Kuri Hitotsu: A single chestnut

Recent Sketches and Gestures for Infinite Spiral

2012-07-25T17:36:00.001-04:00

First off, news, "Infinite Spiral" is officially live. Explore the worlds here! You can also enter the Spiral on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and DeviantArt. dA showcase pages 1-10 (though edits are made as necessary before they are posted to the main site). Page 04 will go live on the homepage on Friday.

In the past two weeks, I've been working through a ton of gestures and rapid sketches just getting to know possible characters and planned characters in "Infinite Spiral". I shared these on the Infinite Spiral Tumblr, but want to compile them here for those that follow this blog.

This piece is simply working through body language and poses of main characters, mostly Christian and James. Christian is more open and gregarious, while James is more timid and protective. I want to be careful to convey that through postures and movements, as well as facial expressions as they are introduced. This gives room for this to change as the characters develop.

Next is are more fleshed out sketches, mostly of James, but a bit of Christian and Rory. James is a focal character to me, and I've been working on getting him "right" for years. I think the key aspect missing from bringing him to life always was body language. He's not particularly adventurous (in the run out and take risks sense) but he is brave (with the courage to stand up for friends and strangers in dire situations), he doesn't much like change, but is incredibly empathic, bookish, and loyal. He worries too much about ... everything. I'm working on closed postures with him--arms folded, hands in pockets, straight posture (stiff), but head down (no confidence). I'm still working it out.

Then there were boatloads of faces, mostly working on one villain. My sister thinks, somehow, the design is working its way to a strange combination of David Tennant and Nathan Fillion (which is a bit terrifying, but what can you do?). Because of that, I might experiment with hybrid expressions based on their acting (half for kicks, but hey it might work) as I struggle making villains that aren't classically ... villainous. There is also one sketch thought of a Wisen, some sketches thrown out to use as incidental characters later (interesting faces, but not "right" for what I was working on), and some drawings of one of the Named Ones.

How to Make a Spiral Page Layout in Adobe Illustrator

2012-07-18T13:55:00.000-04:00

An unconventional layout such as I'm working with for page 09 of Infinite Spiral might seem intimidating to some artists. However, by using a few of Illustrator's tools, creating a spiral layout like the thumbnail below is a much simpler task than you'd think.

Let's walk through the process.

Step One: (After opening Illustrator and creating a new Document [I use 11x17 for a 50% reduction]) Select your Spiral Tool.

Step Two: Create a Spiral by Clicking and Dragging. You should be able to rotate and size as desired while creating your spiral.

Step Three: Using the arrow tool, you can center and rotate the spiral until it looks like your thumbnail or vision for the page.

Step Four: Adjust the line width so that the lines are as wide as you want the panel gutter or space between panels to be. This is important, or you will eventually have no space between your panels.

Step Five: Select the Arc Tool, which is under the same Menu as the Spiral Tool in your Toolbar.

Step Six: Click and pull out arcs as desired. They should be the same line width as the spiral. If not, adjust as necessary by selecting them.

Step Seven: Create enough arcs to outline the panels in your thumbnail. Make sure the lines overlap each other so we can use our friendly Pathfinder tool in a few steps.

Step Eight: Select ALL then go to Object>Path>Outline Stroke. This will turn your lines into a shape.

Step Nine: At this point you should be able to add black outlines if you so desire. (You don't have to do this, but I do to make sure the Outline Strokes worked and that the shapes still overlap).

Select ALL again and then open the Pathfinder Tool (it is also under Window), and use the UNITE tool (the two boxes merging).

You should now have an awesome shape that looks a bit like a chambered nautilus.

Step Ten: Create a rectangle the size of your page using the rectangle tool.

Step Eleven: Send that rectangle to the BACK! You can do this by going to Object>Arrange>Send to Back.

Step Twelve: Once again, Select ALL.

Step Thirteen: Use the Pathfinder but this time select the Minus Front Tool (to the right of the Unite Tool) in order cut the spiral from your rectangle, creating neat panels with consistent space between.

