tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70566533330203275002024-03-20T21:21:12.204-07:00A Study in InkA Blog about WebcomicsBill Kloppenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697534288334012068noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056653333020327500.post-33384354943939611112011-12-07T11:18:00.001-08:002011-12-07T12:44:00.643-08:00Character Design<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
thought a long time about what the first post on this blog would be. I resisted my initial urge to talk about my
obsession with curse word replacements (ex. <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SymbolSwearing" target="_blank">#%$&@@!</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">) and their
evolution and significance in webcomic development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">You’re
welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Instead
I started where most of us start, character design. If you’ve ever looked into this with even the
<i>slightest</i> bit of interest you'll have
probably come across a character or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_sheet" target="_blank">model sheet</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> of some kind or
another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0oGJAkFEV7TMLrgE5_Otlfz2hd1FAeL6twIuVO2UDh9TpPK7cK95bGi_zpjt5t9IuD5H0-6WK9bmP2akN882hiqhWfDkY5f6pVZ1zqCJ5sEhJXsg1s7VsphbTenE7dR01lAzy07cMrmg/s1600/Barbarian_character_sheet3%2528john+Dowson%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0oGJAkFEV7TMLrgE5_Otlfz2hd1FAeL6twIuVO2UDh9TpPK7cK95bGi_zpjt5t9IuD5H0-6WK9bmP2akN882hiqhWfDkY5f6pVZ1zqCJ5sEhJXsg1s7VsphbTenE7dR01lAzy07cMrmg/s640/Barbarian_character_sheet3%2528john+Dowson%2529.jpg" width="451" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Barbarian Character Sheet - <a href="http://john-dowson-gallery.blogspot.com/2010/03/character-design-with-craig-kellman.html" target="_blank">Paolo Giandoso</a></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Whenever
I see one of these I immediately think, “I want one of those.” As if they are products one acquires from a
grocery store like laundry detergent or gum.
There are, in fact, <a href="http://www.jamiesale-cartoonist.com/Cartoon-Character-Designer.html" target="_blank">places</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> that you can
purchase them, but you’ll also need to figure out the exchange rate for souls
when you sell yours to the devil. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
rest of us will likely be creating these pages ourselves (or, at least, the
content that these pages contain). When
I first started <a href="http://dreamstruck.thecomicstrip.org/comics/" target="_blank">Dreamstruck</a></span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had an
experience with character design that I don’t think is that uncommon amongst
beginning webcomic authors. In short, I
didn’t plan anything; I just went for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH0_nKh8z3DMMWlFwGxFHR7ni93Mj-XT9RJm_A9H2JKJehZh4LMcjSEJVv1SfZvCN9eTId7LBYHvLrqDeW8AdwmvJnKvWzlcw31lrx9gChUuPi6gBqEbd4qoRh0QfuPDz4y_Oxl_ArUZk/s1600/Concept+Art1+for+DS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH0_nKh8z3DMMWlFwGxFHR7ni93Mj-XT9RJm_A9H2JKJehZh4LMcjSEJVv1SfZvCN9eTId7LBYHvLrqDeW8AdwmvJnKvWzlcw31lrx9gChUuPi6gBqEbd4qoRh0QfuPDz4y_Oxl_ArUZk/s320/Concept+Art1+for+DS.png" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">This should look familiar… I posted it last time too.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">In
a lot of ways impulsivity can be a healthy creative process, but it should by
no means be the only method employed.
That’s where I went wrong. I got
really excited about making a webcomic and threw caution (and any preparation,
forethought, or planning) to the wind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Don’t
let this be your legacy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
several months of experience in working with my webcomic the flaws of my
character design surfaced like pimples on prom night; horrifying little
monsters that I couldn’t ignore. I
eventually undertook a redesign which only recently (nearly a year after I
began the webcomic) took effect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">So,
in an effort to help you bypass my unfortunate misstep, let’s look at some
basic principles involved in character design and some resources that you can
check out as you work through the process (Sidenote: The ideas expressed here
are a combination of various artistic ideologies from a wide range sources filtered
through my personal experiences in this field.
