Character Design - Feedback Welcome
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Thank you all, very useful comments! Now I´ll sit down with all and look at all your reasons and take a decision...like in one hour
@Art-of-B is not a competition, it´s a complicated story. There was an an open call for manuscript submissions at Charlesbridge Publishing on a specific topic, ending September 1st. I decided to write something just for exercise (the brief was intriguing) but I liked it enough to show it to my agent.
That sort of turned my week on the head, because she decided we should submit it (which is a rare thing with her!). Five versions and a complete re-write later (which changed basically everything in the story apart from the theme) and a deep-dive immersion in how you build a pole barn (which is very interesting!), she suggested that a) the main character should be a girl and b) we should submit art with it.
So, it´s a shot for publication wrapped up in a little more than a week. It´s sort of fun, actually.
In my limited experience of working professionally, it´s the third or fourth time a pitch opportunity comes with super-short deadline. ADs are very specific in what they want to see, sometimes, but they may give you a week to whip up something. -
I love the design of 6, mainly because of how you simplified a lot of the features I think readers would identify better with the character because of it.
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1 and 5 are my favs.
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I like 1 and 5 the most. They look fit to your personality description
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I like 3 and 4, but all of them are interesting designs. I'm excited to see the final result!
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@smceccarelli 3 and 5 capture all those things for me, for sure.
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@smceccarelli If it's not too late, I like 1, 3, and 5. To me, 1 and 5 are similar, and I think part of what appeals in 5 is that the darker value of her hair makes a bold statement. But I like the determined expression of 1 and something about that hair in 3 reminds me of Peppermint Patti in Peanuts, but not too much. Also, in each of these three, the eyes are expressive without being doll-like. And in two of them she has a slightly turned up mouth, which looks thoughtful.
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@lauraa Thank you - it's not too late! It seems 5 is a clear favourite, though the final will probably be a mashup of different elements. I will post the next evolution, for sure!
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For me, #5 by far
@laurel-aylesworth said in Character Design - Feedback Welcome:
@smceccarelli 3 and 5 capture all those things for me, for sure.
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I love 3, but they are all fabulous!
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@smceccarelli I'll be honest, I'm not sure 100% as to why, but #3 feels like a well rounded character in terms of personality. They're all great, but that #3 has something about it, the "it" factor. Fan of your work!
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#3 stands out for me as well..there's something there that relays confidence and strength. I can't wait to watch this progress!
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2 or 5 but now that I think about it I might be swayed by both poses having her casually resting two-by-fours on one shoulder supported by one arm while the other rests by her side. What I mean is that I might be more influenced by the pose than the character design.
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#1 and #5 are my favorites. They show the most emotion to me.
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Number 1 - she just looks so smart and determined! But they all have wonderful charm.
If the clientele is so young, is it best to go with a more simplistic version like number 6? -
number 3
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Clearly from the diversity of opinions, you are going to have to write 6 books or give your character five friends! I love them all.
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I like #5 the best. Love the hair!
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Thank you all so much for the great feedback and comments! That made the next step so much easier. So I went for 5 but bringing in elements of 3 and 6. Here is a color (final) version, a couple of sketches and one sample spread I'm probably going to bring to finish....if I manage in the time left.
Obviously I don't have a lot of time to incorporate any feedback, but if you see glaring opportunities for improvement, let me know!
Ah, the stick she's holding is sort of the core of the story
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Love it! Thanks for sharing it here.
