#Victorine (Slime Team)

[slimehatart]

Hello everyone!

It's me again. Today, we'll be talking about group dynamics! One thing I'm always enjoying a lot in anime and manga is the often times beautiful bond and friendship of the protagonists. There are many different kinds of relationships - best friends like it is in One Piece, people who hate each other so much that they love each other as in Ranma 1/2, people who were friends in an instant like those in Dr Slump, people who are united by fate and grow to attach to one another like the sailor guardians in Sailor Moon... There are all kinds of group dynamics and it is probably very hard to make different people come together and have them be authentic friends.

(original Tweet: "Today's practice session's product. I tried to be faster again and could get this WIP done in ~40 to 60 mins. I'll probably colour it too.

Wanted to draw my story's group and their chaotic dynamic. They don't always get along but also love each other. :D", August 5th, 2021)

Well, as for me, I wanted to create characters who complete each other and who I would love to be friends with. Basically, each of my characters represents a side of myself in a way, so it's not hard for me to think about them interacting with each other.

There are very active and outgoing characters, such as Risebert, Liora or Miles. There are distant and suspecting characters, for example Ziyan, Sarim or Patra. But it is as a whole that I want them to shine. I think the group dynamic is very chaotic at times, because the party lacks some kind of leading figure.

(original Tweet: "I scribbled an update on the protagonist team of my story! Really want to do one digital drawing of them again in full colour since some designs have changed and new team members have been added!

Feel free to read the Alt-text for an elaborate description of some background info!", June 29th, 2022)

Sure, Liora might be considered the leader of the team. But she surely is not a great leader. Everyone can and will take their own decisions according to their personality, but as a community, they will look out for each other in a way or two. Having a leading figure is not bad, though. Luffy for example, is a great leader despite his goofiness. His friends respect his choices more often than not and acknowledge him as their leader. Conan Edogawa leads the Detective Boys with his natural leading qualities and earned respect of the other kids. There are badly written leaders, too, though. Yu-Gi-Oh's Yami Yugi helps Yugi be confident and successful, but there is kind of no reason for Joey, Tristan or Thea, Bakura and Mai to follow him so devotiously. Monster Rancher's Genki is kinda thrown into a leading role when in fact Holly is the one who brings the group forward.

(original Tweet: "Been drawing a little bit. With the tablet I have for studies, I tried scribbling, but the pen isn't really suited for drawing and I don't think I've seen a good free program yet, unfortunately (sketching w/o colours is fun tho). Also drew on actual paper again, it's so fun!", October 6th, 2021)

As you see, heaving someone in charge can be a very hard role to write. I like my protagonists to be on an eye to eye level, with everyone's motivation kept mostly equal at most times. When the party comes together and works on achieving the goals of one single member, they do it because they're friends, not because they're told to by a leader. So that's how I'm sticking with them for now!

I think there are many many layers that make a good group dynamic. It isn't enough for the whole group to work together greatly, I think. You also need them to be able to shine when they're on their own. On top of that, you need them to be able to come together in very small groups and get their dynamics to work out as well. This is the hard part, I think. Ranma 1/2 and One Piece do a great job with this. You can put two randomly chosen main characters together and they just feel authentically great together with no hesitation.

(original Tweet: "Quick midnight doodle trying to get into (digital) drawing again~", January 10th, 2022)

Miles is an outgoing, energetic character. But he will help Victorine with mundane tasks and I feel like it is going to be a genuine interaction. At the same time, Miles can go on missions with Risebert and both stand their own. Miles can meet up with Sarim and both, with their own different personalities - one carefree and the other a coward -, can still authentically feel like best friends.

I really need to draw more pictures with single members of the main cast together, because I really want to see those scenarios act out on paper. It is a fun thing to imagine and I think they all work. It doesn't have to be all lovey dovey between them, though. For example, Risebert and Ziyan, much like Zoro and Sanji, have an unspoken rivalry going in between them with one being outdoorsy like a dog and the other reserved like a cat. I think it's fun to watch friends bicker amongst each other. It makes me appreciate them even more when they have each other's back in hardships. This is something the Sailor Moon anime does really well, too. I loved the season 1 finale with everyone dying one after another. When Usagi and Rei were the last girls standing, their interactions felt so genuine and authentic... All thanks to their constant arguments when they weren't in danger before.

I think putting together characters who are polar opposites is a great way to shake and freshen up the whole dynamics and friendship formulas! Figuring out one main characteristic of each character can help putting them together to create the right dynamics, I think. It's like mixing and matching colours, in a way!

(original Tweet: "As a German saying goes: "once the cat leaves the house, the mice will dance on tables" - if chief Liora were to leave for a few days, her team mates would try to fill her place in the guild reception.

