This is my own Character Drawings

Quoth Nikolai:
(Not Nikolai.....but Cloie and Sam. mostly Cloie. Maybe even remove her entirely.)

Not necessarily. Cloie, for example, has potential, but you need to discard the bits cloned from Scarlet.

A good thing to start with is her clothing. You call her a redneck. Instead of Scarlet's t-shirt, what might a redneck wear? A man's buttoned shirt two sizes too large and some jean shorts that reach halfway down her thighs? A Daisy Duke (from Dukes of Hazzard) style cut-off shorts and shirt tied under her bosom? Something else entirely?

You mentioned she's a non-student rooming with two students, but is pretty stupid. To me, that doesn't quite jive. It's okay she's fun-loving, adorable, and goofy, tending to think outside of the box, but does she necessarily have to be stupid? Nikolai comes across as the absent-minded genius type in school for the learning while Sam seems to be the lazy cynic in college for the parties. Perhaps Cloie can be the middle ground. Despite her unconventional thinking, she could be the one who functions best in the real world (after all, if she's not a student, how is she making a living and paying the rent?), grounding Nikolai when his head wanders too far off into space and nagging Sam into taking her responsibilities seriously.

She could have marketable skills. Perhaps she's a gifted cook. Maybe the others tolerate her because she's excellent at housekeeping. Possibly, she can maintain a house, from fixing the plumbing to repairing broken furniture (to match her unconventional thinking, you can have her MacGuyver stuff through improvisations that look absurd but somehow work). She could even be the tightfisted one who knows how to balance a checkbook. Basically, she might be the one with practical skills.

Of course, she can still be ditzy and "a blonde". She might have the practical skills, but maybe she's also a bit naive and sheltered. Maybe she's never had a boyfriend. Perhaps she hasn't the foggiest idea of what sex is like or has never been drunk. (There's how Sam might interact with her, by seeking to "correct" those oversights while making sure Cloie doesn't end up pregnant or in a ditch somewhere. Perhaps Cloie has a crush on Nikolai, who, like many intellectuals, is oblivious to her interest.)


Mind you, I'm only suggesting possible tangents to prod your thinking into motion. Odds are, you'll come up with something else entirely for Cloie.

CyberCorn Entropic wrote:
Not necessarily. Cloie, for example, has potential, but you need to discard the bits cloned from Scarlet.

A good thing to start with is her clothing. You call her a redneck. Instead of Scarlet's t-shirt, what might a redneck wear? A man's buttoned shirt two sizes too large and some jean shorts that reach halfway down her thighs? A Daisy Duke (from Dukes of Hazzard) style cut-off shorts and shirt tied under her bosom? Something else entirely?

You mentioned she's a non-student rooming with two students, but is pretty stupid. To me, that doesn't quite jive. It's okay she's fun-loving, adorable, and goofy, tending to think outside of the box, but does she necessarily have to be stupid? Nikolai comes across as the absent-minded genius type in school for the learning while Sam seems to be the lazy cynic in college for the parties. Perhaps Cloie can be the middle ground. Despite her unconventional thinking, she could be the one who functions best in the real world (after all, if she's not a student, how is she making a living and paying the rent?), grounding Nikolai when his head wanders too far off into space and nagging Sam into taking her responsibilities seriously.

She could have marketable skills. Perhaps she's a gifted cook. Maybe the others tolerate her because she's excellent at housekeeping. Possibly, she can maintain a house, from fixing the plumbing to repairing broken furniture (to match her unconventional thinking, you can have her MacGuyver stuff through improvisations that look absurd but somehow work). She could even be the tightfisted one who knows how to balance a checkbook. Basically, she might be the one with practical skills.

Of course, she can still be ditzy and "a blonde". She might have the practical skills, but maybe she's also a bit naive and sheltered. Maybe she's never had a boyfriend. Perhaps she hasn't the foggiest idea of what sex is like or has never been drunk. (There's how Sam might interact with her, by seeking to "correct" those oversights while making sure Cloie doesn't end up pregnant or in a ditch somewhere. Perhaps Cloie has a crush on Nikolai, who, like many intellectuals, is oblivious to her interest.)