Step Fourteen: Now you just have to clean up your end points and adjust linewidths to your desired panel border weight.

Final Product: After that you should have a panel layout similar to what I've created for page 09! Happy Comicking!

Words in the Air

2012-07-01T08:32:00.001-04:00

James Hartwell is one of the main characters in "Infinite Spiral". He is called Wicked or Named One, and no one knows much about them. Most in his world with that qualification are part or mostly human. His past is a mystery, and he cannot remember before the age of 11. He's brothers in Name with Christian, who drags him into trouble more often than that.

Early after Illumination (when Wicked Children get their 'Wickedness') James sees words in the air (which is part of what I'm illustrating here) ... what that turns into would be spoilers. He also has the ability to heal, which is a rare and dangerous ability. What other skills will illuminate as he enters the Spiral.

--
Want more? Check out the Infinite Spiral art gallery: http://novemberkris.deviantart.com/gallery/37296323

Or the comic gallery:http://novemberkris.deviantart.com/gallery/37478673

Or for humor, "In Other Worlds": http://novemberkris.deviantart.com/gallery/37977108

Infinite Spiral (c) Kristy Cunningham

I'm Coming For You (Gavin)

2012-06-16T14:58:00.000-04:00

I typically draw Gavin as a 9 year old boy (my beloved Gavin-yes I have favorites), which, I admit, is when most of his planned segment of Infinite Spiral (Angelborn) takes place. That might ... have to change ... I am not going to mess with him at this age (whoa man, who made you mad?).

He's already ridiculously creepy, enigmatic, amazing, and quirky. Oh, also, he sees the "unseen worlds". Yet somehow he's both of his parents' child *spoilers*. I'm not saying here unless you ask me privately or go sniff around the gallery. I've already given one parent away. But there is a family resemblance there if you stare long enough. I've babbled here about this before.

I guess I can't help it. I love this character--artists shouldn't have favorites, but I do ...

Line art in Illustrator, colors and effects in Photoshop.

Another page of Infinite Spiral Sketches

2012-06-13T22:26:00.000-04:00

Tons more gestures and sketches from the past week. Fun Christian drawings, Allie and gestures, a Kitty face sketch, and working on some ideas for how Matron Ava Fairchild ought to look (the whole bottom corner is full of thoughts).

James Hartwell Sketchdump

2012-06-12T22:11:00.000-04:00

I was out of town (visiting family, vacationing from tech), so did a ton of sketching in lieu of my current page I'm working on. This is the first sketch dump from the last 5 days of crazy drawing, the focus James.

Top is a moment between James and Rory I'm playing out. There are several James sketches with different expressions, a sketch test working out thoughts for a scene in the Infinite Spiral that is scripted, a silly moment between Christian, James, and Allie, a wood elf that James, Rory, and Christian may encounter much later in the comic in Gelthor's forest (teasers!), James using his powers, and Gavin (he snuck in there ... apparently going Super-Saiyan or something). Christian is in the very bottom right corner again messing with that yo-yo. Suspicious.

Have fun with these!

The Beginning

2012-06-03T12:50:00.002-04:00

I've been quiet this week, in large part because I've been getting a start on Infinite Spiral. I happy to be providing a sneak peek today of the cover and first two prologue pages. Within the next couple weeks, I'll be looking to start the official site, and updates will be continued there, leaving this blog more from other art and process pieces (one of which will be coming this week based on the cover I'm sharing today).

When Rory Perkins sets out to catch fireflies one evening, little does she know her curiosity will cause her to leave her own world behind forever, journeying into the Infinite Spiral of realities. Transformed, and far from home, she finds companions in James Hartwell, a lonely boy with a forgotten past, and his brother-in-Name, Christian Rafferty, a charming trouble maker that seems to constantly drag the trio into a whirlwind of chaos. What will they find in the Infinite Spiral? What will find them as they travel through it?

Read more for the pages.

