#but he looks rad as heck in those elbow pads

[gyroshrike]

LoSH Week | 2023 Day 1 | Legion Tryouts | Body swap | Juxtaposition | @loshappreciationweek​

“You can do this. You got this.”

Saw the prompt and new immediately what I wanted.

[naruto-oc-critiques]

What are some ways that someone could change their character's appearance while still keeping them recognizable in Shippuden? I'm having issues with making my OC's Shippuden design because I either make it too similar to where it looks like she hasn't changed at all and too different to where it's almost hard to recognize her,

I don’t think there’s really a right way or a wrong way.

Outfits change as the character who wears them changes. So keep in mind the internal/external changes your character is going through when you dress them up. 

In Shippuden they’ll have hopefully grown as a person, but they’ll also have grown more experienced as a ninja. If they have to keep tools for new techniques on their persons, or they’ve learnt the hard way that part of their usual outfit is impractical, that’ll have changed over the time skip.

I like to imagine each piece of clothing and give it a deep reason for being on my character aside from its aesthetic appeal to me as a creator. So that it relates to the character. Sometimes that might be ‘My character now wears their headband on their head to show that they’re more centered and focused as a ninja.’ Or it might be ‘My character likes shopping and was off on a mission and bought this cute shirt because she likes the colour.”    

I’m going to give you some quick tips, and then list some outfit transitions, in the hope they will help: 

I think the most important thing to keep the same is the main colour (Unless you’re Sasuke, but I think the colour change is sort of symbolic of his uhh changes. Also, his hair is still very distinctly the same in Shippuden.)

An easy change is hair. Even if its just slightly longer or a complete change, that’s a good +1 in variety of design. 

What is their most identifiable aspect? Carry it over. Find it. Keep it. 

Now for specific character outfit analysis! I’ll do a few different examples, just to point out what they’ve done? How they’ve remained identifiable. 

Naruto: Still orange but kicks the blue to the curb. The black looks more mature. Element wise, still wearing a tracksuit. Still same headband placement. Still same hair. Naruto really doesn't have to change that much because he is the main character and was created to be memorable. At the moment, not many blonde kids with whiskers. That will change in the future.

Sakura: Haircut is a major change from baby Sakura but not too different from slightly-less-baby sakura. Same headband placement. Comparing the part I/part II short hair though, its still different, but only slightly. Still a good change to distinguish a difference. Her outfit has the same elements (collar/zipper/leggings). That shirt is just her old dress with alterations. The flapping of her little beige skirt thing is very reminiscent of the old flapping of her dress, so its got a similiar silhouette. Gloves/ elbow pads/ more leg coverage all seem like tactical additions.  

Ino: Her hair is back to its lucious length. Flippy fringe? Check. But different. Differences are slight, like Sakuras hair. The little hair clip is barely noticeable but I like to think of it as a callback to what she wears as a kid (I'm reading into it but, she's friends with Sakura again, and its Sakuras colour. Just saying.) Absolutely no headband now, which I read as her 'passing as a civillian' thing. The bandages are gone, the midrif revealled, which is probably to show that she is older. She has fishnets on her arms now, but they still give the same 'visual feeling' of the arm warmers she was wearing before. Not to mention, she's sticking to purple and she's sticking to two pieces.

Tenten: Her hair is very much the same. Maybe with just a very slight difference in the bangs. Same headband placement. But everything else? Different. Different as heck. But, her outfits are always aesthetically Chinese. Which is very distinctly Tenten. She doesn't have the same 'unique' appearance immunity that blondie-mc-whisker-face-uzumaki has, but she will always have the benefit that she is stylistically unique among the cast. Got a lot of room for change. Hence, the colours and general silhouette are different. Got a huge scroll and gloves now! You know shes progressed.

Kiba: Kiba has got those sweet face tattoos and dog eyes, so he unmistakably inuzuka, but you also know he's still Kiba. Akamaru is also a very helpful fashion accessory (note: dogs are not fashion accesories) in this way. Still has a jacket as a statement piece, but less fluffy. Its colour is the same as the colour of the fluff on his part I jacket. Kiba's hair is slightly different and visible, but thats okay, because its spikiness is always reminiscent of the spikey fluffy jacket. The current still has an edgy feel to it. The components are also mostly the same in Kibas. Minus the hood and bagginess.

Hinata: She is still wearing a jacket, with a hood. Her headband is still in the same place. Hinata is a Hyuuga so she is distinct by default. Her main colour changes, but it is to the light lavendar, which is already easily associated with her because of her eyes. Her hair is long and beautiful now, but she had the same fringe, and those side thingies that half the girls in my hear tried to immitate but none of the local hairdressers could do it justice. Same components. Very similair pants.

Shino: Edgy bug. Still has the distinctive round goggley glasses. Headband in the same place. Mouth still covered. Still wearing layers for days. Colours has changed, but I'd argue for tactical reasons. I'm slightly colourblind but that looks like a more stealthy colour scheme. Same componenets. Hair covered. Similair silhouette because of the rad buster jacket swoosh.

Chouji: Everything changes. We have lost that beautiful scarf. Has realised that wearing underwear as a headband is not the best way to pick up chicks. Hair is long and beautiful and not restricted to underwear. Colour scheme and component upheaveal, but the kanji is there, and Chouji always has face swirls to fall back on. The armour reminds me of an armadillo, which is really fitting for his jutsu.

Rock Lee: The same + Chuunin vest. A beautiful reminder that sometimes you don’t even need to change that much. Just keep being the bright and sparkling star that you are.

When OCs submissions reopen, feel free to submit them and mention you want help on the part I -> part II transition! We might be able to give you more of a detailed hand.

Thank you for sending this in! I hope I could be of help. 

-R