The design process

The design process for any one character involves a lot of planning, research and experimentation to find the balance needed for maximum appeal. The shape of the body, eyes, feet....every physical attribute must be figured out before even thinking about costume and color palette. Some designs take so much experimentation to get to "the one" that it could fill a coffee table book. The time involved could stretch into months. (and that's just for one character) Of course there are usually other characters, backgrounds and props that require just as much if not more time and development! Great work takes time and who wouldn't want the absolute best for their stories/productions? This post is a snippet for one character's development.

Posssible exterior for Duck family house

In the Davy Otter universe, there is a family of ducks with one parent and three kids. These are first thoughts on what their house looks like. Of course, they live in a pond. I envisioned the house being primarily made of reeds, cat tails, grasses and mud.

Possible interiors for Davy's bachelor pad

While exploring the exterior of Davy's place, I started exploring the inside as well. These are just a couple of approaches. The main difference between the two is the shape of the floor and some minor details.

Different exteriors to Davy's bachelor pad

Part of my role as an artist is to keep learning and pushing my own imagination and skills. I took a few new techniques I learned about background flow and construction and practiced with Davy's bachelor pad. I think both of these backgrounds are more successful than my earlier attempts :)

Friends......and enemies

It's the classic dog vs. cat relationship. At least they posed and smiled for a second before starting to fight again.

Relax, it's Spring - additional lighting

Took my "Spring" design and added a bit more digital lighting.

Happy puppy - color

He's even happier with a splash of color!

Who's a happy puppy?

 This guy : )

Relax, it's Spring - color

Took my spring design and added color with prisma color markers.

Welsh corgi - gray-scale

One day, I saw a video on my Facebook feed about a bunch of corgis and their owners having a beach day. Corgis are one of my favorite breeds of dog. I love their short stature and their faces. So cute!

Relax, it's Spring

I really enjoy the spring and fall seasons most during the year. I'm thinking that maybe I'll develop this design more and figure out the body/costume. Maybe I'll use her for a detailed design to represent spring.

Funky duck gets some color

Took my funky duck design and gave it a splash of color.

Getting to know Precious

Precious is the star of the comic I'm designing. She's 5, maybe 6 years of age and already in the 6th grade at school. Of course, being as young as she is, she's the smallest in terms of size compared to her other classmates. The other students don't really speak to her but Precious is content to study, complete her homework and tinker with small parts/appliances. When she's not taking things apart, she's enjoying an afternoon tea party with her stuffed animals or whomever happens to want to join.

Figuring out Banzai's house

In the comic I'm developing for Banzai and Precious, we see Banzai's house on the first page. I figure his house is from 1060s maybe 1970s. When his parents moved in, they were in the suburbs. Over the years, the city expanded all around their house leaving it sandwiched in between some apartment buildings and skyscrapers. I looked to older houses that were built in LA and Burbank, CA for inspiration.

Confused bear

He's a bear and he's confused. That's pretty much it :)

Funky looking duck

Drew this funny little duck and then decided to use my gray-scale markers on him.

Project "World" scene 3 - the stars of the scene

Project "World" scene 3: Happy sub

Project "World" scene 3 rough compositions

Auntie

Auntie looks after Precious as a legal guardian. Even though I haven't figured out a good name for her, I do know for certain she's a welsh corgi living out her golden years. She's also a scientist like Precious's parents. Chemistry is her area of expertise and back in her better days, she taught hundreds of students in the ways of chemistry. Ferrah was one of her pupils when she was studying for her degree and she looked up to her corgi professor as a mentor and good friend. Instead of wearing bifocals, she has prescription safety glasses and uses her chemistry knowledge to cook. She's a retired gal but still wears her lab coat when she cooks in the kitchen. Precious claims she's a great cook even if she squints 90% of the time.

Davy Otter's bachelor hut

Every otter needs a place to crash. Davy lives in mountain country, next to a river of course. The hut is a simple build of sticks, mud and other odds and ends he could find. The hut is only temporary in case he decides to move to a new location. This is the first design for his hut. I may take another attempt at it to push a few things and experiment.

Figuring out Tom's farmhouse

Whenever a design has me stumped or overwhelmed, I get back to basics. Tom and his wife Alice from the Davy Otter universe need a farmhouse. Buildings can be a handful to see mentally and put on paper. When that happens, I work in silhouette instead. If the building doesn't look good in total shadow, chances are it won't be that great after all the color and lighting. This is a great way of saving time so one doesn't waste energy chasing a design that was already boring in shadow.

Troublemakers

These guys are classmates in the same class as Precious. I still have yet to come up with names and what their individual stories are. They use their size/stature to push around those that they deem as weak or useful. In Precious's case, the new egg head, they intimidate her to do their homework.

Getting to know Tamara

Tammy is apart of the Banzai/Precious cast. Just like my hands and mind need to get know Banzai, they must get to know Tammy and everyone else too. Expressions, attitude and so on have to figured out and documented for reference during the creation of the story itself. I envision Tammy as a guarded young woman that firmly believes in independence. She's not quick to trust so others may view her as uptight. Maybe somebody betrayed her trust in the past?

Rosemary

Sometime ago when I was working "Project Lake", I wanted to have a character that watched over Trina as she got older. For this, I thought an old female wolf would do. When I decided that, I didn't really have a clear picture of this wolf at all so I put the thought in the back of my mind to be worked out. Yesterday, I could see her so clearly so I put her on paper. Rosemary is an old retired wolf, with a sprig of rosemary behind her ear, living out the twilight of her years. One day, Gaia approached her with a small girl in tow. Gaia explained that little Trina was to be the next guardian for this lake and asked Rose to watch over her. Rose, having lived on her own for sometime, gladly accepted the task to watch over her for as long as she could. Even though Rose is fairly aged, as far as wolves go, Gaia knew that Trina would be safe, loved and Rose would have company to live out her days with.

Some female posing practice

Practice makes perfect. One can't practice the basics enough. Even if you've drawn something 1,000 times, there's no guarantee that you won't mess up #1,001. Practice, practice, practice!

Such a "Precious" wave

A little play on words since her name actually is Precious. She's the main star of the story involving Tammy and Banzai. She's roughly 5 years of age or so attending a uniform school. Although she's barely started school; she's in the 6th grade. Being the smallest in her class and incredibly bright; she's often singled out for bullies looking to dump all their homework on her.