The contributing resources have been cited when and where they have been
employed. In brief, all the smart stuff
should be linked back to the website where I found it.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">What is your
Webcomic about?</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are
you answering life’s big questions? Are
you interested in portraying a very specific lifestyle or culture? Are you telling a story with a specific moral
or ethical truth that is important to you?
Are you just trying to be funny?
All of these can be valid explanations for what your comic is about and
all of them will leave an imprint on how your characters are portrayed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">For
example, if you’re writing a dramatic webcomic about a frog that is on an epic
quest to rescue a captive princess you might angle towards a more serious look
(i.e. harder lines, more realistic anatomy, darker colors, etc.). However, if this story is colored through a
humorous lens (Maybe the frog is trying to rescue her to get a kiss to turn
into a prince or maybe she owes him five bucks) your character modeling might
be a bit more whimsical (i.e. softer and curvier lines, some anatomical
license, lighter and brighter colors, etc.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxulu1Dc9NvqvsgBExghT1qIogqCHasXHy0XiDapR5F5Rzi-1kR6VlhPY9xZ0QdjU93rt3ltbshyi-pKWFc8Hl0r4aBoNLMETncPhgMwl6es8YRyLIKZlA09yFYCkDvpoTl1QZ9LV_Ok/s1600/Love-Frog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxulu1Dc9NvqvsgBExghT1qIogqCHasXHy0XiDapR5F5Rzi-1kR6VlhPY9xZ0QdjU93rt3ltbshyi-pKWFc8Hl0r4aBoNLMETncPhgMwl6es8YRyLIKZlA09yFYCkDvpoTl1QZ9LV_Ok/s320/Love-Frog.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hasty Sketch - <a href="http://dreamstruck.thecomicstrip.org/comics/" target="_blank">Bill</a> <a href="http://studyinink.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kloppenburg</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whatever
you come up with, the answer to WHAT your webcomic is about is paramount. It will inform EVERY choice that you make in
the construction and distribution of your work.
If you haven’t asked yourself this question or if you've yet to
formulate an answer, sit down with a cup of coffee/tea/grog and figure it
out. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s important.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">What type of
Webcomic are you writing?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are
you writing a <a href="http://www.americanelf.com/" target="_blank">journal webcomic</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">? Are you writing a <a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/" target="_blank">gag-a-day webcomic</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">? Are you writing a <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/" target="_blank">webcomic aimed at aspecific niche or culture</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">? Are you writing a <a href="http://battlepug.com/" target="_blank">faux-drama webcomic</a> that
includes references to giant toy-dogs and baby seals</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
type of webcomic you’re writing may not influence how your characters LOOK as much
as how you choose to DESIGN them. If
you’re writing a journal webcomic then you’re going to be drawing your main
character (i.e. yourself) a LOT. You
don’t want the design to be overly ornate and cumbersome. In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Moore" target="_blank">Alan Moore</a>’s comic series <u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_10_(comic)" target="_blank">Top 10</a></u></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> illustrator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Ha" target="_blank">Gene Ha</a> talks about an early character design for his character Irma “Irmageddon” Wornow. He says that her outfit (which was a full-body battlesuit) was so
complex that by the end of the first issue he dreaded any page where she
appeared. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>"There are two things I really hate drawing in this series: King Peacock's pants and Irma Geddon. But I really have no one to blame because I designed them. If I get to continue...King Peacock gets new pants and Irma Geddon's weaponry will be retractable."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
type of webcomic you have created WILL impact your character design. Learn from the mistakes of others! Read the omens in the sky! Create your characters so that your
webcomicing experience remains fun instead of turning into a job where you
detail every single hair on your fur-ball of a main character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Design Criteria</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">So,
you’ve decided to write your epic frog-explorer webcomic that you always dreamed
of. Where do you start? For this section I’ve drawn my criteria of
effective character design from <u><a href="http://dresdencodak.com/" target="_blank">Dresden Codak</a></u>’s author
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_codak" target="_blank">Aaron Diaz</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (Also, his top
ten list of favorite character designs linked <a href="http://dresdencodak.tumblr.com/post/844079811/the-obligatory-top-10-favorite-character-designs" target="_blank">here</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is an
interesting and informative sampling of what has worked across the wide
landscape of comics).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Silhouette</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – This is
exactly what it sounds like. Does the
design of your character cast a unique <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silhouette" target="_blank">silhouette</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">? Several visual specialists from a variety of
fields advocate drawing your character and then filling the figure in with
black to get a clear shot of the silhouette.
