Kimberly and Jinwoo in this super cute chibi style
And their more completed designs:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122124086078168111&set=a.122106446258168111
9 days later
I already dumped my characters into a different post, so I'll focus on ref pics. First thing I did was look up chicken breeds and used them as a foundation for my designs, then added details to give them that MC energy. sorta...
Friar, the Leghorn:
I expanded his design to have "robe feathers" and a halo/hoop on his head, to resemble more of a monk-like character and to distinguish him from the jack-and-jane chickens. Also got rid of his wattles (the red fleshy bits) to make apparent that he was "dubbed" or, uh, castrated...
Bucky, the Buckeye:
The real Buckeye has mahogany red feathers. I originally had him all one color, but I felt he needed more "MC" design, so I improvised his curly crown and wattles, to reflect his "fool" character.
Chantecleer, the ...chantecler...
Bearded wattle and pretty tail feathers? Yes, please! He is the Head of the White Order for a reason.
Gallus:
Definitely had to simplify the design to make him easier to draw. I actually was reminded of Mayan/Native American chieftains, which inspired the feathered crown. Still enjoy drawing his tail.
Two future characters, Bantee, the Madrid Aseel:
Looks pretty much the same in my design, except for a missing eye and scars.
Nixworth, the Auracana:
A nerd character to antagonize Friar later on. Definitely reminds me that E=MC squared, no?
There are many more future characters to come!
(And I do plan to evolve/age up a few, but it'll be some time...
)
Hello friend!
Some very early rough sketches of the main characters I found in my journal from about a year ago.
Honestly, I don't do sub for sub 🫤, I would rather have genuine readers - wouldn't we all? But I do make a point to check out the work of those who do subscribe and if it resonates I'm happy to sub and continue reading. I've got five more episodes in the wings and many more to come. 
-Mark
13 days later
20 days later
A subtlety that could perhaps be considered part of the aesthetic of a character is the way that they move. this is clearest in comics, but still comes through when writing their mannerisms at all, and I think it helps give a clear impression of the character almost as much, if not more, than what they actually look like.
For instance, Mrs. Moon has a habit of waving her hand when she talks that draws attention because her nails are always elegantly painted. Despite being very young and handsome (looking like a model honestly) Kattar struggles to walk, so when he does, he's bent over and his movements are described as being like those of an old man, providing a drastic contrast between his literal age and his physical health, maybe even the way that his injury has aged him emotionally.
“I don’t,” Mrs. Moon replies airily before I can even pass on the message, “Jun texted me and told me to pull up the news on my computer. You’re blowing up the internet right now, darling. All the art journals are tripping over themselves to be the first to say something about you. If we’re not careful you may take over the entire art scene, and your schedule will be too packed for me.”
I imagine I can see her waving one of her manicured hands like a pant-suited queen as her bright laughter sparkles through the cell like shards of diamond, but it feels a million miles away - her last words still churning and crashing through my psyche without registering.
Instead, I see Kattar, standing - and that’s enough to leave me flabbergasted - make me wonder if I’m not dreaming again - but then I see how hard he’s leaning on the dining room table, the walker knocked over on its side like it fainted-
And he’s crying…face flushed up to the roots his hair, now grown out, framing and clinging to his face like black damask as the choked breathless sobs wring themselves from his lungs - and thin rivers of glass, like hairline cracks, stream down his pointed nose and plummet onto the polished wood shining like a mirror - a mahogany ocean.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so fragile and beautiful, and for one fraction of a second, that powerful urge to kiss him tears me in half - and my heart in two-
-I should go over to him - and give in. I should stay right here-
27 days later
What body type do you have the easiest time styling? do you ever write a character and then find that you don't know what you want them to look like, or how to dress them?
I usually know what I want my characters to look like when I make them, but occasionally their ways of speaking, mannerisms or styles are unclear. Right now I'm having trouble trying to work out the aesthetic of a female lead for one of my other novels, but in "Damsel in the Red Dress" Jinho's way of speaking and mannerisms (when he's not angry or worried) tripped me up. I'm still having a hard time being 100% satisfied and convincing myself not to go back and start tweaking things again.
