#it's because his design is so sharp and angular that i get so intimidated even thinking abt drawing him in my style 😭😭

[leftneb]

Curiositas aka sirens!AU

in which Lando is a siren with species dysphoria and Oscar is the defintion of Just Some Guy, who happens to get caught up in Lando's mess. and obviously they fall in love along the way etc etc

I first posted about this idea over 2 months ago and I'm happy to announce that there is now a fic in the works!!! which will likely take at least another 2 months because goddamn the concept outgrew itself (as you can tell by the fact charles and max also, like, exist now) it's sitting at ~8k words rn, which is by far the longest thing I've ever written in my life already, but story isn't even close to being finished, so yeah it'll take a while lmao

for now though I have some character designs and lots of thoughts, which I'd like to share :3

ramblings about their individual designs and details below the cut!!

and massive thank you to my dear partner @lailau7904 for not only holding my hand through writing the fic so far but somehow being even more insane about this whole AU than I am???

LANDO

main character (and POV holder) his design isn't based on any real fish, closest resemblance is to a fake fishing lure (reference provided)

very little scarring despite sirens' hunting culture, some tiny cuts and scratches around the top of his tail from smuggling pretty stones and shards of glass

absurdly bright green scales (I really could've made him fluorescent but I think that would be overkill) which is absurdly shit for stealth purposes but good for catching the attention of potential victims

vague triangle shape language but in a semi-elegant way

doesn't eat fish and would rather not eat human either

MAX

fills the position of a leader in his and Lando's colony, inherited the role in his late teens but grew up to it pretty quickly

shark motif, all sharp and angular shapes, visibly intimidating

lots of scars collected during hunts, wounds covered over by red scales from Charles

his scales are pretty dark but they shine blue when the light hits them just right (plus Charles' scales are a bright red lmao, which is a bit suboptimal for stealth but he thinks it's worth it)

CHARLES

koi fish motif, soft and round shapes

no scarring at all

has known Max since they were kids but actually didn't meet Lando until their 20s despite Max and Lando being childhood best friends

considered legally dead by monegasque officials (this has lore reasons which I'm not about to spoil)

GENERAL NOTES

the AU plays in a modern setting, altough sirens are very behind on human technology

their gills are on the side of their ribs! they can also all breathe with their lungs above water

funky scales patterns on their torsos around "modified" areas such as their gills and back fin

they have no hands but don't let that fool you! I was simply too lazy to draw any, what you would see if I did draw them tho would include:

webbing between fingers!! matches the colour of fins

longer, and more solid, claw-like nails

wrinkled palms and fingertips

I really wanted to make Max and Charles' torsos more life accurate but could not be arsed, they all have Lando's body type, aka I've accidentally twinkified Charles and Max lmao

by now you might have noticed that there's no design for Oscar, and as much as I really want to make a siren design for him that would have some pretty heavy lore implications so I'm... hesitant to do so

other people on my sirenification waiting list are:

George Russell and Alex Albon (for the 2019 rookies circle to be complete)

Franco Colapinto (based purely off vibes)

the whole grid really god I'm so ill

for the record Logan is a human in this AU but he IS present fuck you James Vowles

you may have also noticed the papaya version I labeled as McLaren themed (this one is also the highest quality image I have in this thread if you're gonna do any zooming in please do it on this one,,,,)

all throughout writing and drawing I couldn't help but think about another banger siren!Lando fic: Salt Skin by @strawberry-daiquiris! in which Lando has orange slash papaya scales, which I just had to draw honestly

a lot of my design process was also inspired by a piece by @dumbf1sketches (it's somewhere in the pile of other gorgeous art in that post)

bonus underwater version of all of them because it wasn't bright enough for me to feel good about it being at the top but it's still like, the main colour example to my brain

TAGLIST(S)

AU @mintraindrop @cx-boxbox (I know the og post is from actual ages ago but you two were interested so I humbly offer you these crumbs)

ART @santongkabayo @cyclonixi @alto-the-avocado @loquarocoeur

people that put up with my ramblings on dc @lyslsstuff @peppysinc @girlrussell

[zarvasace]

Ugh tumblr is not cooperating with my readmores and art. Oh well we can do it this way. AU masterpost

Say hello to Shackle and Nothing, dark Wind and dark Time :D more art and long descriptions beneath the cut!