I wanted to visualize how each member would do in today's practice session!", August 13th, 2021)

All those parameters can help you create a great group of individuals with each one having room to shine! I hope I can make my characters shine, too!

This is it for today's blog entry! If you want to look up a post to a specific character, you can check out the tags! I tagged all posts with the names of the characters I mention them in! See you soon!

[slimehatart]

Hello everyone!

Today's post contains pictures about the time I tried to write down the first steps in the making of my story!

(original Tweet: "Reference sheet post for my story because I love posting about it and sharing with u :D

I plan the introductory chapter & 1st portion of the story to start out with Liora and the backgrounds that lead to the critical part severing her ties with her initial guild, Pure Prosperity.", July 17th, 2021)

So, the blonde girl from my last post (who would go to be called Liora) joins a guild in that world. Just like it is in most animes and video games that habe guilds in them, guilds are groups of people who carry out dangerous and fantastic missions for their clients. It's an extra fun concept in my opinion, because it mixes that yearning for adventures and unusual jobs with the flexibility of a fantasy setting, so those guild jobs are only bound to the boundaries of the creator's imagination!

So the girl, Liora (which is a name of, I think, Hebrew origins, meaning something such as "light"), she somehow joins this prestigious guild called Pure Prosperity, filled with some pretty cool and strong people. She is not very popular with most of her guild mates, though - her habit of selfishly trying to steal the spotlight all the time and provocative behaviour is not well met. Soon, her close relationship with the guild leader Sarec (anagram of Caesar - although I now notice that for that, Sarec is missing an additional A! Oops!) sparks further controversy among her peers, ultimately leading to them plotting against her with their goal being her kicked out.

(Previously unreleased sketch of Liora trying to be filled in on current affairs in the guild by her chaotic assistant Victorine to purposefully crash a guild interview or press conference in order to get her name in the limelight and be known as the face of the group despite not participating in any missions. July 15th, 2021)

Behind the plot stands the strong guild member Patra (inspired by and shortened form of Cleopatra), who was pretty close to Sarec before Liora came along. Patra is a cold and distant lady on the outside. She's got her own goals and knows she needs to stay on Sarec's good side in order to follow her plans. She puts on a good face and tries to bear through it as she thinks he will lose interest in that new girl and even introduces her to her own friends. In the meantime, Liora even manages to get some of her old friends in the guild, such as Victorine and Hertz (who would later be named Sarim), who I will be formerly introducing her at a later post.

(Previously unreleased sketch showing Liora, Patra and a few of her yet unnamed lady friends from other guilds - no one really likes the new and exciting girl, so they too would like it best if she could be avoided. July 11th, 2021)

(original Tweet: "Just a couple of lazy doodles I did between studies and uni stuff", April 2nd, 2022)

But soon, Patra is overrun by her emotions eventually as Liora gains more power that is taken from Patra and begins climbing higher positions inside the guild despite having no real competence to fill them really.

Patra fears a hindrance for her plans as Sarec begins paying her and her objectives less attention. Sarec has had various affairs in the past that came and went, so she swallowed her pride for the greater good, but it seems that Liora poses an even greater threat than she thought, so it's time to get rid of her...

(original Tweet: "Just a couple of late night OC concept art. Uni feels so overwhelming atm, I feel like I'm at my limit. 😭

Struggling a bit mentally but I always found comfort in drawing, so I guess that's why I find myself scribbling more (on suboptimal media/with suboptimal tools) these days.", April 7th, 2022)

While the guild members succeed in shattering Sarec's trust in Liora with their lies and plots, their relationship is hurt further and further as times moves on. Sarec is getting more violent and ruthless by the day, not only in the guild affairs and politics, but he starts treating Liora worse, too. A breaking point is met when Liora catches on to Sarec's and Patra's relationship as the both of them start meeting up romantically again.

In the next press conference, Liora puts them on blast and publically announces her departure from the guild, while she's all dressed up in an iteration of a "revenge dress".

(original Tweet: "This weekend, I started drawing again after a long time (didn't have time, exams amirite). Freedom's taste SO GOOD.

Also traced my traditionally drawn art for the 1st time today! Was fun cause I could incorporate my "real" style into my digital style a bit more. Will try again!", June 26th, 2022)

She is then stripped of all her guild money and ends up losing the place where she's staying. She loses all of her prestigious friends who only pretended to like her because of her newfound and now lost power. Unexpectedly, Victorine and Hertz stay by her side and give up their respective positions in Pure Prosperity and prove to be real friends. Luckily, Liora can stay at the run-down motel in the lesser parts of the town owned by Victorine's family that would later become her legitimate base.