If the silhouette doesn’t read as unique (i.e. it looks like it could be
anybody or, what’s worse, misread as another cartoonists work) then it may be
time to go back to the drawing board.
That being said, there are a few <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit" target="_blank">notable</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_Jerusalem" target="_blank">exceptions</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">, but they
excel in every other category on this list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Value</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – Value, in
this context, refers to the percentage of light versus dark. This is not necessarily color (the topic
below), but more of a grayscale effect. It
was initially very difficult for me to understand this concept until I started
looking at professional black and white photography.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxWNFoogjqjJWxZd20JoyzmKSpP9jSuFF4fiQXNLrQzFCrmVfR__m9kjYqiOCUPjj48ngxsS8gzbpRxPLAg25B5ZAofxmq6yCvK8aKncoBtbAPSQ8aPbSyqskVMkMYTrZx_ThyAAMwUo/s1600/alfred-eisenstaedt-one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxWNFoogjqjJWxZd20JoyzmKSpP9jSuFF4fiQXNLrQzFCrmVfR__m9kjYqiOCUPjj48ngxsS8gzbpRxPLAg25B5ZAofxmq6yCvK8aKncoBtbAPSQ8aPbSyqskVMkMYTrZx_ThyAAMwUo/s400/alfred-eisenstaedt-one.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><u style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Children at Puppet Theatre, Paris</u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Eisenstaedt" target="_blank">Alfred Eisenstaedt</a></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
photograph</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is an
excellent example of proportional and striking value. The richness of the coats on the two children
in the center serves to balance out the lighter tones surrounding them. Also, the roof-like structure in the back is
an even balance of light and dark whereas, if it were just open sky, the
brightness might distract from the rest of the picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">But
I’m making <i>characters</i>, not taking photographs!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of
course you are, but the principles are the same. If your character is a wash of dark values
with little or no light values then they might not pop from the background. If your character is a combination of lighter
values with no dark then you run the risk of little visual interest. <u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes" target="_blank">Calvin and Hobbes</a></u></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> are an
excellent example of proportional and striking value (they are also awesome).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb71AzNyDvWYBO4IVIGTQ3nmLhBRieAKDnorRs39o0tGIx3hmrUy-5hq5r4Lcx3OjL8vSJWmd1OvOaX73_Qkl2m7F1tw-Lqbiik1YH5UfChVV2d7YkwgUrKiawlRP7HeKRHQWQ5smy8E/s1600/calvin+and+hobbes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb71AzNyDvWYBO4IVIGTQ3nmLhBRieAKDnorRs39o0tGIx3hmrUy-5hq5r4Lcx3OjL8vSJWmd1OvOaX73_Qkl2m7F1tw-Lqbiik1YH5UfChVV2d7YkwgUrKiawlRP7HeKRHQWQ5smy8E/s320/calvin+and+hobbes.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><u style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Calvin and Hobbes</u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Watterson" target="_blank">Bill Watterson</a></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">If
your webcomic is colored, the best way to check your values level is to open the
finished webcomic in your coloring platform of choice (mine is Photoshop) and
<a href="http://www.digital-photography-school.com/digital-black-and-white" target="_blank">change</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> all the colors to grayscale. All the colors will be translated into their
inherent value sets and you’ll be able to more clearly see what, if anything,
you need to change.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Color</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – This is an
area where personal preference and style can have a heavy influence on the final
product. However, if you’re like me and
you don’t know anything about color, don’t worry. There are resources for us to use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_zUUK6PYcI4MuFobv7rBDnB0ONi4YCstVslQ5l0GU7rbYCm_zLhPe9OwJjQ4clRvKeijn7_5cjGLl65eCQuy-qZ19lyaF6nO_57D05_V18oLOLU1JmRyw8ph_DP7Krs0gISHrgWKBk8/s1600/colour-wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_zUUK6PYcI4MuFobv7rBDnB0ONi4YCstVslQ5l0GU7rbYCm_zLhPe9OwJjQ4clRvKeijn7_5cjGLl65eCQuy-qZ19lyaF6nO_57D05_V18oLOLU1JmRyw8ph_DP7Krs0gISHrgWKBk8/s1600/colour-wheel.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a new version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twister_(game)" target="_blank">Twister</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">This
is a color wheel. If you plan on using
color, learn to love it. The general
idea here is that complimentary colors (i.e. colors on OPPOSITE sides from one