Infinite Spiral: Prologue 01 by ~novemberkris on deviantART

Infinite Spiral: Prologue 02 by ~novemberkris on deviantART

What's the deal with this story? Well, I've wanted to tell it for a long time. It is based on the paracosms my sister and I invented when we were kids, and some of the characters (and some new) that we filled the worlds with. It may or may not make it a pseudo-autobiography, as some of the jokes and adventures are ripped straight from my childhood play. Of course, it has been elaborated and the themes that fascinated me are being woven into the script more subtly than the knock on the head questions I'd pose when I was young.

It is huge in scope, but yet, I've missed this place. It is my Never Land, and I'm excited to have a way to share it with others, hopefully inspiring some imaginary exploits and reflection along the way. It is the essence of the kind of work I enjoy most ... the wild and whimsical kind of fantasy that if you look at the world just right, exists between the folds of the world we see.

Good morning, Sunshine!

2012-05-28T12:26:00.000-04:00

A little morning warm up (two hours from sketch, to vector inks, to color). Out of all the Infinite Spiral characters, James and Allie would be the two to most likely have the craziest bed hair! And James is so put-together and fastidious about his appearance, the idea of crazy bed hair just tickles me. He would have to hate it.

So, of course, I warm up today with James and some crazy morning hair (it is 4th Doctor crazy, eh?). His hair would probably look like that if Allie or Christian gave him a noogie too ...

Oh, and I am officially working on pages! Want a sneak peak, head over to dA: http://novemberkris.deviantart.com/

Character Profiles and Test Pages

2012-05-26T20:23:00.002-04:00

Edit: I lied, I kept working. See the original below, but here is the new version, still rough colors, but I was impatient and wanted to see if it would come together. I think it did, but I'll sleep on it.

I've been an illustrating machine the past couple days ramping up with character profiles and this:

Now the line art is a little quick, but it is a test page (which is not even done, I'm just teasing), just to see how everything is working for me. If I like what I'm doing, I'll get serious. I also have a couple more decisions to make about format, as I honestly have to wonder if a traditional size is best if I'm shooting for web. However, if I ever want it printed ... Yep, decisions. I'll likely stick to the more traditional format for now.

Also, read more for the latest character profiles: James and Christian.

James finally looks like he does in my head (and has for some 15+ years) --so very exciting!

And Christian, well he is just himself.

Worlds in Your Eyes: James and Rory

2012-05-25T11:17:00.000-04:00

I've started exploring the interactions between the three main characters more, but I had yet to explore just Rory and James. If you look at my other art you can make some assumptions about why their interactions are so important.

Here, Rory is just mesmerized by looking in James eyes under the light of the aurora, and has bursted the bubble of his personal space looking at them. People don't like to look in James's eyes for too long and he's not used to making eye contact. Rory is determined she can see the thread of the universe in there, which might be what bothers everyone else. However, Rory also has a rather extraordinary imagination.

So, I've settled on an inking technique (Illustrator, pencil tool). However, I struggled with coloring the lighting in the piece, just because I had to be crazy and make it at night. Below is a second version with a different color overlay, mostly desaturation with some blue tints. I like both, I think they just convey different emotions. I do prefer the top one.

I had another version (my first attempt) but it made James look Undead, and as he is neither a zombie or a vampire, that just doesn't sit well.

Rory Perkins: Profile City

2012-05-22T11:16:00.000-04:00

I'm really revving up on the Infinite Spiral. Here's Rory's design refreshed with profile:

Want the full profile teaser? Keep reading!

BASIC INFORMATION
Name: Aurora Elizabeth Perkins
Race: Human (Abdal-also know as Substitutes and Walkers)
Worlds: From the Cornfield, exists in all by travel.
True Name: N/A

FEATURES
Eyes: Once green, now violet.
Hair: Dark brown with a white streak and braided.
Skin: Tan.
Height: 5'2 (will grow no taller than 5'5")
Weight: 100lbs
Distinguishing Features: White streak in her hair, caused by her transformation into an Abdal.
Clothing:
Rory wears a striped orange and purple henley with a long sleeved undershirt, a striped scarf, and dark blue jeans. She also wears an orange pair of Converse and carries a big tan messenger bag around with her that has several pins on it, and the name RORY scrawled on the front.