Shackle

Shackle is dark Wind. 

To me, one of Wind’s core themes is freedom. He goes wherever he wants on his boat (and has fun), he frees a couple girls from the Helmaroc King, and when I think of him, I think of wild blue skies and an endless horizon. He loves life and is one of the most determined heroes. 

Shackle, on the other hand, is a bit of a control freak. He doesn't mind not being in charge all the time (he does mind, but he doesn't like to be challenged, and knows that he'd lose any fight for the top place, so he pretends to not care) but he does mind when things don't go his way. If someone or something is annoying him or not listening to him, he will readily use one of the many chains he carries to threaten or restrain. He likes being in control of others, and he likes when people are afraid of him. He keeps fairies nearby, not so much in case of healing, but because he can shake their bottles and listen to them chime in fear. 

Shackle is a rather skilled manipulator, and one of the few Darks that look pretty much human, so he's often the one to head excursions into town (Prince is more of a charismatic diplomat, but his powers don't work on whole crowds at a time.) Because of his strength and chains, he's often the one to be on Dire duty, something he doesn’t mind much. Shackle is also very fond of money and luxury. He’ll pinch rupees on anything that doesn't have to do with him, like someone else’s supplies, but he's happy to splurge on himself. 

He doesn't have any mystical powers, but he does have enchanted chains that grow and shrink according to his needs. He eats food like any mortal. He's as young as Wind is but is more often successful at bluffing his way into bars and the like. He “jokes” often about earning a couple rupees from selling one of the others—usually Lost or Madness, or Nothing if he's being annoying (a normal occurrence.) Shackle’s ambition is to break free of the others and start a true pirate empire, and the way he wants to do that is by starting a slave trade. That way he can indulge his loves of intimidation and money at the same time. 

In terms of design: Shackle is pale to Wind’s tan, a bit beefy to Wind’s young lankiness. He wears red instead of blue, leaning into the pirate aesthetic with sashes and belts and leather and eyeliner. He got a chain tattoo because he thought it was cool. He fears losing everything he has, and some of what he doesn't have. 

The only thing that Shackle and Wind would agree on is that Aryll must be protected and lavished with gifts at every opportunity (even though Shackle hasn’t technically met her, yet.) He'd treat her like a princess—as long as she agreed with him about what a princess should be. He isn't a very good listener. 

Nothing

Nothing is dark Time. He appears as a petulant child: sharp and angular and half-dead. He takes all of Time’s gremlin tendencies and turns them into cruel pranks and mean-spirited insults. Time is a leader, and Nothing intentionally holds the group back if he can get away with it. Nothing is resentful: he remembers fighting Time, though he, like Agony, is different now—he can think more clearly and has a  purpose beyond just being something's  guardian. 

Nothing gets along best with Madness. He hates being given orders and actively goes the other way unless it was his idea. The group at large only barely puts up with him, but they keep him around for a good reason: he's kind of a genius. He knows dungeons, traps, and gimmicks like nobody’s business. He won't ever give advice on one of Depth’s plans if asked, but they've figured out that if they give Nothing an opening to dunk on someone and hurt one of the Heroes, he'll jump into it and put that genius to work. He's excellent at predicting what the heroes might do, which makes everything just that much more sinister. 

On occasion, Nothing will fall into fugues. During these periods, he appears as an older teenager instead of a child, and he's virtually unresponsive. He'll move if prodded. He’ll fight—and fight very well—if told to, but he won't speak, the embodiment of his name. Pretty much everyone finds the contrast rather creepy. These periods don't last long, and soon enough, Nothing is back to his bratty younger self. 