another) will work better together by emphasizing each other. Red stands out against green very well and
vice-versa (probably why we use them for stop lights [but don’t forget
yellow!]). Colors too close to one
another on the color wheel can become muddy or visually uninteresting (similar
problems to our value concerns up above).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">These
people are all good examples of excellent color theory at work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQla9l3mppHvpYcewZFGgMgGdlG6pC1qKLRou3z7YlwCMiMJBG22dQ1J8u5BiQ2PhZRUWLHTddhxpb9bSgyEf43J8w8XWA4E5KQOYmmIzeb83EiLG0phM79vy9UEYKHbk2ahba9v9Pld8/s1600/superfriends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQla9l3mppHvpYcewZFGgMgGdlG6pC1qKLRou3z7YlwCMiMJBG22dQ1J8u5BiQ2PhZRUWLHTddhxpb9bSgyEf43J8w8XWA4E5KQOYmmIzeb83EiLG0phM79vy9UEYKHbk2ahba9v9Pld8/s320/superfriends.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">If not for that orange background they would almost all be slapping you in the face with their color</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
particular subject could actually stand as a blog post on its own (and maybe
someday it will!), but as we have other topics to cover I will direct you to
where I learned almost everything about color and value theory. Brian McLachlan (no relation to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_mclachlan" target="_blank">Sarah</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">) who is the
creator of <a href="http://www.theprincessplanet.com/" target="_blank">The Princess Planet</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> has written an
extensive and super helpful tutorial on color theory <a href="http://www.brianmcl.com/?p=213" target="_blank">here</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Don’t say I never did anything for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Versatility</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – I read ‘versatility’
as a fancy way of saying ‘character construction.’
This was perhaps my biggest stumbling block on the bumpy road of
character design. When I began my webcomic
I just sort of threw my characters down on the page with little regard as to
their construction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMytN9EqvdDx4E77UF1CdPfJPLQ9b8l90EYbkXj2p2xwEKoY6GWDhxn7aYbl_R-eC6VknjTmcryQu4CuAGXUWUmWoOmyMciGJSra_ShaKJpqGzj8FGIWAXxyqtknwEZg1-T7YKBvDrHA/s1600/Concept+Art2+for+DS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMytN9EqvdDx4E77UF1CdPfJPLQ9b8l90EYbkXj2p2xwEKoY6GWDhxn7aYbl_R-eC6VknjTmcryQu4CuAGXUWUmWoOmyMciGJSra_ShaKJpqGzj8FGIWAXxyqtknwEZg1-T7YKBvDrHA/s400/Concept+Art2+for+DS.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">What a sad little bunch of monsters.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">The
problem with that came later when I wanted Herman to dance and run and express
things with his hands. I’d never
imagined that he (or I) would want to do any of those things and I hadn’t
prepared the design of his character to handle any of them. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWw7XN5_csfX5Irls8Aq1XKDdHMJCsW1qNGSBIBdqNMA5YYkT_ZpHE_iNbLerzEhFSHy74LdJiZDr5rWyN8SjdwIv06pKybER0MmDW3laxBN4PitVQH77Sixx2mUINvcz9Rmjmp-vgeA/s1600/ex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWw7XN5_csfX5Irls8Aq1XKDdHMJCsW1qNGSBIBdqNMA5YYkT_ZpHE_iNbLerzEhFSHy74LdJiZDr5rWyN8SjdwIv06pKybER0MmDW3laxBN4PitVQH77Sixx2mUINvcz9Rmjmp-vgeA/s1600/ex.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what it felt and looked like.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">At
that point I was basically super-imposing a complex character anatomy over my
original images which is like writing a forty-page paper and then looking for sources
to back up what you said. Two life
lessons here: Always find sources BEFORE
you write and always design characters BEFORE you make them the focus of your
webcomic. You’ll be happier in the long
run.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">For
an excellent explanation of character construction have a look at this</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <a href="http://www.awn.com/tooninstitute/lessonplan/charconst.htm" target="_blank">section</a> from <a href="http://tooninstitute.awn.com/" target="_blank">Larry Lauria’s Toon Institute</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. There’s a lot of great stuff here, so feel
free to get lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Iconic</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – How the hell
do you do this? It’s a question that’s
been <a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101213024148AAtCwgq" target="_blank">asked</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and <a href="http://forums.white-wolf.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=50009" target="_blank">asked</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and <a href="http://www.quora.com/Iconic-Images/What-makes-an-image-iconic" target="_blank">asked</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. I think the last link might be a place to
