Midsummer Mini-Comic Trials and Errors (Patreon)

Okay, so the Midsummer comic I've been working on...I didn't like how Hayden looks. It's why I've stalled on posting new updates or planning new pages. I kept revising and revising and finally just redrew his portrait which I like more. It feels more what I was going for this character (he's flamboyant, sassy, and full of himself but can definitely handle himself in a fight). At first, I loved the design but learned the valuable lesson of redrawing complicated hairstyles in comics OTL that and his seashell headpiece just didn't fit in? I thought it was interesting at first but grew to feel it was out of place, I didn't have seashells anywhere else in his design (another lesson I learned, keep designs consistent and simple!) He's also androgynous (as you might know, I draw my personal elves - or elves that I've been given the OK - as intersex, given their androgyny in a lot of fantasy novels, I feel it makes sense they are physically all on a spectrum and not inherently one biological sex and choose their own gender identity as they age.)

So, if any of you are interested in comic or character designs, here are some tips:

-Keep things simple! You'll be redrawing this character time after time in many panels, make it easy on yourself. Be opulent in singular illustrations if you wish.

- Sketch your character before you throw them into a comic or project! Geeze, someday I'll actually implement this lesson but 'I'll figure it out as I go' just doesn't work, lol. I should have drawn Hayden before even planning this comic!

-Even though this comic is in black and white, keep your color palette for your characters simple. This is just something I learned by watching other artists on YT.  

Okay, so that's the situation for the comic right now. I'll be going back and redrawing Hayden in the previous pages, as frustrating as it is but I just wouldn't feel right putting out a piece that didn't have a consistent character.

Also, I learned how to use the perspective tool in CSP! So that's another thing I'm pretty happy about. (My perspective game is super weak and I'm not ashamed to say it).

Another note, to help with more androgynous characters, I'll likely be drawing some ladies to help my muscle memory when it comes to different body types.

ANOTHER 'NOTHER NOTE: Happy St. Patrick's Day to any that celebrate it. Be safe and avoid the bars if they're open in your area. There's a great cheesy horror movie called Grabbers, it's Irish made and the plot is hilarious, I recommend watching that if you're into horror comedies.  "Residents of an island off the coast of Ireland learn that the only way to survive an invasion of blood-sucking aliens is to stay drunk."