Most of all, Nothing wants everything Time has, but if given the option, he wouldn't take Time’s place. He innocently wishes he could be a hero, but he knows he can't be, so he's going to go as far the other direction as possible. He wants to build his own life. But the people around him wouldn't ever let that happen, so Nothing is bitter and lashes out, without any reason not to. 

Nothing is designed very much after the Dark Link in Ocarina of Time’s Water Temple, with a few significant tweaks. He is based on young Link instead of the older one, and he is also covered in signs of decay. There are faint red and purple lines like veins on his skin, like corpses that began to decompose underwater, and his tunic and hat show signs of the same. When he appears as a teenager, the decay is even worse. His sword is patterned after the Master Sword, but is just a normal, nonmagical thing. 

Nothing is the Hero of Nothing, a sad admittance of his own emptiness and a jab at Time’s forgotten timelines. He wouldn't even know how to seize the opportunity to be a hero of something if it showed up in front of him.

[kunstpause-archive]

Read on Ao3

Day 5: Song

Firsts are always nerve-wracking. Wherever you go, really. Be it the first day in school, not knowing all the children yet that you'll spend most of your time with from now on, or the first night in a brand-new apartment where every noise is unusual and the lights from outside are strange and unusual.

The first day at a new workplace is no different. It comes with a brand new set of expectations, but most of a, a whole lot of unknowns and uncertainties. A permanent sense of nervousness hums within you as you leave the personnel office, your brand new badge and a small box of office supplies in your arms as you get on the elevator. It's an exciting first day to have. Fresh out of university, you've landed a job at the city's most prominent architecture firm. The opportunities are endless, and despite the nervousness, you are beyond giddy to start this new chapter in your life.

The building is tall, gigantic, really. Enough to be a little bit intimidating in its dark colors and the hint of art deco designs going through it. Alone in the elevator on the long way up, the nervousness almost threatens to take over until you decide to silence it like you always do - by singing.

Fear can't take hold with a song in your heart , your mother always used to say. And she was right. Whenever something feels daunting, an upbeat song manages to take your mind off it. It might be a bit silly being on your way up to a prestigious job while singing in the elevator, but it does its job as a distraction. Well enough, so you don't even notice the elevator stopping and the door opening for a few beats.

When you do, your voice breaks off in the middle of a syllable as someone gives you a confused look before he gets on the elevator with you.

"Oh please, don't stop on my account," a deep, melodic voice says, and when you look up at the older man who addressed you, there is an amused look on his face.

"Embarrassing," you murmur, mostly to yourself before you shake your head and clear your throat. "I'm sorry, it's my first day, and this is certainly not the impression I wanted to make on my co-workers," you say with an apologetic smile.

He is handsome, this stranger that pushes a button a few floors above your destination. Tall, looking well built in the elegant combination of a dress shirt and vest he wears. His dark, chin-length hair frames a sharp and angular face with a single white streak falling in front of eyes in a peculiar color. They look almost golden, and they regard you with a questioning look.

"You are so excited to start working that you break out into song in the elevator?" he asks, a half-smile on his face as he looks at the box in your hands. "And all that before even making it to your desk the first time, I assume?"

You let out a nervous laugh.

"I am excited," you say with a slight shrug, "but if I'm honest, I was singing because standing in here and just waiting made me nervous," you admit. "I've never worked in such a big place before. I mean, what if I manage to break the copier?"

"Is that something of a regular issue for you?" he asks with a raised eyebrow, and it takes you a few seconds to realize he is joking.

"You can never know," you say with a grave nod. "There is always a possibility. And it would be a terrible start for me to piss off my boss in the very first week!"

At that, the man lets out a hearty chuckle.

"Don't worry, my dear," he assures you, "I am quite certain your boss doesn't care all that much about a copy machine."

What a strange conversation this is, you think. But for the first talk with anyone at this new place, it is delightfully light-hearted, taking your mind off your worries far more effectively than even the singing did.

"Have you worked here for a long time?" you ask curiously, and again you are met with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you telling me I look old?" the man replies smoothly, and for a second, you nearly flinch, thinking you have said something insulting when he laughs softly again.