start, no matter how vague it may seem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>“Does it
completely CAPTURE an event or
artistic style?” </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Maybe then it’s
iconic? I don't know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBmUAjoyZf5phkG8kA0ZqDrSMNKQPbY0HKnGejjWw5Bu7zfYzS-LdMh8IG_dg_73FzjWsZgpb3xAcDbBZNhHt0RmthbzqPMPArJCpnDSXuO-bj5yCHe7N2msXY2GLfYEDf0VNMKuABISw/s1600/captain+america.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBmUAjoyZf5phkG8kA0ZqDrSMNKQPbY0HKnGejjWw5Bu7zfYzS-LdMh8IG_dg_73FzjWsZgpb3xAcDbBZNhHt0RmthbzqPMPArJCpnDSXuO-bj5yCHe7N2msXY2GLfYEDf0VNMKuABISw/s320/captain+america.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is iconic...right?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">I’d
say this ISN'T something you can necessarily expect out of yourself right from
the get-go. It’s something we should all
strive for, but don’t let it cloud up your artistic pursuit. Go for what is most effective for your
story/form, not what you think would look great on a movie poster.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Other Design
Considerations</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
addition to the previous criteria for design there are other elements that can shape
your webcomic characters. These didn’t
really fit in any of the previous sections, so I’m cramming them in here before
it’s too late.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anything <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Eisner" target="_blank">Will Eisner</a></span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> ever said is true</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – You can pretty
much inscribe this into a stone and install it on your front lawn (put it in-between
the ceramic gnome and that creepy, orange-purplely, glass ball on a pedestal). On this particular topic Mr. Eisner (in his
book <u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_Storytelling_and_Visual_Narrative" target="_blank">Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative</a></u>) makes two very good
points. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">1: Let stereotypes work for you. Stereotypes, in general, probably aren’t the
most politically correct devices to access in your daily life. However, given our (i.e. human) instinct to
group people into certain roles and classes based on appearance, stereotype can
assist the quick proliferation of ideas without a lengthy explanation. I’ll let him tell it; he says it better anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">“In film, there
is plenty of time to develop a character within an occupation. In comics, there is little time or
space. The image or caricature must
settle the matter instantly.”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">If
your character is a plumber you can spend two pages showing us (the audience)
where he goes to work, his customer base, and a day in his life OR you can put
him in a pair of overalls and slap a plunger in his hand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUM3rA6rkQUcHeNR6NY-UXjlBUPsiZQD45UmAqrnIsLef0ISC_VLXJDFgliI-teYyRkWwXzTQr-Rgn9LCCfRw4VNyT7vQmJWb_j14MLGBkiEJ7waEzhjeNZwaGQkJ37DqPFSBWsVA1MA/s1600/mario.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUM3rA6rkQUcHeNR6NY-UXjlBUPsiZQD45UmAqrnIsLef0ISC_VLXJDFgliI-teYyRkWwXzTQr-Rgn9LCCfRw4VNyT7vQmJWb_j14MLGBkiEJ7waEzhjeNZwaGQkJ37DqPFSBWsVA1MA/s320/mario.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">He doesn’t even need a plunger…you can just tell what he does.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">It’s
up to you. There’s no shame in using a
visual language in which we’re all (from society to society) conversant. There is only shame in using a stereotype to
perpetuate a negative or hurtful message.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Access primal visual instincts. This one’s pretty simple. If you’re having trouble finding a way to
visually represent a character consider using features from an animal that is
traditionally associated with that character’s personality. For example, you have a wise old man. Maybe he takes on some characteristics of an
owl. You have a smooth-talking car salesman. Perhaps he is reminiscent of a fox. I would include Mr. Eisner’s illustrations
here, but they are not to be found on the interent (at least by me). I conclude that the internet (as a
collective) has too much respect for his work and (like me) would encourage you
to consider <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Comics-Sequential-Art-Principles-Instructional/dp/0393331261/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323281138&sr=1-1" target="_blank">buying</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Expressive-Anatomy-Comics-Narrative-Instructional/dp/0393331288/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323281138&sr=1-6" target="_blank">his</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Storytelling-Visual-Narrative-Instructional/dp/039333127X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323281016&sr=8-1" target="_blank">oeuvre</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">My Own Thoughts</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – I’m generally