Later on, Liora, who is burdened by a breathtakingly high debt she made to keep up a charade, will be setting up her own guild (which goes under the name Slime Team as of now) and meet various new friends. They help her to trust for the first time and together, they go on all kinds of adventures to earn their money and fame back!

As you can see, I am very much influenced by soap operas, but the way I imagine my story, it is a blend of soap opera, slice of life and shonen! It is so much fun to imagine all the scenarios and arcs my characters go through and as strange as it may sound, I feel so attached to them! As always, I send you my heartfelt thanks for your time and for reading! See you soon with my next art and story pieces!

Opening this Tumblr and just writing my heart and soul off feels so fulfilling! I hope to be reading some of your stories soon, too. It's a bit hard for me to coordinate websites as I'm not very talented with doing so, but I will surely be diving into OC- and artist-Tumblr to get a glimpse of your beautiful worlds too and I can't wait!

[slimehatart]

Oh I loved drawing this specific picture.

(original Tweet: "I finally finished the drawing of my protagonist team.

Think I will formally introduce them with new inidivual sheets I'll do in the next days.

I admire artists that are able to sketch, line, colour and shade their artwork regularly and quickly. It sure is fun but also so tiring!" July 14th, 2021)

It shows the protagonist group. It includes slimes, Mii Brawler, the Pique Kingdom people, the three-eyed character and another girl. They are still members of the group, but in the meantime, two more characters have joined it!

I just love the vibe, the feel of the picture. After all this time, I could call this my personal magnum opus, they're so vibrant and full of individuality and personality to me!

[slimehatart]

Hello everyone!

I really feel like my Slime Team might need an addition to the group! Basically, who I really want is someone cheeky, who can act a counterbalance to dominant characters like Liora, Risebert and Ziyan.

Despite knowing I want someone new in the group and imagining his role and main dynamic, I can't really think of a nice design to complement the rest of the group aesthetically. I just started scribbling! See for yourselves.

(Previously unreleased picture of my character creation session. These are all men who were spontaneously created as potential Slime Team group members! - October 26th, 2024)

These characters were all created in one session, just going for different aesthetics and vibes. All of them could've become a member of the group, but choosing one is really difficult! I settled for one character to flesh out and try to go for. Come meet Oleander!

(Previously unreleased sketch of Oleander, a new guy who could've been the next team member! - October 26th, 2024)

My new man Oleander intrigued me the most during the drawing session, so I went for him. He kinda looks like a mix of Ziyan and Sarim and on top of that, he doesn't really look cheeky, he looks... evil? I imagined him bickering with the others and I couldn't help myself but feel like the others would straight up be afraid of him, so I kinda aborted the mission. I think I might keep him, but as a leader or member of another rival guild! There are no deeper plans right now, but I'll keep him, but as a rival.

Drawing him and trying to categorise his general vibes made me realise it is really hard adding a new character, and thus new energies and dynamics, to an already established group. Established is a really strong word here since most of the character dynamics exist in my head right now, but it made me chuckle to see how thrown off the balance felt when I imagined Oleander with the rest. This realisation made me want to make today's blog entry about roles and tropes of my main protagonists!

Generally speaking, Liora herself is cheeky and kind of bossy as I am imagining her. Also, Ziyan is pretty edgy and straight forward, so he too is a good counter measure for happy-go-lucky characters in the group such as Ed, Victorine and Miles. I want Risebert to be this charming man who will, while trying to charm the ladies, go on Ziyan's nerves, sparking a rivalry between them. But there is no one to grind... EVERYONE'S gears from time to time!

But I don't want someone too gloomy, because there is Ziyan on one side to fill this role. On the other side, I want to have fun with with that character, nothing too deep, just a little naughty guy who loves to tease. That, in return, has got to correspond with the character's looks. Some kind of foil to Liora, someone who can provoke the enemy but will run away along with the other cowards of the group!

Unfortunately, I think it's very hard to come up with male designs, because I never know what to do with hairs! But I might need to let my creative juices flow. Maybe I should use some kind of head accessory? Maybe goggles? It's so hard not to make the character too edgy like Ziyan, too bossy like Liora and too innocent like Miles - I want them to potentially have a great synergy with the new character, but not have the new character be a 2.0 of the other one. Let's see what I'll be cooking up!

Oleander now will either join a existing guild such as Pure Prosperity or a member of a yet unknown guild! I like him, so let's see where it goes with him! Character design is fun, but so hard!

That's it for today's blog entry. Thanks for reading. See you soon with another drawing and story to tell. Until then!! Take care!