Countess Whiskeria is one of the first animal characters to make their appearance in the book. She's a sassy diva with a heart of gold and an eye for fashion. Yes, fashion as in clothes. Don't let the animal nekkidness fool you; Countess and the gang will be wearing clothes. :)
Countess Whiskeria - Initial Sketch
This was the very first sketch that I did of Countess, and it's quite rough. ^^; Countess would require some cosmetic changes before she was ready for her close up.
Countess Whiskeria - 2nd and 3rd Sketches
The second and third sketches for Countess came closer to being 'Countess' than the first, but they still lacked something that would make me go, "Aha! Now she's finished!". I had been looking at some photos of cat breeds and was trying to incorporate physical characteristics of the Abyssinian and the Colourpoint Shorthair (the long, sleek body, with a bit of the ears and facials features). However, I still wasn't quite feeling it. She looked great here, yes, but was more 'fashion magazine' than 'children's book'.
Countess Whiskeria - 3rd Sketch feat. possible hat, scarf and dress design options
The final is dead close to being Countess' final design. After looking at images of cats as well as my own live-and-breathing house/yard puss, I noticed that their hind legs are thicker than their forelegs. Which makes a lot of sense, since much of their hunting relies heavily on sprinting after and pouncing on things as well as the occasional climbing exercise. She has no bust, since I'm not going that anthro/furry route for this project, but I did play up her feminine traits with her hips. Since cats also walk on their toes, so does Countess - which is why her feet aren't flat on the ground as one would expect with, say, a human. She's still smooth-coated, as I find this type of fur easier to work with in a project of this scale.
Just to set the record straight - my main character will not be called 'GirlChile' forever! Nope. No way. The problem is that I have quite a list of potential names for her and none of them seem...right. I knew I couldn't possibly plot out the story by calling her 'She' throughout the whole thing, so the 'GirlChile' nickname was born.
But fret not. She will have a proper name one way or the other, even if I have to host a poll right here. *hint hint*
In the meantime, I'll show you the initial sketches that I made for 'GirlChile' Robinson and one of her best friends, Pauline Richards done up in Col-Erase Pencils*!: *Makes me feel all...animatorish and shiggity.:D
'GirlChile' Robinson
These aren't the very first sketches I've done of 'GC', but these are the ones I'll show because the initial sketches were some crappy stuff. I consider those my detox excretions, and who in their right minds want to see those? In the book, she's a very tall and skinny little country girl who's bright, highly imaginative and loves life. I did a full body sketch and several facial ones to try and get her character to match the way I've envisioned her. The one with the darker outlines closely represents 'GC' the most, but the design process is far from over. It's getting there, but she's not quite 'GC' yet.
Pauline Richards
Next is the smart Pauline Richards. This is the very first sketch I've done for her...isn't it odd how some supporting characters are just easier to put on paper? Weird. In any case, this isn't her final design either and I realized in retrospect that she looked similar to 'GC' in the face. I'm still trying to balance my characters being distinct yet being cohesive in overall style and design. I've made some notes on Pauline as to how I could distinguish her features more the next time I attempt to sketch her.
I made my proposal presentation on Tuesday (Sept. 27, 2010), and it was a HIT! Final Year Project systems are GO! *cabbage patches - the only victory dance she knows* That was the one really bright spark of good news for the week, and Tropical Storm Nicole's back end completely shegged the island from Tuesday night right into Friday morning. The most damages we sustained were a muddy veranda and a few minor leaks, but plenty of others had it worse. :( The rebuilding process is just beginning.
In terms of my project, I'm still mostly in research mode so output has been limited. On the other hand, the knowledge I've been gaining so far has been invaluable. True, I may not be as far ahead as I had hoped but what I've been learning so far has helped me avoid some glaring mistakes that would have sent me sailing straight back to the drawing board. Three words - Not. Gonna. Happen.
As it stands, I'm in the process of writing rough chapter plans for my story before I start typing a manuscript. It's a great way to lay out the direction in which you want your characters and their story to go without a big intimidating blank screen with a blinking cursor in front of your face. :D Besides, having a rough to show at critique is a lot better than having a sob story. Speaking of characters, character sketches are in progress (yay!). So far I have initial sketches for the main character, one of her best friends and one of her other friends. Yes, other friends. More details to follow. ;)
In the mean time, I've been trying my hands at handmade folders for my future manuscript and other notes. Bookbinding supplies are next to impossible to locate here, so I've been doing a lot of improvising and recycling. So far, I have three cover bases made (yay!) and I plan to photo-document the process with those as well. Look out for those too. :)
September 19 - September 25
Hit a pothole, in that I lost my sculptor for my character maquettes. Le boo. After spending Sunday night in a frantic state, and Monday in a livid state, I had a talk with one of my best friends and the Go-To guy in my inner circle. Rather that sculpt clay maquettes, he suggested I go a different route with materials I could handle - like paper. I felt a lot better after speaking with him, and 100% back to normal after I did some research on the net that very night. I found a blog entry featuring the work of a number of super talented paper artists: Masters of Paper Art and Paper Sculptures
A key part of this project is research - this post will cover my progress in researching children's book illustrating and writing, and in shopping around for excellent local printers/graphics firms.
One thing that life throws at you, maybe to test you or to shake you up...perhaps even to be a right bastard, are set-backs. They vary in size, but set-backs are usually occurrences that make you stop, reassess and then progress with a more learned view point about getting from Point A to Point B.
I had such a bitch-slap wake-up call set back just this morning, in my first consultation for my senior project. ^^;
As it turned out, my target group for my project and the project itself weren't compatible. And since this is something I desire to publish at some point, missing the target market completely is as wrong as wrong can get. In short, I have quite a great deal of research ahead of me in order to get this thing done right.
Wish me luck, people! (Post illustrations to follow. School's scanner's too danged far.)
