Thread "How have your main characters evolved?" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 1:06AM, Jun. 6, 2016

I was inspired by a Facebook post by Usedbooks to think about this one.

Designs and art can often change a lot over time on main characters and often you don't even notice it.
I would love to see how people's characters have change over time!

Bellow are pics of Pinky and Cc…

Earliest Ccs from 1997.

1998

Cc from 2007:

2016:

Posted at 1:06AM, Jun. 6, 2016

Pinky from 1998:

Pinky AND Cc from '98

More from '98

Pinky AND Cc from 2000:

Pinky and Cc from 2003

Pinky from 2004:

Pinky from 2013:

Posted at 7:06AM, Jun. 6, 2016

Neat, oz! I like seeing the different art media as well as how your style and concepts changed. (I always dig the vibrant colors.)

I haven't been drawing nearly as long as you. My characters were "born" at the beginning of 2007. I figured I'd pull out this original concept art for my main characters (Kaida, Seiko, Yuki, and Jiro)

Instead of looking at a timeline, I took a snapshot at periods in "comic time" (page numbers) around every 200 pages. I figure it's a good measure for how many times I drew these characters.

Kaida:

Posted at 7:06AM, Jun. 6, 2016

Seiko:

Posted at 7:06AM, Jun. 6, 2016

Yuki:

Posted at 7:06AM, Jun. 6, 2016

Jiro doesn't evolve at all.

Posted at 5:06PM, Jun. 6, 2016

Cats remain constant. No matter how much everything else changes, they remain the same.

Posted at 2:06AM, Jun. 8, 2016

That's cool UB
It's really a treat to see how characters evolve over time! I wish we had some more people posting examples here.

Yeah, I remember seeing your style change as you've been posing updates on DD over the years. A lot has changed!

Posted at 4:06PM, Jun. 8, 2016

Wow Ozone those are so cool, you've been working with those characters for a long freaking time! Those paintings from 98 of Pinky's face are downright rad!

Usedbooks, it's great to see how your characters have changed as your art improves, I like how you categorized it by page count I wish I'd done it that way! (I was going by month on one of mine haha it's too big) Jiro remains consistently adorable :D

I've got another one with Zeno almost done, but here is Charby's evolution!

(Not pictured but there was a noticeable slump in the spring of 2006 that continued into 2007 when I was deeply depressed and updating slowed to a crawl I went from daily to every-other day to maybe once a month at that time) 2012 I had to go to a ReVamped page because he didn't appear in the main story all that year but I was working on ReVamped at the time! I included a comparison of old vs ReVamped at the bottom too!

Posted at 5:06PM, Jun. 8, 2016

Like me, they've only gotten sexier.

Posted at 10:06PM, Jun. 8, 2016

Here's Zeno

2006 Zeno looks like he wanted to die too. Isn't it weird how you sometimes think something looks fine at the time then go back and it's like someone else entirely drew it?

2012, much like with Charby, didn't feature Zeno so I put in a drawing I did at the time for the hell of it.

Posted at 4:06AM, Jun. 9, 2016

Wow Amy! There's been so much Chart in that time!
Chevy and Zeno have both evolved from ultra cutesy demonic imps into sleek, lithe, Gothic gentlemen.

PIT_FACE wrote:
Like me, they've only gotten sexier.

true

Posted at 9:06AM, Jun. 9, 2016

It's neat to see the metamorphises, Amelius! I can see how your style adapted and was refined.

I started with a "how to draw manga" book, but the "anime" proportions were awkward for me and I never could get it right. So it morphed into a more comfortable style.

Posted at 12:06PM, Jun. 9, 2016

Seeing characters and artists develop is one of the special beauties of webcomics. Love this idea.
So I decided to dig up some of my earliest character drawings and have a go, too. Hope you enjoy.

Posted at 12:06PM, Jun. 9, 2016

bravo1102 wrote:
Cats remain constant. No matter how much everything else changes, they remain the same.

Well, bravo, let's see if you're right:

Ok, you probably are. ;)

Posted at 12:06PM, Jun. 9, 2016

And one more - as we say in Bremen: "three times is a Bremen citizen's right" (meaning something like all good things come in threes, usually as a kind of toast).

Posted at 7:06PM, Jun. 9, 2016

I'm just loving seeing these transformations over time!! My comic has only been active for 4 years so my character concept (how I see Kimber Lee) hasn't really changed any… just my ability to depict has improved a bit!

Posted at 7:06PM, Jun. 9, 2016

Jupiter and Otto about two years ago:

Jupiter and Otto now:

Posted at 11:06PM, Jun. 9, 2016

Okay, I'll play.

Here are some comparisons of one of my characters "The Maniac" going back to 1979. I've been drawing him since 1977 or so.

Posted at 4:06AM, Jun. 10, 2016

@plymayer Wow that guy's been around a while. I like the look of him.

I recently made a montage of all the images I could find of my character Ben, who I've been drawing since I was 7.

He hasn't evolved that much, but he has taken on a few different forms. I try to keep the essence of the character, even if I'm drawing him as a red-headed tenticle monster.

He never appeared in my main comics, except for this short strip.

Posted at 5:06AM, Jun. 10, 2016

Panman wrote:
I recently made a montage of all the images I could find of my character Ben, who I've been drawing since I was 7.

I really love this behind the scenes kind of stuff. Nice to see where things have been before we go into the future.

Posted at 7:06AM, Jun. 10, 2016

I really love this behind the scenes kind of stuff. Nice to see where things have been before we go into the future.

Yea I tend to view my past drawings as a smorgasbord of images and characters that I can raid for new projects.

Posted at 11:06AM, Jun. 10, 2016

Here's my characters Phineus and Sara from 1991 thru today.

Posted at 9:06PM, Jun. 11, 2016

Claudita through the years. My only recurring character in Brood Knight and MAG-ISA / PARA-SAYO.

Posted at 7:06PM, Jun. 12, 2016

That's pretty cool.
Love all the new stuff.
Phineius, Jupiter, Mag-isa, Master and Tiger, Maniac!
It's call the changes they go through.

Do you guys prefer the current looks to your characters or the past looks?
I think my fave Pinky is 2004 Pinky.