I think I have the easiest time style short to mid-height girls. I don't have trouble with mid weight and curviness to very curvy and chunky either, but very tall and very skinny are a struggle for me rn, and I have yet to draw or design any female characters I think would cross the 200 lb. threshold. In stories I've actually worked in depth on yet anyway. I have a few female leads who might be in stories I haven't worked on much yet, and I'm not sure how to best style that size yet either.
- I consider what I'm into at the time. For example, with Kazuya of French Cup I knew I wanted a blond lead. However, I also wanted him to be Japanese. I wanted someone who was very feminine and adorable. He had to be intensely likeable, and I felt making him blonde would lead to a "dumb blonde" thing and it sure did. People found him more adorable and cute naturally due to this feature. I come up with ideas and they tumble into one thing kind of like in Katamari Damacy where you end up with one big ball lol.
- Characters evolve as the story goes on. They make their own way, and come into their own. I have ideas surely of who they should be at the start, but as a character driven writer, it's up to the characters and how they interact with each other to see how the characters turn out.
My writing is definitely like this too. My characters grow and change in ways I had never planned in the beginning, and I just let them roll with it XD
11 days later
An interesting fact (imao) and that is that Alicia has steadily GAINED weight in my imagination from her initial design until now. I originally thought she would be rather thin, but that is not the case now lol. (okay, it's less technical weight and more that she's getting "softer" she only weighs like 93 lbs, but that's just because she's crazy tiny.)
18 days later
The female lead of my newest novel "A Dozen Morning Glories" (debuting June 15th) Is different from the female lead of "Damsel in the Red Dress" in almost every way aesthetically. They're both brown girls, but Essence is tall, thin and without basically any curves at all.
This wasn't intentionally designed to represent the huge difference between these leads but it shows it well. If they have representative colors, Alicia's are red and orange to Essence's blue and gray.
Essence also stands out a lot as a contrast to the male lead, and this is more intentional. He's short and a bit muscular, with straight hair while hers is kinky. They're both brown, but her complexion in much browner than his. But then they both have some things in common as well. Smaller eyes and round noses.
I worried a bit Kattar and Dominic would look too similar, but the more I designed them, the more their features themselves stood out from each other. They are both brown boys with longish hair and slanted eyes, but eye shape, face shape, nose shape, build, height, hair length, complexion, etc. Are all different.
"A Dozen Morning Glories" debuts June 15th
I start with the character bio and background before I move to character design, I´m bad at drawing so I commission a friend for the actual drawing, with Ozwald I knew I wanted a design that was the opposite of a blacksmith, he is also one of 5 siblings so I wanted to make him stand as the odd one out, more slander than his family he is the only one with frickles and so on.
is he a middle kid? I have five siblings myself, and there are different kinds of odd one out you tend to be depending on where in the age range you fall lol
Yeah, it goes Oldes: Talo second oldest: Malika middle: Ozwald youngest: the tweens Loran and Kelvin
21 days later
The evolution of me trying to draw my female lead from my novel "Damsel in the Red Dress"
The last one is the most attractive incarnation yet imao, as it should be
woohoo! i love show and tell.. lesee... heres two of my chars before and after
the knight...
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the ninja...
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26 days later
OG look:
This is Fu Ran and he is the MC of my novel! He's changed a good bit!
i liked some of the elements but he has changed a lot now! much of his design has been repurposed into his future adopted son:
this is also his new look with black hair!
Here are a few more images of him i have drawn:
him with said son's dad:
and a little animation:
And the novel here:
23 days later
This isn't a design evolution, just my art evolution. I felt like my art of Alicia (female lead of my novel "Damsel in the Red Dress") was missing something, especially in her complexion until I learned to add layers so she could have more reddish undertones. They only make sense since Red is canonically, her color lol
20 days later
Therese George was a pretty defined character from when I first imagined her, so tbh, my biggest question was what color her eyes were. I kept wondering if she might have light-colored eyes like her husband and son, maybe blue or green but brown seems to suit her well. That's not to say they might not canonically end up changing colors...
I realize I like writing glamorous foreign mothers with ageless beauty, but that's not going to change any time soon I guess lol. Personailty-wise, Therese George and Mrs. Moon are very different. For one thing, Mrs. Moon would NEVER agree to be a housewife, while Therese actually enjoys it.
18 days later