TRAITS AND SKILLS
Traits: Clever, imaginative, optimistic, curious, easily awed, tenacious, loyal
Physical Abilities: Fairly agile.
Mental Abilities: Clever, imaginative, fairly technology savvy, allowed to drive a tractor by her grandfather, so has no fear of attempting to operate vehicles.
"Magic" Abilities: She has the ability to see through to other realities. She can open gateways with the help of Christian or Maxwell. She can physically be in one reality while reacting to the physics of another.

LIKES/DISLIKES
Likes: Books, Roary, her stuffed animal lion, Taking notes, Learning on the fly, gadgets
Dislikes: Christian's extreme impulsivity, Lies, Being patronized

MISC
Habits: Sitting on the ceiling, Stating the obvious when asked the wrong question.

Catch-phrases: "I'm Nobody." "Whatcha doin'?"

She carries:
In her bag, she carries Roary, her stuffed animal white lion, a diary, a pencil bag full of pencils and pens, a water bottle, pressed leaves in an overdue library book of Emily Dickinson's poetry, a pocket thesaurus, a flashlight, some old skeleton keys on a necklace (which she sometimes wears), a solar calculator, her school assigned tablet, a laminated bookmark with a picture of her and her grandma on it, her library card, a geode, a magnifying glass, the yo-yo she gives to Christian, and a plastic dinosaur.

HISTORY:
Rory is a suburban girl from a world like ours, where no one uses magic and the supernatural is considered something from children's imaginations (which Rory has plenty of). She spends summers with her grandparents on their farm, where her grandfather indulges her by allowing her to drive tractors and carts around the farm. In addition, her times with her grandparents, she is allowed a great deal of freedom to wander and play in her own imagination.

Rory's parents are both professionals. Her father is a programmer and her mother an English teacher. She has two younger, twin siblings Eli and Emma.

Rory leaves this life forever when while catching fireflies in her grandparents fields, an aurora opens an ocean before her. Unable to resist the temptation of something so wonderous, she steps through to another world, finding she cannot go home. A storm forces her into a strange lighthouse, where she is transformed into an Abdal by an unnamed bald angelic figure. She is awakened by James, and quickly must transition into dealing with their world and the Wicked Children.

Holy Backstory: Headmaster Dorian Lamprey

2012-05-21T18:37:00.002-04:00

Whew, now I'm filling in the first antagonist character designs. Ok, I admit, the Headmaster of the Asylum for Wicked Children is a tad Snapey right now (I had to watch Deathly Hallows Part II before I did this design). I'll be working that out. But, for your reading pleasure, the full history of the Headmaster-the first antagonist in the "Infinite Spiral" is now revealed.

I actually love that his palette is very similar to James. I think this is very appropriate.

BASIC INFO
Name: Headmaster Dorian Lamprey
Race: Quarter Named One/ Three quarters Human = Wicked
World(s): The world of the Wicked
True Name: Ira (watchful)

Give Me That!

2012-05-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

What the heck, three in 48 hours? I must be on a roll.

This popped in my head this morning and I couldn't help but draw and render it out (my wrists now hate me, so I am done for awhile).

So, Christian Rafferty can bend reality (in case you missed it). Therefore, there is a good chance he can break it (he's created a nice gaping hole between realities here). Rory gets easily annoyed with Christian, but I figure it would take an event like that to get her truly angry with him, especially as she uncovers how all of their abilities are tied to the Infinite Spiral. The yo-yo is going to be hers for awhile, since he can't concentrate on bending the realities too much without it.

Rory Perkins has come into her own (though I already simplified those stripes). I can definitely say this feels like "her" when I draw and she kind of leaps of the page in the same way as Christian.

James, Rory, and Christian: Trio of Trouble?

2012-05-19T09:45:00.001-04:00

Two in one day, I must be insane. I "finished" this piece last night at 1:30am.

