not a lot of character who's gender (or assigned gender at birth) is unclear. While there are tomboyish girls and feminine guys, there's no undefined sexed character whom we can copy. All of this are MY PERSONAL INTERPRETATION and tutorial, and you're free to not give a damn and do as you wish. Also don't kill me if I can't perfectly copy Oda's art style or if I use the same characters on repeat.
Do you have a non binary OC you dream to draw but can't rely on One Piece's other character as references ? Is your OC of an unidentified gender ? Intersex ? Sexless ? Or your perfectly cisgender character just so happen to be very androgynous ? You're at the right place. Since One Piece characters are either obviously male or obviously female, your little blorbo can't look like them now, can they ? Here are a few ways to create more androgynous character within One Piece. Keep in mind that androgyny varies from culture to culture, and that it isn't always just a 3rd option. There are many ways to be androgynous, the same way there are many ways to be masculine or feminine.
This tutorial will center around body types and faces, as hair and outfits are easier to alter to look more masculine or feminine with the already existing designs within One Piece. None of these methods are mutually exclusive and you can perfectly apply all of them at once.
For this tutorial, I'll be using Lecter, my non binary One Piece oc, and Cupid, who is transgender and has been draw mid-transition. You might also see already existing character as examples and references.
Probably the easier method, you just need to pick up already existing elements from both male and female character. Try to keep it 50/50 to balance the more masculine features with the more feminine ones, though giving one very masculine (or feminine) feature with a few smaller feminine (or masculine) ones could work as well. A character that fits this kind of androgyny would be Miss Monday, as she does has a narrow waist, bigger chest and more feminine eyes, while her muscular body type and face is more masculine. This type of androgynous appearance would work for a character in the middle of their transition, like a transman who is hairier but still has his (not binding) breast.
A character that fits this kind of androgyny would be Miss Monday, as she does has a narrow waist, bigger chest and more feminine eyes, while her muscular body type and face is more masculine.
As a cisgender woman, her body is very atypical. She's not the only physically strong woman, far from it, but she's one of the few where her strengh is visible. Her face is also quite masculine.
Unlike with most female character, her jaw is sharp and square, her cheekbones are more proeminant and her chin is large. Her face shape is closer to Crocodile's than Nami's. However, unlike Crocodile, Miss Monday's body shape has the same base as Nami's and the other female character. Her waist is smaller than than her hips and chest (even if they're proportionally bigger than the other women).
Even if she can be considered gender conforming thanks to her outfit and hair style, her anatomy doesn't fit the typical woman drawn by Oda. We can play
To a lesser degree, Cavendish fits this method too. His face shape is more masculine (larger chin) but with feminine features. What you choose to pick in both binaries should fit the vibe of your character, you have no business giving your oc Miss Monday's physiques while being a weak crybaby.
Pros :Easy to do since it just needs you to copy references.
Cons :Every elements is considered as either masculine or feminine, we follow the already established binary. You might also need time to find that one obscure character who has pretty eyes.
A bit harder but still somewhat easy. This time, we stop thinking of feminity and masculinity as a binary, but more like a slider from right to left, and as you sketch, you try to make the feature more like if it was in the middle of that slider. This would work perfectly for a character who is sexless or naturally very androgynous, like Cavendish's face shape (him again, yep). His face isn't as soft and his chin as pointy as Nami's, but still far from the sharp jaw and large chin of Crocodile's. Cavendish's face is...kinda like in the middle. Not too sharp, not too soft.
This is the approach I use when I draw Cupid in his early transition. Since he hasn't had his body altered yet, his body isn't very masculine, but still not as feminine as the typical woman, kinda in the middle, again.
The hourglass shape is much softer and smoother, not as exaggerated as the women's, but doesn't have the typical cone shape of the men's (yet).
Pros :It gives you more liberty to make the feature more masculine or more feminine (since it works more like a slider).
Cons :You need to know about basic anatomy and how to bend Oda's art style to fit something he wouldn't draw.
And if nothing works, why not just make them something that isn't a biological humanoid ? Robots can come in any shame or size, and Devil Fruits can alter your oc's appearance into something monstrous and genderly confused... You can use any excuses to justify their androgynous, genderless appearance. Why bother making them a fish folk when you can just make them a fish with a human's intelligence ?
Pros :You can't get any more creative than make something that isn't a natural humanoid to begin with.
Cons :You have to accept that they're not a natural humanoid.
How about we stop giving a damn and just follow the Okama way ? Thought I'd advice avoiding making an okama oc due to transphobia, there's nothing inherently wrong with it. You can even take the opportunity to write an okama character who isn't a walking joke (or make them look like a carricature but break that trope within their own story).
Pros :You can go bananas and do whatever the hell you want. Okamas are already jokes, so anything that looks flamboyant and weird fits.
Cons :It is extremely easy to fall into transphobic stereotypes.
=> While it is possible to make a masculine and a feminine design for the same character (like Inazuma and Ivankov), I don't count them as androgynous, since they have two seperate, binary designs.
=> Androgyny isn't a one size fits all kind of deal, you don't have to make them look like the cliche of the androgynous enby in baggy clothes and colorfull hair. Some androgynous people look tough, some look soft, some will be hardcore traditional looking pirates while some will fit perfectly on Egghead. And obviously, don't hesitate to vary their face shape, features and body types !
=> Clothes, make-up and hair play a huge role too, don't neglect them !
=> Gender Non Conformity, within One Piece, is still a pretty unexplored topic. Not only there are only a few canonly transgender character, one of them is extremely badly done (Yamato), and Okamas are based on transphobic carricatures. It isn't wrong to explore that topic within a One Piece fanfiction or fan character, but you do have to keep in mind that this universe still has sex-based biases (it is unclear on how systemic it is). While there are more gender non conforming characters (like Izou), there's no non binary character besides Okamas, no real examples on how they're treated. You're free to imagine if non binary people are opressed or are treated equality to the binary.
=> You'd be more likely to find androgynous looking character from the pre-timeskip arcs.
=> Don't hesitate to look at real life androgynous physiques, especially if your OC isn't slim, white, or both.