"Ah, don't let yourself be so easily thrown," he says with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "I've worked here for almost twenty years by now."

Your eyes widen at that information. "You've been here since the start of the company?" you wonder. He must have some interesting stories to tell if he has been around for the entire rise to the top, from a small firm to the most sought after in town.

"I've been here since the very beginning, yes," he says before he gives you a conspiratorial look. "So believe me when I tell you, you'd have to break way more than a copier to evoke the ire of your boss."

"That's a relief," you reply with a laugh of your own. "So, have you managed? To piss off upper management, I mean?"

He looks at you funnily for a moment before he straight up laughs.

"Oh my dear, you have no idea. Every hour of every day," he says, eyes sparkling with amusement. "They still put up with me."

The elevator is slowing down, and you realize you have reached your floor.

"So, this is me," you murmur, the nervousness from earlier suddenly making a return, and you swallow heavily, grabbing your box a little tighter before you look at the man once more.

"Thank you for the uplifting pep talk," you say with a genuine smile that he returns as he inclines his head at you.

"I hope you have a great first day," he wishes you. "One good enough to still make you feel like singing on your way down in the evening, perhaps."

You can't help but giggle at that.

"Thank you, and who knows, maybe it's so fun I'll sing during work even."

"That's the spirit," he agrees as the door opens, and with a last nod, you step outside. "I hope I'll see you around," he adds just before it closes, and you are not entirely sure if you imagined a little wink going with that or if he had actually looked at you like that.

For a moment, you just stand there, wondering about it, before you give yourself a push and start looking for the office you are supposed to report to. It's still your first day, after all, and despite the reassuring talk from the stranger on the elevator, you really don't want to start your career by leaving the wrong impression on the person in charge.

[toodrawtothink]

And how did you developed your characters for the western film? What kind of references did you used and what gave you the inspiration for the character development?

Fun question!

The process for designing characters for me usually comes from intuition. I don’t intellectualize the process that much. I’ll design something and then think about it, and if I don’t like it I’ll redesign until I reach something that feels right. That being said, I did a lot more thinking when it came to Anny herself.

I always prefer drawing women over men, so I was dead set on a female lead. Also helped that I had just played the Mass Effect trilogy so I was probably coming off the high of playing as FemShep.

Anny Vigil’s look is inspired by a mixture of Sigourney Weaver, Noomi Rapace, and Annie Clark. Specifically, their angular facial features, pale skin, and striking eyes. I designed Anny’s clothing based on civil war union soldier uniforms. I liked how rigid and how big the shoulders were and thought it would be an unexpected silhouette for a woman. The sharp, graphic shape-language of her features were my way of visually describing her attitude: sharp, harsh, and dangerous, yet still a fair and beautiful woman. Her eyes are narrow like a cat or bird of prey, but also big and youthful like a doll or child. Her hair is messy and wild, short and crudely cut--she isn’t concerned with her demeanor, only her revenge. Also, I tilted her hat off-kilter because I simply thought it looked dashing, ha.

Jon (real name “Vega”) was my unbridled love letter to the Italian western actor Terence Hill. Specifically his role in the film My Name is Nobody. I love that movie and thought it would be so fun to pair him up with Anny. In my mind, their chemistry is like that of Nobody(Terence Hill) and Jack Beauregard. Thus, Jon’s design reflects a lot of Nobody’s physical traits. His carefree attitude is visually described through his shape/body language. I wanted him to also be a visually intimidating contrast to Anny’s short, slim build so I gave him defined musculature and a strong, tall silhouette. Hell, I even dressed him up similar to Nobody. I wanted him to look rugged and experienced; sly and clever.

In general, my main rule of thumb for designing all the characters of the film was that they should look striking and give off an immediately strong feeling, but also be based on real faces. Even if it is an exaggerated style, I wanted the characters to visually feel like real people.