This one is James, Rory, and Christian all together, hanging out in the library (I went to all that trouble making that background, I may as well use it again). They look like quite the crew-James is even smiling. Now, the issue is Christian has his yo-yo. What is he up to, as its never anything normal when his toy is out. Good thing Rory is keeping one hand on it.

There was more experimenting with coloring styles here, and I may update once I look at it after sleep. I went a little crazy working on this and am up way later than usual. This is inked with a Copic brush pen and scanned in, by the way. I like the brush pens, but I am honestly not getting fine enough lines in some places. I dread using the nib pen because I am an ink smearer, but I know the level of detail I can get with it (provided I blue pencil light enough to not have thresholding issues).

Rory Perkins, the Substitute: Infinite Spiral

2012-05-18T13:59:00.002-04:00

I tried an experiment with Vector Line Art in Adobe Illustrator today. I like the clean result, but not how much time that took. I'll have to speed up my methods if I want to use it for comicking. (I will also have to, have to, HAVE TO study hands and FEET!)

The result is a refined costume/ character design for Aurora (better known as Rory) Elizabeth Perkins, an abdal, or substitute/walker/Nameless One, in Infinite Spiral (so much better than a bunch of others I have tried, though I bet I learn to despise those stripes). She is one of the main characters, and becomes inextricably tied to James (and therefore Christian). Also, she occasionally uses gravity.

So, my idea was I wanted to have a kind of in joke with Dawn/Aurora in her color scheme, but I also wanted her to clearly stick out as "odd" when she awakens in James and Christian's world. She's more or less from our world, so that alone helps. Orange shoes and jeans are hurting there either. The other point of that is to dress her up--she looks normal (to us), except for that white streak of hair and violet eyes. She is not defined as a Wicked Child, as she is purely human, but transformed.

Not pictured is her bag of never-ending-stuff. She carries a messenger bag around stuffed with all kinds of odd-ball kid things, which proves to be useful if a bit eccentric.

If I say any more there will be spoilers.

The Wicked Children: Infinite Spiral

2012-05-15T21:20:00.001-04:00

Here is are the other named children that live in the Asylum for Wicked Children with James and Christian. This is a fairly rough and early sketch, with rough and early colors so I can begin to turn them around in my head (particularly those like Kitty that were fused with another old character of mine).

Quentin and Haley are siblings. Quentin is a bit of a nasty piece of work and has the same kind personality disorder as the headmaster. Haley is actually quite gentle-an important note for the future in the storyline.

Raymond is kind of a side-character I pulled from a different attempt at this story, as is Simon. Simon, as you note, is the youngest, and is wearing hand me down clothes (if you think about it, the shirt must be Christian's and the pants were probably James-they are such nice guys). Kitty, like Allie, plays a more significant role early in the story. Sabrina is another young 'un, again with interesting developments later in the "Spiral".

Most of these characters will need a second pass. I'm used to drawing Sabrina older, so that needs some work. Costuming needs work, but I just wanted a rough visualization to start with, particularly since in the first segment of "Infinite Spiral" these characters don't get a ton of panel time (well, again, except Allie and Kitty).

Allie: Infinite Spiral Character Design

2012-05-14T08:26:00.000-04:00

I guess I got on a roll yesterday. Allison "Allie" Collins has a bit part in the intro to Infinite Spiral, but is actually a more significant character down the line. How you will have to discover by reading.

She is a resident of the Asylum for Wicked Children, and is probably the only character that can compete with Christian in shear ... mischievous joy? She loves apples, tends to carry too much at once while trying to eat apples she has stole from the cafeteria, and deviates from the norm by wearing trousers in a world where girls just don't do that sort of thing. She is also one of the oldest residents, and barring a sudden Illumination, will be given the label "human" and released from the Asylum into the world.

Although the sketch is rough, this is one of my better personality captures. The gestures really need to show the personalities as much as faces. I'm there with Christian and quite a bit Rory (darn her costuming challenges). James is too stiff, but I guess he is a stuff character in some ways. I need to worry less about these details looking perfect at this stage, and focus on the gesture of the characters. I think that is still hard with this group on account of my history with many of them.

