Idealized: Story and Character Concepts (Patreon)

A look back at how the story and characters developed.

The plot for Idealized originally came about as I started teaching myself Daz3D. I wanted to bring a few comic ideas to life using Daz, but many those comic ideas take place on futuristic alien worlds or vast medieval landscapes. Basically in settings that might prove to be too complicated and detailed for a first attempt at a 3D comic (or a comic that would be hand-drawn, using Daz's models and environments as reference guides).

I wanted my first attempt at a 3D comic to be short and simple, I wanted it to take place in a single environment, one that would be quick to render, but still look good.

So I brainstormed a few story concepts that could take place in a single apartment and decided on a story where a group of four friends transform two of their number into beautiful women as dates for the other two guys.

That story wavered between an Urban Fantasy where everyone knows magic is real, and the roommates were a mix of Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Orc; a setting where nobody knows that magic is real; and a hybrid where everyone knows magic is real, but the four friends are all human.

But as I developed the plot, the middle option won out and grew into the story of Toby bringing a pair of magic potions over. Rob and Dave take the potions, Rob turns into a geeky Elf girl in a hoodie, and Dave turns into a science fiction action hero, and originally is the one in a costume. Chapters 1 & 2 are essentially the same as what I originally plotted out, but as I developed the story, things changed Chapter 3 and onward, and the story expanded from a short comic to a much longer story as events outside of the apartment on following days were added to the story.