I hope that answers your question. I get a little carried away when I get to talk about my characters. :P

[supremeuppityone]

One-shot written for Klaroline AU Week 2019 Day Three: All Human

Author’s note: By popular request, this one-shot is a continuation from Chapter 77: Part 4 - Klarosummer Bingo prompt: Baseball, found in my Klaroline series A Beautiful Symmetry.

Please review here.

Curve Ball

             Was it possible to drill a hole in solid Bubinga wood with just her manicure? Caroline huffed, the glare from the highly polished conference table nearly blinding her as she impatiently waited for Klaus to finish reviewing the latest contracting language she’d revised. He’d been calling her in his office every day with increasingly ridiculous requests for contract revisions. Ever since last week’s baseball game.

           “Seriously?! You can’t expect to completely overhaul this corporation’s policy on limited liability without repercussions,” she snarled, aggressively highlighting several key phrases on her laptop.

           Klaus raised an eyebrow, not bothering to hide that patronizing grin of his as he replied, “Perhaps if your earlier drafts hadn’t been quite so ambiguous, love, we could’ve finalized the contracting language sooner.”

           “Ambiguous?! You know damn well I crafted that language per your instructions and you gave me a ridiculously exorbitant bonus after you signed off on my work!” She tossed back her hair, no longer caring that her pristine bun had become an angry ball of frizzy curls. She realized her frustration mostly stemmed from Klaus’ bizarre behavior — not only the bizarre requests regarding work projects, but also his overall demeanor.

           During meetings, she could feel his steel gaze boring into her, but anytime she caught him looking at her, his handsome face was an unreadable mask. Or, how he awkwardly ducked into various offices that she happened to be in, delivering rambling requests to subordinates as though he was scrambling for excuses to be in the room. She’d done her best to ignore her growing feelings for him, and his recent behavior definitely had her rethinking why she’d been drawn to him in the first place. He’d been weird ever since he found out her childhood best friend was Enzo St. John, his favorite baseball player. She’d heard of sports hero worship, but his childish possessiveness over his idol was getting ridiculous.

           The tips of his ears reddened as he quickly said, “Yes, well, clearly I need to take a closer look at your work if this is the subpar quality that I’ve been financing.”

           So much for the inconvenient crush she’d developed. She couldn’t recall the last time he’d pissed her off this much. Caroline slammed her laptop shut, leaping to her feet as she shouted, “The quality of my work was never an issue until this past week when something suddenly jumped up your ass and died!”

           “I should fire you for insubordination,” Klaus growled, slowly rising to lean across his desk, the steel in his gray eyes flashing.

           “Good luck with that — my employment agreement is impenetrable — I designed it,” she smugly told him, slightly taken aback by how close their faces had become. Was he seriously trying to intimidate her by staring at her like that?

           A shrill knock on the door to his office startled them, both jumping back from each other as though an electric current had passed between them. Klaus’ assistant burst in, excitedly telling them, “He’s here! He’s in the lobby and oh my god, he’s just as hot as I remember from the game!” The young brunette did a cute little wiggle at the threshold, clearly not picking up on the tension in the room.

           “April, kindly explain why you deemed it appropriate to interrupt our meeting.”

           Caroline rolled her eyes, not interested in listening to Klaus take his bad mood out on his terrified assistant. “I have a thing. Looks like he’s a bit early.”

           “Who,” Klaus asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

           “Enzo St. John,” April said breathlessly, practically bouncing on her tiptoes.

           Caroline slipped her laptop in her bag, nodding to the starstruck girl, “Thank you, April. Please let him know I’ll be down in a minute.”

           After his assistant left, Klaus leaned against his desk, his voice dry as he remarked. “So, a thing. With Enzo.”

           “Yes, we’re going to dinner,” she said breezily, feeling her irritation flare at his tone. Was he seriously pissed that she was leaving work a few minutes early? Controlling asshat.

           He scoffed, folding his arms in front of his chest. “He’s no doubt taking you to Grayson’s, possibly the most unimaginative fine dining experience in town.”