Maxwell Ward: Infinite Spiral Character Design

2012-05-13T13:25:00.000-04:00

Still gearing up for the launch of Infinite Spiral, the comic I began scripting for Script Frenzy. This is Maxwell Ward, a Wisen and also an Abdal (like Rory). The Wisen have interesting abilities within the worlds of the comic, but I don't particularly feel like spoiling anything. Really, Maxwell is a placid, Taurean type character, and begins in this way as an antagonist to James, Christian, and Rory. Wisen tend to dress alike, an as there is something academic and almost holy about them, in their habits, I've tried to mingle a little Druid and a little academia in the mix to dress up my childhood interpretation of them. Usually, they wear the hoods up, which hides their face nice and Grim Reaper-like.

I am fighting a lot on how I wish to ink and color. I want cell-shading with a bit of gradient to the shadows and highlights, though I stumbled on my inclination toward that about halfway through this experiment.

Also, it seems my pens are much less fluid even on smooth Bristol than I would like, and a new annoyance is my printer's desire to not scan 600dpi black and white (Lion hiccup), which I think may be causing a bit of this issue. I also need to remember to work large and do the 50-66% shrink for clean up, but as this is a character design, I'm practicing.

"Final" James and Christian Illustration

2012-05-07T14:22:00.002-04:00

It is finally "complete"-the digital illustration of James and Christian from the Infinite Spiral comic world I'll be launching this summer. The painting was completed using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, using a ton of layers, painting, and layer effects to get the look of the final piece.

Really, there is more detailing that could be done, but it is time I moved on to a new project. I'm really very happy with how this turned out. If I swing back around to it, I plan to add the facing library level where the blue space is now.

Also, as Photoshop CS 5.1 turns reverts my settings, digital inking was done using select tools. I'll be sure to hand ink for now in the future, as the brush pen gets better results.

I also did another treatment of the pair today, which is a rough experiment just using layer effects:

This is an attempt to visual the "magic" they use. The story already has a strong association with Aurora Borealis type lights, from Gavin's view of spirits to Rory's perception of other realities.

So many books

2012-04-16T10:59:00.000-04:00

It has been awhile since I updated on the progress of my Christian and James illustration-in large part due to the fact that I just haven't had the time to dedicate to it.

I had spent some time the previous week working on details of the floor and banister, adding light, and adjusting the far background. Today, I focused on the books, as I knew this would be tedious, but one of those details that really starts to fill in the full environment. So far, I've created and modified a Vector Smart Object, using Illustrator, the perspective grid, and layers and layers of blends. I'm going to paint over the books to fill in the details, and blend it with what is going on with the image. However, adding the books with some gradient overlays and shadowing does a lot to bring the environment to life.

Christian and James: Background Detailing Begins and Lighting

2012-04-03T21:09:00.000-04:00

The work continues. I spent some time in illustrator and creating layers of light, shadow and texture on this bookshelf. As the background comes to life, I can circle back around to James and Christian and really get them in gear. I did change the blend mode on the shadows to meld them with the environment more. That was a good call.

I admit, this may be the most attention I've made myself give to environment (especially man made) recently. Things are coming along. Tomorrow I'll tackle the floor and railing. Then I need to get some books on those shelves!! Thank goodness for layers.

Christian and James Continued: Base Lighting and Background Flats

2012-04-02T10:29:00.002-04:00

So last night and this morning I continued to illustrate this out. I actually added some lighting values by creating a Linear Burn layer with a blue-grey applied to create the shadows, then a yellow white with Overlay to create highlights. After this, I actually needed to adjust James's skin tones, as he looked a bit lifeless.

This morning I began my Illustrator hop. I have a ton of reference pictures from old libraries, most from the Trinity Library, and wanted to get the perspective right. With help from reference and the perspective grid, I was able to block in the form of the shelves and background, then bring these back into Photoshop, apply gradients to block in basic lighting in preparation for going for the gusto--details. Right now I'm rather happy with the tonal values and color palette. We'll let it sit for another few hours and see what I decide to change before going in for more "character" on the environment. I'll likely have to adjust the composition as I move forward, but that is the luxury of using Vector Smart Objects as the background base. A little adjustment there will be my next step before detailing--unless I want half a dozen groups in my file.

