#btw this is the drawing that made me start questioning if i have bpd or not LMFAOO

[gayymomgod]

i hate u

recreated from the 2021 version :3

[aquacure]

all of them

all of the character design questions? my god thank you i owe you my life

under a cut because THIS IS A DOOZY

1. Who’s the oldest character of yours that you still use?

O’Malley, for sure. I’ve had him for many, many years. About 8 years or more, if I’m remembering correctly. He’s my favorite.

2. Who’s the oldest character of yours, defunct or not?

Athena Sakamoto. She started off as my self insert oc back in 5th grade, and I used her a lot, even after she evolved from being a self insert. She didn’t evolve that much, though…. In design, she definitely did. I lived out my hair color fantasies in her… (She started out with purple hair w/ a green streak, then black hair with a purple streak, then black hair with a brown streak. Now, it’d be back to purple, except like. a lavender purple.)

3. Has creating a character ever made you realize something about yourself?

Definitely! Plenty of times! An example I remember; with the creation of Tau (and fleshing out Athena’s character outside of being me) it made me realize I had no other Asian ocs besides them, and kind of made me more aware of white dominance in media and how it was starting to affect me. 

4. Any minor characters that have either taken over or branched off into their own stories?

Ivan, for sure. I made him a while ago, but he’s got a surprisingly sad backstory, which my characters didn’t seem to really have then. Quick rundown: He used to be an assassin, he had a wife and kid, wife got painfully sick and died, daughter is now estranged, he’s now alone and too afraid to approach his child and also afraid to take someone else’s life. wah waaahh. i should mention him more.

5. Do you prefer to make human, animal, monster, or _____ characters? Why?

I like making human characters! I used to make all kinds of funky demons and angels and whatnot (i still do, but to a lesser degree), but human characters can have a really interesting depth to them, just with backstory and personality. it’s like creating someone that could be out there right now, who has their own interests and life, experiencing life. that’s kind of cool to me!

6. When creating a character, do you come up with the visual concept or the written concept first?

most of the time, it’s visual! I like to build a personality out of their design, it’s rarely the other way around unless i’m really inspired to make a certain character.

7. Do you have characters that you know you’ll never use, but can’t bear to get rid of/recycle?

Of course… Ma’atie, Isaac, Kelpie… the list can go on and on

8. Is there a character that embodies your good traits, or traits you wish you had?

Athena, Tau, Nel. They’re all absurdly confident, Tau and Nel are fashionable, fat (nel moreso than tau), and love to smile. they’re free of insecurities about their physical appearance and just do whatever is comfortable or makes them feel pretty.

9. Is there a character that embodies your bad traits? Several characters? Which ones and what traits?

You have noooo idea. Teddy has my bpd, Craig has my anxiety, O’Malley has my old anger issues, yadda yadda… Though my anger does flare up again on rare occasions, but almost never outloud.

10. Is there a character that explores your interests or fetishes (orrrr is that just all of you characters)?

Interests? Yeah, all of my characters embody my interests! Ma’atie is Egyptian Religion, O’Malley is History and English, Tau is fashion, etc.

11. If you have characters that embody certain traits of yours—good or bad—has writing them changed how you view those traits? Has it affected you in any way?

Ok, spotlight time. Nel was deliberately made to make myself feel better about myself; she was made with large, flabby arms, a belly that sticks out, hairy legs, cellulite, a bunch of stuff I was so insecure about. But I’ve never drawn her upset at herself for being this way. I’ve always drawn her loving herself being who she is, embracing it, not caring about how she could be perceived. She just loved herself.

12.   Do you fantasize about being any of your characters, or are you more detached?

ye…. i wish i were tau, man, being in fashion sounds like so much fun. also being o’malley minus his booze problem and having two cats and one dog? and also being surrounded by children who love u, even if they’re like, really rebellious and weird? nice.

13. Do you create playlists for your characters?

YEEEE i made one for o’malley on 8tracks before it went to shite, if you’re willing to go there, here’s the link (btw if there’s a playlist maker/creator that’s like 8tracks that isn’t playmoss or spotify, hmu. making playlists is my goddamn jam)

14. When writing for specific characters, is there anything you have to do to get into the right mindset?

Music for the mood helps a lot, and writing down or drawing how they’d express themselves in different situations is a good way to go.

15. Which character is your guilty pleasure?

what do you mean…. guilty pleasure……. *sweats….* it’s anyone in glasses and every tall character that’s a sweetheart. which is most of them.

…the main guilty pleasure is o’malley for sure tho

16. Is there a character of yours who’s a real struggle to write/draw? Why do you think that is?

it’s hard to draw Kara and Ivan, because I draw them differently every single time. Ivan, I understand, because I don’t draw him nearly as often as I want to, and he’s got a more vague/indistinct design bc i haven’t fixed him up, but Kara? I know what to draw, but doing it makes something different all the time… siiigh

17. Which character is the easiest to draw/write?

O’Malley for both, because I just know him that well. Teddy with writing because he’s chaotic and selfish, pretty much. Tau is both bc he’s the nonbinary aunt i’ve always wanted to be. also i love his design. very cool.

18. Is there anything you really wish you could do, character-design-wise, that you feel is outside your current skillset? A concept that you wish you could pull off but are uncertain about?

i want to make more unearthly and horror-esque monsters that are symbolic, like Silent Hill monsters, but i’m.... no good at making monsters. I want to. but i’m not that cool or good at art yet. (also monster angels. i want to make monsterous angels)

19. What’s more important to you: visual design, unique personality, a trendy character aesthetic, etc? If you’re not sure, then what’s the first thing you usually nail down in a character?

i like a unique personality, then the unique aesthetic of that character. you can make a visually stunning character and have them be the most uninteresting and bland pile of crap that ever did walk by. so, that being said, a character built on nothing but tropes is generally a no go for me. give me reasons, give me something new, give me spins! i want something different!!

20. Do you ever plan to do anything (comic, animation, etc) with your characters? Or are you just happy to have them?

yes to both. some characters are definitely just there for me to love, like Nel, but people like O’Malley, Teddy, Kara, Craig, Tau... Those guys have a story ahead of them. Will it be in comic form or in a novel...? Who knows! Whichever one I like better in the end! But I need a while longer to establish who they are, their stories, and the conflict that’ll bring them together... or apart? whichever happens to happen.