           “Actually, I suggested Sybil’s Lair,” she snapped, adding, “they have the best brie and honey figs.”

           “Not to mention a rather saucy dinner show.”

           “Seriously?! So what if it’s a burlesque club? It’s fun and one of my favorite hangouts.” She stomped out of his office, not bothering to turn around as she barked, “And feel free to shove your Puritan hang-ups up your ass!”

           Later that night, Caroline was impressed by how quickly Enzo had made her forget all about Klaus’ odd fixation with his baseball idol. She and Enzo easily had slipped back into their snarky friendship that she hadn’t even realized she’d been missing all these years. It was hilarious to watch the staff and other customers fawn over the guy who used to get detention for making fart noises with his armpit.

           He wriggled his eyebrows, lightly tapping the rim of his Dr Pepper martini with hers. She rolled her eyes, but took another sip, still chuckling that he’d charmed the waitress into going across the street to buy their favorite soda they used to drink every day after school. However, the moonshine-soaked cherries the bartender had sent over with a flirty wink was a new and delicious surprise. “I always knew you would be a smashing success at whatever you set out to do, but I’m still so proud of all you’ve accomplished, gorgeous.”

           “Says the mega-famous baseball star.”

           He waved her off, settling more comfortably against the plush red velvet corner booth. “It was mostly luck plus me being a pain in the ass.”

           “Comforting to know some things never change,” she answered dryly, dipping another parmesan breadstick in the honey-balsamic dressing and savoring the tart sweetness on her tongue. “Like the time you didn’t study for that geography test, but made all of your answers into a bunch of haikus about how great Mr. Donovan was and you ended up with the second-highest grade.”

           “Like you didn’t do the same thing to get out of doing that stupid book report with Miss Sommers when you told her you were having boy trouble because everyone knew she’d been dumped.”

           Giggling, they signaled a waitress wearing a fluffy red and black feather boa and little else to bring them another round.

           “Ah, memories. So nice to see you two getting reacquainted,” Klaus’ biting voice rang out, startling them both as they realized he was standing at their table, an attractive redhead clinging to his side.

           Caroline was taken aback by how all the breath seemed to leave her body as she noticed the way Klaus threw his date a sexy grin, not bothering to look at Caroline as he openly admired the woman’s halter dress whose every dip and slit of fabric revealed toned expanses of creamy skin. At least she knew what Klaus’ type looked like — gorgeous in an unapproachable way, tall, angular, and quite vicious if that predatory gleam in her green eyes was anything to go by. And she was none of those things. Not that she cared.

           “Yup, it feels like we were never apart — gorgeous and I have quite the bond, mate,” Enzo lazily answered, lightly patting Caroline’s hand. He squinted up at Klaus, a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes as he added, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

           Caroline noted an angry red flush creeping up Klaus’ neck (which unfortunately did nothing to detract from how unfairly attractive he looked in his crisp blue dress shirt). She hurriedly explained, “Klaus and I work together; he was at your game last week.”

           Enzo snapped his fingers, telling him, “That’s right! I signed a bunch of Augustine Tigers merchandise for you. It was great for the old ego.”

           “Those were for my brother,” Klaus snapped, an unfamiliar look of alarm in his eyes.

           “But I thought you were Klaus? You and your brother have the same name — must’ve been bloody confusing growing up, eh?”

           Klaus sneered, not bothering to acknowledge the redhead dragging her sharp nails teasingly along his arm. “Of course — almost as confusing as a two-time, top-five MVP experiencing a career low batting average right before playoffs.”

           Outraged by Klaus’ smug expression, Caroline opened her mouth to defend her friend when Enzo gently squeezed her hand, a movement that Klaus curiously followed with his steely gaze. “Not to worry, gorgeous. I think I understand what has Klaus in a right strop.”

           Obviously tired of being ignored, the redhead seemed to take a more direct approach and whispered something in Klaus’ ear that had him stand a bit straighter as he smirked, “Yes, well, enjoy your evening then. I’ll see you around, Caroline.”