Here we are:

Despite the lack of shadow under James and Christian, the two are very much coming to life. Obviously, still a lot of work and clean up to go, but this is really moving along like I pictured in my head.

Christian and James Flats

2012-04-01T09:10:00.000-04:00

I'm showing some process again on this one, which helps me and others learn. I've digitally flatted this piece using the lasso tool. Then, I went in with the eraser and cleaned up my penciling to make digital inking easier down the road. Next I'll be flatting in some environment (which will make this image much wider). The current flat is this semi-neutral purple to provide a base for a dark library aisle. I'm going to be hitting some lighting reference on this hard.

Actually, I'm really happy with some contrasts in design I made with these two. Even if you put James, Rory, and Christian together, James is going to stick out as ... different. Which is something I want (Gavin's the same way ... he gets it from his Papa.)

Christian and James Sketch

2012-03-31T22:14:00.004-04:00

It has been a little too long since I last posted a sketch, mostly because I've been working on Rory's costuming and would rather do a color test before posting more on that front. But, today I got it in my head for a great picture that really begins to showcase the almost sibling like friendship that they have, so I'll be taking this sketch to a full illustration.

I can't imagine the ruckus Christian would cause in a library, but of course he would climb on James to get a book down. I'm not sure whether James is concerned about the book or Christian or both, but Christian is having a great time retrieving the volume the hard way. I've pulled some nice library references to build the environment. I'm looking forward to bringing this one to life.

Character Sketches Since Spring Break

2012-03-19T14:50:00.001-04:00

So, I'm attempting to be very thorough with the character designs for Angelborn to learn more about the process and honestly get better at it (since I adore designing characters). Also, I really want designs I can stick with through the event line. This means, I'm spending serious time on costuming (and silhouetting), expressions, poses/body language, and colors schemes to really nail down who my characters are now that I'm nearly 30.

Rory, my adbal from Angelborn, will be making this face frequently ... at Christian or in response to him. As part of forcibly going through characters designs for this comic idea, I'm making myself practice these different aspects of character design. This particular piece focuses on expressions, but I'm planning to work through character poses, body language, and costumes for each as well (I should really do the first two with Gavin at this point). I've focused a lot on Rory as I've tried to discover her real character, and it is proving to be an interesting and arduous journey. I really see her being a little Dorothy meets Peter Pan inspired, but we'll see how that turns out really. My characters tend to take on minds of their own and quickly.

I'm spending some time on Rory sketches today, with a bonus Christian sketch and colored piece.

Rory's costume is the real fight. I had this very elegant, fantastic costume I'd invented over the summer before I'd named her and now it just doesn't fit. Now, I want her to stick out in the world of James and Christian, but not in the way I'd created at that time. I think the best way to do it is to ground her clothing more in this world. Of course, this is complicating things. I know I want some of her outfit to flow in the wind, and give her an airy feeling, but I don't want her to be too girly. This drawing contains some of my first thoughts. This one has a long vest (it could be morphed to a sweater coat) that can blow around. It also toys with the idea of a scarf.

The one below is a bit more tomboyish and lets a scarf or a belt be the airy "flag" that blows in the wind. I'm trying to stay away from a cape. That's how I drew this character when I was 13. Hey, I noted this one up a storm too (I tend to write all over early sketches as my thoughts are mixed between visual and verbal).

Now where is that bonus Christian Sketch, you are wondering. Look no further (he already has fans!?!). When Christian isn't being a frenetic goofball, he's just plain relaxed. This was a fun sketch of a good character pose for Christian Rafferty. Also, his worn out shoes on a table would probably annoy Rory to no end. This is one of those guys where you don't want to be around when the laughter disappears.

Finally, bonus, practice on digital coloring/cell shading again. This is that "Older Gavin and Amanda" sketch. I should get rid of that central highlighting on the front of Amanda.