apprehensive to include these, but I’m going to anyway because that’s what this
blog is all about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">1:
Keep it simple. This maxim will spread
throughout many of my blog posts and it is no less important here than
elsewhere. Start from a place of honesty
and truth within yourself and build from there.
Whittle your character down to its basic fundamentals and use those
ideas to begin the visual representation.
In some cases you’ll start simple and end with a complex product, but
you’ll at least have a nuanced knowledge of the FOUNDATION of that character
and that’s important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTOoo8-HpPV0JgA1lUfxlVFR2Aj7Uc0mduBfp60wkkKq0ajjqR8DS9i8Igi8HKHwPmJO5hCTFSKpPkqVbJCyN6gxeOzhwv-KqFqQJuXiTq8magx2aaTIqT7GWWPeIFEpUeInY-O6ZGcQ/s1600/hellboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTOoo8-HpPV0JgA1lUfxlVFR2Aj7Uc0mduBfp60wkkKq0ajjqR8DS9i8Igi8HKHwPmJO5hCTFSKpPkqVbJCyN6gxeOzhwv-KqFqQJuXiTq8magx2aaTIqT7GWWPeIFEpUeInY-O6ZGcQ/s400/hellboy.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Hellboy – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mignola" target="_blank">Mike Mignola</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellboy" target="_blank">Hellboy</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">, while not
being one of my all-time favorite comics, is an excellent example of
simplicity. There is an efficiency of
line and function paired with a complexity in content that has drawn people
into its world in droves. Others on this
list include <u><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_940380089"></span>Charlie Brown<span id="goog_940380090"></span></a></u></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_M._Schulz" target="_blank">Charles Schulz</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and <u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_(comics)" target="_blank">Bone</a></u></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Smith_(cartoonist)" target="_blank">Jeff Smith</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">2:
Try everything. I didn’t discuss model
sheets much past the first part of this blog entry, but there is a lot to be
said. The reason you make a model sheet
is to have a visual reference for pretty much everything that you’d ever want
your character to be able to do. This is
everything from standing still to doing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarena_(song)" target="_blank">Macarena</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. The bush I’m beating around here is try
EVERYTHING. Draw your character from
every conceivable perspective. Work out all the
anatomical thing-a-ma-bobs. Make them
run, jump, collapse. Do it all. If it all works then you’ve got yourself a
living, breathing cartoon. Then just
write a story and get famous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">3:
Do what you want. If you’re following
all the rules, but you don’t like what you’re doing then what’s the point? Take this advice like you take everything, in
moderation. Have fun. Don’t get bogged down in rules. Do what is effective for YOU and you’ll
likely be successful and, if you’re one of the lucky few, even innovative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Resources and
Help</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
all need help. I know I sure did. Here’s what I’ve found on the internet that’s
worked for me. Maybe it will help you
too. If it does, please share it and
give credit to these great people who have provided (FOR FREE) all this amazing
information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.cloudscapecomics.com/" target="_blank">Cloudscape</a></span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – A British-Columbian
comics collective that discusses all manner of comic theory while providing a
venue for their own work. This
<a href="http://www.cloudscapecomics.com/2011/07/20/an-introduction-to-graphic-novels-character-design/" target="_blank">particular entry</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> by Anise is a
superior, in-depth look at some of the challenges that character design poses
and some possible solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://comicrazys.com/" target="_blank">Comicrazys</a></span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – An interesting
comic website (temporarily on hiatus…eek!) that provides pdfs of older comics to
peruse at your leisure. This site also
offers pdfs of <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Famous-Artists-Cartoon-Course-Set/dp/B000BWQ6SM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323284248&sr=8-1" target="_blank">The Famous Artists Cartoon Course</a></u></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> which (while
dated and a bit sexist) is very useful.