           Caroline raised an eyebrow, still not entirely sure what happened as she watched his date possessively drag Klaus away from their table. She threw back the rest of her martini in one swallow, secretly pleased that their attentive waitress already was sliding a fresh drink in front of her. “Well, that was...seriously, I have no earthly idea what the hell that was.”    

           Enzo snorted, pausing briefly to applaud the red sequin and black body paint-speckled dancers that appeared on onstage to start their second show. “Bollocks. Can’t say I’m not a bit disappointed at this development, gorgeous — but it seems you’re smitten with Klaus. And he’s certainly quite taken with you.”

           Wait — what?

[falcon6]

Turnabout Design: Shaping Up a Detective and a Child

Hello, and welcome back to Turnabout Design, a novice’s look at character design using the Ace Attorney series as a base. I am waiting about as long as you are for Gumshoe to pop up in Ace Attorney 7 or whatever, I’ll even take Dai Gyakuten Saiban where it’s revealed he’s a time-traveler, just. Anything......and let us begin. This time, I will NOT spoil much in terms of plotlines for cases or anything involving the two characters I talk about.

So previously, I jumped ahead into Justice for All and Franziska von Karma. While doing so, I failed to bring up a pretty big character from the first game. One of my favorites, in fact. The scruffy detective himself, Detective Dick Gumshoe.

It was at that time I was considering what I could discuss for each post that would be relevant to the actual subject at hand, instead of using half of the post to describe how much I love the design and character like some sort of fanboy. If you read my posts, you probably noticed how I did with that.

Eheh.

So I kind of put the detective off, much like he puts off a good meal of noodles in his cardboard home.

Still, I thought up a pretty decent subject matter to discuss, and I thought “Why not combine two characters into one post to get the point across?” So I had another character come along. The lovable semi-assistant to Wright and spirit medium prodigy, Pearl Fey.

Two fairly different characters, aside from a specific trait I’ll talk about later. However, they provide a fairly important example of character design that I can discuss at length. I knew I liked these characters for a reason!

Shapes

From our earliest development as human beings, we have been a shape. When we walk into our work or school location, we are surrounded by other people of various shapes, all carrying their own shapes. We eat shapes, drive shapes, walk on shapes, stare at shapes, yearn to ask shapes out but can’t gather the shape of courage...you’re reading this on a shape right now. Shapes are very crucial to both design and art in general.

Artists use shapes to construct the form of a piece. They look at forms and try to break them down into simple, geometric shapes so they can be easier to digest. It’s why you see a lot of artists start with very basic shapes for “blueprints”. It is a lot easier to piece together a drawing in form than it is to try and create the entire picture at once.

Character design, however, seeks to push those elements further. The shapes you use to form a character may very well define the character as well. 

Let’s take Detective Gumshoe.

Specifically, let’s look at how you can simplify his shape as a square.

Shapes, like colors as I mentioned before, can detail a lot about a character’s personality and can be dependent on the artist’s own point of view. Those can usually coincide with the viewer, but not always. As this series has always been opinion-based, I’ll discuss my thoughts on what I think square means.

A square, much like a rock, is dependable. It’s sturdy and a bit intimidating. A square implies weight. When a character is big and muscular, a round shape doesn’t really cut it for describing them. They almost seem like a wall.

For Gumshoe, we know he is reliable to a fault. He is steadfast in wanting to do the right thing and very rarely goes against the lead prosecutor of the case unless he truly believes that they are incorrect in their judgements. He’s an ally to Phoenix and Maya, but is still a loyal friend and confidant to Edgeworth. The working relationship with Edgeworth and Gumshoe is stable, regardless of how many pay cuts the poor detective gains. Even in times of great turmoil and potential harm to his person, he gives his all to try and secure the day, even if he outright fails doing it. He can do it when it counts, pal!

In contrast, let’s take a look at Pearl. Pearl, like most younger “cute” characters in anime, can usually be exemplified as a circle.