Mind you, I'm only suggesting possible tangents to prod your thinking into motion. Odds are, you'll come up with something else entirely for Cloie.

OH...MY...GOD! You basically just did all of the character development for Cloie (minus a few things.)

And I did, infact, draw her in different clothes, in the first few drawings of her. She wore Short Shorts Jeens and a diff rent shirt.

Now all I need to do Is reanimate Sam & Cloie (Ever so slightly).

Thanks a bunch man! you have helped alot in my thinking about these things.

holy sh*t! I originally had Pepper drawn with short jeans.... Is short jeans a popular starting clothing for characters?

Quoth Nikolai:
And I did, infact, draw her in different clothes, in the first few drawings of her. She wore Short Shorts Jeens and a diff rent shirt.

That's a good start for her wardrobe. She certainly needn't be a Scarlet clone.

Now all I need to do Is reanimate Sam & Cloie (Ever so slightly).

I think it would help by slightly redoing Sam's look. Earlier, you mentioned she was a lynx, but she doesn't have a lynx's physical traits. As a lynx, Sam ought to at least have tufted ears, fluffier cheeks, and a bob tail. (Here's some lynxes to show what I mean.)

Sam also looks like she should be grumpier and more cynical, perhaps more pessimistic, than the others. Dirtier-minded is also a good thing to think about for her. Those traits might help contrast her from the others.

Thanks a bunch man! you have helped alot in my thinking about these things.

You're welcome. As always, since they're your characters, I'm only providing food for thought.

Quoth BeDaOrLiSeAr:
holy sh*t! I originally had Pepper drawn with short jeans.... Is short jeans a popular starting clothing for characters?

Probably, especially if the artist wants show off the character's legs.

I had the species of cat confused with another. I've been debating on what type of cat she should be. (I was thinking Egyptian Mau mixed with a Tabby.) I may not even worry about what species she is, its not that important.

Also, Sam is just one to have fun, She is not a real mean kind of "person".

Quoth Nikolai:
I had the species of cat confused with another. I've been debating on what type of cat she should be. (I was thinking Egyptian Mau mixed with a Tabby.) I may not even worry about what species she is, its not that important.

Considering they're anthropomorphic animals instead of straight regular animals, that's probably the best approach.

Also, Sam is just one to have fun, She is not a real mean kind of "person".

Sounds good. As long as you have a personality in mind for her as well as ways to have her conflict and contrast with other characters, you've got a good start.

Now, draw a one-shot comic with two or three of them interacting with each other.

CyberCorn Entropic wrote:Now, draw a one-shot comic with two or three of them interacting with each other.

Careless Words Cost Lives

He does not under any circumstances mean sex, in a sexy manner, naked or about to be naked. Stop thinking those thoughts right now, young man.

No.

Drop. That. Pencil.

...

yeah, Sam and Nikolai are like, Bestfriends. they have known each other since they were kids. so they kinda have that good friends having all sorts of "adventures" with each other, kind of friendship. They have those Friendly Conflicts with each other, Like fighting over who gets the Bathroom in the morning. And other stuff like that.

Quoth Smelge:
Careless Words Cost Lives

He does not under any circumstances mean sex, in a sexy manner, naked or about to be naked. Stop thinking those thoughts right now, young man.

No.

Drop. That. Pencil.

...

If that was directed at me, then I'm disappointed you think so little of me.

By "interaction", I refer to nothing more than what we see everyday in comics from Sequential Art to Peanuts. The interaction can be as simple as Nikolai and Sam arguing over what toppings to have on a pizza or as complex as Cloie and Sam improvising, ala Home Alone, against ninjas trying to steal Nikolai's new hydrokinetic popcorn popper.

The reason I suggest this is to encourage Nikolai to go ahead and turn his ideas for his characters into something more solid.

It wasn't at you. Except the careless talk part.

One of the big bads about art is that people have this strange idea that character interaction means sex. Or that the shortcut to fame and fortune is to draw porn. Getting grips on anatomy, character interactions and so on is important. And there is enough bad porn already, thanks. Please no more from new artists.