This section entitled ‘<a href="http://comicrazys.com/2009/04/01/famous-artists-cartoon-course-lesson-10-special-types/" target="_blank">Special Types</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">’ is probably
the closest to character design that you’ll get for this publication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://tooninstitute.awn.com/" target="_blank">Larry’s Toon Institute</a></span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – I referenced this above, but
there’s a lot of stuff here, so make sure you check out all of it (or at least
<a href="http://www.awn.com/tooninstitute/lessonplan/model.htm" target="_blank">this</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> on model
sheets).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The 25
Expressions Challenge</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – This is an activity that I was not made aware of
until very recently, but it appears the frenzied hordes at <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">deviantart</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (being the
talent laden folks that they are) have set up a bit of an obstacle course for
aspiring webcomic characters. The basic
idea is to take this <a href="http://napalmnacey.deviantart.com/art/25-Essential-Expressions-55523083" target="_blank">sheet</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and have your
character make each of the expressions.
Just like eating your vegetables.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s all I got</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay,
so what do you think? This blog is
called a <i>study</i> in ink and not a <i>thesis</i> in ink because I know
I don’t have all the answers. I’m sure
there are things I didn’t talk about and sources I didn’t cite (mostly because
I don’t know about them).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">That’s
where you come in. This blog can be
satisfactory with my manic rambling, but it can be sensational with your unique
input. If you have questions, then ask
them. If you have answers, then post
them below. If you like what you see,
but don’t quite agree with something then say so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">At
the end of the day we’re a community and, like I once read on <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">, it takes a
whole village to make a webcomic. Let’s
do it together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Until
next time, spend your time doing something inspirational.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Bill Kloppenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697534288334012068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056653333020327500.post-50431091119186169972011-11-30T11:18:00.000-08:002011-11-30T11:18:54.158-08:00Preface Manifesto (i.e. the reason I'm doing this)<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In a world of webcomics there is a famine of analysis. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe I’ve started too broad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On today’s interwebs there is no help for newborn webcomics. I don’t mean to say that it is hard to publish (ex. <a href="http://comicfury.com/" target="_blank">A-One</a>, <a href="http://www.drunkduck.com/" target="_blank">A-Two</a>, and <a href="http://www.comicgenesis.com/" target="_blank">A-Three</a>). The difficult part is figuring out how to do everything else. Perhaps I should start at the beginning or, rather, at my beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On January 27<sup>th</sup>, 2011 I started my own webcomic almost by accident. I had been working as a writer for a college cartoon (Squirrel and Crow - Don’t look for it on the world wide web; you won’t find anything but dead links and dust piles). I was satisfied with my written product, but I was getting personally frustrated in not being able to influence the final, physical product (i.e. the actual cartoon). </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/example-sandc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/example-sandc.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">'Squirrel and Crow' drawn by Blake Kendall</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’d convinced myself that I was unable to draw. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">You’ve met those people; you might even be one. You tell them that you’re a cartoonist or that you have ever drawn anything and they’re like, “Woah, brah, that’s wicked crazy. I can't draw to save my life, mon.” (Apparently my internal luddite is a Jamaican living in Boston.) The truth is you <i>can</i> draw. You might not draw particularly well, but not many people do at first. Much like anything else in the world, it just takes practice. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At that point in my life I was still part of the 'unable-to-draw' crowd. However, as a deep-thinker, I had taken it a step further. I actually reasoned my artistic handicap down to an inability to think three-dimensionally. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s bananas. