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OC Redraw: Alice 01 + Time Lapse (and other stuff)
Greetings SSA! Before I dive into the meat of this post, I wanted to give a quick update on the technical issues I was having with my previous posts.
It looks like how I was uploading images before was causing a bug of sorts and essentially resulting in the images corrupting sometime after posting.
My new method seems to not be causing any issues. So we should be good moving forward.
Anyways, on to the actual post!
A Little Bit About this Redraw/Revisit
My recent posts have focused on concept characters for a potential sequel to A Date for the Ages.
With Alice Avery being the romantic interest of the first game, it felt natural to revisit her design.
I have two more images planned for this redraw/revisit: one will be a faithful recreation of the original (same pose, outfit, etc.—still deciding on whether to include a background), and the other will be a completely new illustration.
My goal is to provide a good, solid comparison between the styles.
My new style brings a very different but also simplified look. This is intentional but I don't want to bore you with all the details. So I'll just say, the new style is different, looks good, faster to draw, easier to animate and make modifications to.
There is a lot I am very proud of with my original version of Alice and I think that style will always hold a special place in my artistic arsenal.
But as I grow my artistry, I will need to try new styles and processes. I'm especially excited to find methods that work will with the modularity that VNs demand.
Art
Like I mentioned before, this is a redesign of Alice using my new style.
But what I haven't mentioned is that I also tested a new style of backgrounds. I'm calling it "Painterly".
My backgrounds in DFTA and IWTHG usually consisted of a background with a simpler design than the focal character.
I've learned that this isn't the established ideal ratio of detail for backgrounds vs characters.
I went on a long learning journey to come to what I call "The Background to Character Detail Ratio". Typical anime or Disney's 90s animation have something along the lines of a 2:1 detail ratio. Meaning static backgrounds have more complex shading than the animated character. 1:1 is also fine. Shows like Family Guy have this 1:1 ratio.
Things start to look bad when your ratios tilt in the other direction. I'd say that 1:2 looks bad. See my example.
The left (Hannah from DFTA) is a 1:2 ratio and the right (Alice redesign) is a 2:1 ratio.
This ratio is more of a rule-of-thumb not scientific law. I'm sure there are plenty of valid counter arguments but in my opinion: Background shading detail should equal or exceed character shading detail.
So to make a short story long, I will be expanding upon this "painterly" process.
In addition to experimenting with styles and designs, I’m also testing out Gradient Maps in Krita. I tried them in the past but found the results too random and the workflow too complicated for me.
However, I've decided to give them another go. See my results below.
My goal was to create three lighting moods: Sunrise, Sunset, and Night. I’m pleased with how the first round turned out.
In my experience, almost all set pieces in VNs need to have a Day-Evening-Night appearance variety (especially open-world VNs). I think this Gradient Map approach may help me strike a balance between creating enough variety and not sinking too much time into producing each version.
Future Considerations for My New Style
As I expand my style, I encounter new dilemma's and cross roads.
First up, should I include a static overlay for my BGs?
My personal opinion is that I think the static gives the backgrounds a more authentic or vintage feel. For now I will be keeping them but I am curious to other people's opinions.
My next dilemma is: How exaggerated should I allow my characters to be?
I think I've determined the face design I want my cute girls to have. For the bodies, I use a semi realistic figure. Though I'm debating if that should be simplified more.
But what's troubling me more is: what about non sexy characters? How exaggerated should they be? Should I maintain the semi realistic figure for them too or go crazy with it?
I don't have the answers to these questions. But what I do know is that I would like my artistic design to allow for a wide variety of body types and features. The trick is determining how much.
I think trial and error will probably be the only way for me to find the answer here.
Time Lapse Recording/Gif
Special Note: This section goes over a technical limitation found on patreon, not SSA. But because Patreon is my main account, it's limitation may apply to SSA as well.
What I said on Patreon:
Once again I have tried to find a way to embed NSFW videos into my patreon posts and once again I am thwarted.
In the past I've used MEGA links to show videos but I really, really don't like doing that. It's not sustainable, way too many links to manage. And it's kinda messy and sketchy to click random links to get transported to a different place to where you can watch the video. It's like asking to get a virus.
I don't like asking my viewers to jump through these link-rabbit-holes. So I won't be doing it anymore.
Instead I'll be posting time lapse Gifs. They will be about 30 to 45 seconds in length.
I will switch back to posting videos once patreon gives NSFW creators access to that feature. If they ever do.
SSA does allow for videos but doesn't allow gifs over 10mb. So what I will do is create an mp4 version of the gif and share that here.
In this case, I already created a conventional time lapse video for this post. So moving forward... mp4 gifs haha.
Outro
Well I think that about touches on everything I wanted to share this time around.
Greetings fellow connoisseurs of distinguished tastes,
I am pleased to announce that I’ve finished developing my OC, Livia Avery!
A Little Bit About the Character
You may recognize the surname Avery. I've decided to add Livia to the A Date for the Ages universe should I pursue creating a sequel.
Livia is the younger adopted sister of Alice Avery (the romantic interest of the first game). She and Alice aren't particularly close—and for good reason.
Being adopted, Livia never quite felt like she truly belonged. Her insecurity pushed her to continually prove herself, impress others, and ultimately seek their adoration.
This earned her the title of the small town’s adored ‘Heart Stealer'.
Despite the town being putty in her hands, the peace of mind it gives her is tepid at best.
Livia's insecurity is compounded by her jealousy of Alice. Alice is the biological daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Avery. In Livia's eyes, Alice has always belonged, been accepted and doesn't need to prove anything. Livia despises her adopted sister for her birth-given privileges that she will never have.
If anyone saw how Livia acts around others versus how she acts around Alice, you’d think she was two entirely different people.
Livia's bitter envy and Alice's indifference have made them barely tolerated rivals rather than family.
Whenever given the opportunity, Livia makes sure to steal, one-up, or ruin whatever Alice has.
And Alice introducing her new boyfriend, Paul Herman (the main character), to the family has given Livia the perfect opportunity...
Art
Livia was created following my new art process. It was hard for me to not fall into old habits. I do miss adding blush. But overall, I am very happy with the end results. I think this is something I could draw more quickly and animate as well.
Livia may undergo more changes (like hair color, eye color, outfit, etc.) until I make a permanent final design. And now that I understand her character better, I think I can create more character-authentic poses moving forward.
Up Next
My next goal is finish out Viola. After that, I want to redraw Alice using my new art style.
That's all for now, until next time!
PS
If you have any feedback on the character design, I'd love to hear them. :)
Edit Details: It would seem that there are some bugs going on with my posts that prevent the images from being viewed.
I've re-uploaded them in a slightly different manner that will hopefully not trigger the bug.
Hopefully this solution works. And if it does, I will use this method moving forward. If not, I will be reaching out to SSA Support.
Alrighty folks, I have completed my experimental drawing!
I'm still trying to get the hang of how to draw and render in this style. But so far I am liking it. It feels much faster than my usual way and I think the end results looks pretty good.
Far and away my biggest hurdle was the lips. They kept coming out like clown lips, not even kidding. I had to do some serious pondering to figure out a lip that I was happy with.
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