While criticism is flowing, I saw comments on letting a natural personal style evolve. They are sort of right but sort of wrong. Nikolai needs to start TRYING other styles, as he is currently set to "Jollyjack" mode and any personal style that comes from it will be a devolution of JJ's style, keeping him firmly in the ranks of imitator. Expand, try other styles, modify the styles of other artists. You shouldn't force a style, but as you are going, you are forcing this particular style.

Onwards, into the valley of the damned!

Having yourself as a character can sometimes work. In this case, I'd stick a fork in the idea now. You're setting yourself up as a major character in your imaginary world. As an incidental character or someone who never interacts with the main people works ok but is pushing your luck. Being a main character turns anything you do with this character set into either wish-fulfillment fantasy or worse. It's a trope that should be avoided at all costs. This also includes characters that aren't you, but hold all your objectivities, traits and so on. For reference, see Fisk from Better Days, who is so painfully obviously the authors avatar that the incest chapter gets far creepier than it should be.

Quoth Smelge:
It wasn't at you. Except the careless talk part.

Okay. I apologize then.

And there is enough bad porn already, thanks. Please no more from new artists.

I have to agree there. In fact, I'd suggest old artists not bother either. Suggestiveness is okay. Artistic nudity is sometimes pushing it. But pornography? Boring, disgusting, or both. Give me something interesting like a story or a funny gag or something along those lines.

Nik, if you don't mind my asking, how do you go about inking your pieces? On Paper and on GIMP. Like if you had to give a detailed explanation of how you do it. Specifically for this one..



aaand this one.



Mainly asking because Inking/Penning is the step that kills me in both situations because I suck at if for some reason. >_>

well, taking the time to ink in and to do it with detail, is one thing. Making lines with depth and value falls under that detail. once you get the picture scanned on to your computer, use gimp to darken the lines using the magic-wand (With 80-100 threshold) to select the Black lines and fill the in with the bucket. thats pretty much how I do it... is that the answer You were looking for? Did it help?

Nikolai wrote:well, taking the time to ink in and to do it with detail, is one thing. Making lines with depth and value falls under that detail. once you get the picture scanned on to your computer, use gimp to darken the lines using the magic-wand (With 80-100 threshold) to select the Black lines and fill the in with the bucket. thats pretty much how I do it... is that the answer You were looking for? Did it help?

A bit. Though, when working on paper, do you use varying pen sizes or just different pressures?

I used a few different techniques. sometimes I used different sized pens, most of the time I would just thicken some lines with a smaller tipped pen.

Sweet, thanks.

are there any more GIMP tips you are willing to give?

burn tool helps with shading

a general GIMP tip: experiment... alot. Use filters, try layers and layer modes, drawing tools and modes for them. Of course, I'm more of a special effects guy, and not so good at straight drawing, so It may not apply so much for you. (by the way, solid noise has nearly infinate uses)

solid noise?

Nikolai wrote:burn tool helps with shading

No.

Never use the burn tool. It looks crap and encourages laziness. Learn proper colour theory instead.

Smelge wrote:

Nikolai wrote:burn tool helps with shading

No.

Never use the burn tool. It looks crap and encourages laziness. Learn proper colour theory instead.

I also wouldn't advice using burn tool. I use layers set on multiply mode and shades of grey for shading or set on dividing (if that's the proper name) for light.

Quoth Pietja:
I use layers set on multiply mode and shades of grey for shading or set on dividing (if that's the proper name) for light.

I usually use blue for shading rather than gray since the atmosphere scatters blue light.

CyberCorn Entropic wrote:

Quoth Pietja:
I use layers set on multiply mode and shades of grey for shading or set on dividing (if that's the proper name) for light.

I usually use blue for shading rather than gray since the atmosphere scatters blue light.

I just use grey for shading on a layer set to multiply. I used to copy the color layer and erase until I had shading, but it was lazy, and white doesnt multiply, so anything white was never shaded.

Sucks when your drawing a white furred cat girl.

up...........UP........Somethings coming!

*Sketch* *Sketch* *Draw* *Draw*

Eh heh heh heh hehhhh....