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here, let’s do an experiment. Close your eyes. Does everything look like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros." target="_blank">old-school Mario</a>? No, you say? Then guess what? You’re thinking three-dimensionally.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In any case, I found myself fiddling around on my computer one afternoon and, on a lark, I opened up MSPaint. Now, I don’t know how long it’s been since you’ve checked out MSPaint, but if it's been a while you should go have another look. The last time I’d spent any real time in there was during my <a href="http://theloraxintechnicolor.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lorax years</a> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/lorax5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/lorax5.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Not entirely sure if I can explain this whole thing succinctly.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Needless to say, new MSPaint surprised me (specifically MSPaint on Windows 7 of the 2009 varietal) It has a new kind of line correction that makes all your lines sort of even out (kind of like in Illustrator if you leave your smoothness super high). I finally saw a tiny bit of symmetry in something I’d drawn.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/concept_art1_for_ds.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/concept_art1_for_ds.png" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">First character sketch. So beautiful...like a kitten sneezing.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before I knew what was happening, I’d come up with a premise for a webcomic and three fresh comics.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The rest is a long story that isn’t important right now. In short, I eventually put down the mouse, picked up a pencil, and almost immediately started looking for resources to make myself better.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/avatar-for-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://dreamstruck.thecomicseries.com/files/avatar-for-facebook.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Things got better.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is where this entry comes full circle. There wasn’t a lot of coordinated help for me as an up and coming webcomicer. I got bits and pieces from around the internet and the forum at my <a href="http://comicfury.com/forum/index.php" target="_blank">host site</a> was fantastic, but it just wasn’t enough. I delved into <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Deviantart</a> looking for "tuts" (that means tutorials for all of you living lives that are too busy for complete words or sentences) and I learned the true meaning of hit and miss. I have maxed out Google searches for “how to draw a cartoon eye” and “cartoon textures”; now I just get a white page in my browser reading, “Stop it. I’m tired.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Come on, Internet! It’s the 21<sup>st</sup> century! There should have been a website devoted to making me better at least a decade ago. I’ve yet to find this site, so, as a last resort, I’m doing it myself…and you’re reading it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“A Study in Ink” is a title lifted almost verbatim from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Arthur_Conan_Doyle" target="_blank">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Study_In_Scarlet" target="_blank">story</a> about an uptight detective with a cocaine addiction (Brief Sidenote: How have we, as a community of sarcastic thinkers never fixated on Mr. Doyle’s middle name? Conan? Seriously? How has that been allowed to fly without some semblance of a joke. When I search "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the Barbarian" I should be SLAMMED by images. Shame on you, Internet.) I chose this title because, much like the coke-addled detective, I intend to explore every avenue of webcomicery; leaving no stone un-turned in a quest to bring you all the know-how you need to succeed on the internets. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Each week “A Study in Ink” will focus on a particular aspect of webcomics in an effort to more fully flesh out our collective understanding of the genre and how it works. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “But what if he doesn’t talk about the issues that <i>I’m</i> having trouble with? What if I’m stuck in a creative swamp forever with no hope of rescue? What if I die alone and lost in a <a href="http://www.irs.gov/" target="_blank">desert devoid of smiles or laughter</a>?” Don’t worry. In addition to the subjects of my choosing I will also be taking any suggestions that you may have for subject posts. I just ask that these questions be limited to the arena of webcomics. I cannot and will not fix your humidifier for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This blog will update every Wednesday for the foreseeable future, so I expect to see you all then. Until then, good luck with your cartooning endeavors! <o:p></o:p></span></div>Bill Kloppenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697534288334012068noreply@blogger.com0