A circle, or oval or sphere, is usually described as a ball. A ball is bouncy, playful. A bit endearing. The lack of edges makes the shape feel more safe. Most of the characters people think of when “famous cartoon character” comes to mind are usually given that spherical shape as a base. One of the most famous examples, Mickey Mouse, is just three circles when simplified. It’s a safe bet, then, that circles are going to be very popular when it comes to character design.

With Pearl, we know she’s adorable. Her first appearance is as an innocent bystander and later on becomes a staple of the first trilogy for Phoenix and Maya to work with. Her design is endearing, making her a fan-favorite. She’s a warm presence in Phoenix’s life which strives to help him succeed in his job, either to help Maya in some way or trying to force the two to fall in love together. She’s a precious flower that keeps getting involved with murder somehow, so basically Phoenix and Maya are terrible guardians.

Can’t believe he has a kid...

Angular Tangent

Now, those aren’t the only shapes of course. The two I emphasized are simply the ones that made sense for Gumshoe and Pearl.

Another common shape that people like to use for design is a triangle. The angular lines usually imply a deviousness. Cunning. Threatening. Determination. They are also the more energetic of the shapes, usually because they imply direction and movement. Dynamic. These tend to pop up most in villainous characters, who are usually given more pointy features. 

Downward triangles are pretty common for devious characters.

A triangle doesn’t have to be shown in a sinister character only. It can be a good indicator on more fun, light-hearted characters, like Athena.

Triangles imply energy. Athena is a bundle of it.

So while triangles indicate caution, they also imply energy and optimism. Consider how a star, which is usually a symbol of hope, is a bunch of triangles.

And also consider how a star can also be used in a demonic summoning, and you understand that shapes are as varied as everyone else.

Innocence

So let’s talk about the characters real fast, since there’s one thing that defines them both that I think is a pretty good concept: an endearing childlike personality.

Gumshoe is not a child. He’s a bumbler and sometimes pretty stupid, but he’s as adult as all the others. He’ll focus his efforts on trying to help solve the case in whatever manner it takes. He’s a loyal companion to Edgeworth for years, and Edgeworth is not keeping him on because of his ineptitude. It’s because he knows, no matter where things may lead, Gumshoe will have his back. That’s the kind of working relationship you respect, and Edgeworth more than likely understands that positive influence in his life.

Gumshoe’s got a childlike loyalty for whomever he’s allgned with at that point, be it Edgeworth, Phoenix, or even Franny. It’s a sort of endearing trait that keeps him close to most fans’ hearts. It shows very well in how he’s able to get along with child characters like Pearl and Kay Faraday.

Pearl, of course, is an actual child, but her presence as a child helps ground Phoenix. Murder after murder makes the life of a defense attorney pretty grim, but Maya and Pearl are sort of like lights in his life that helps him keep moving forward. When Maya is in danger, Pearl is always able to put her feelings of the moment aside to help Phoenix in any way she can, be it as an assistant or by trying to summon Mia Fey to help them.

They promote ways to better their charges in any way they can, and that has helped them both in various ways that only the audience can really notice.

Conclusion

So what did I learn from making this post?

Shapes can be seen as different from a lot of people’s perspectives. Shapes are going to be key in differentiating a character.

I kind of went over this in my Phoenix post, but the shape of a character is actually a lot more than just its silhouette. It’s the actual feel of the character. The silhouette is good for making the design unique, but their character only begins once you assemble the design that was hiding beneath it. You can make a very unique blob of a character that you want to be scary, but if it’s just implied roundness, then it’ll look cuter than scarier. Meanwhile, 50 sharp angles on a baby’s face is going to make me very afraid to hold that baby.

Shapes are going to be a key to designing characters for me, especially as a graphic designer. Shapes are everywhere and can imply anything.

It’s just all about how you use those shapes.

Thank you for reading. This was a bit short considering how long it took for this post. I may end up making something faster for next time, but I’m not sure yet. It really depends on if the mood works.

Whenever I do, it’ll probably be a bit of a gushing-about-character post. Until then, it’s just a Distant Trace...

[connorfergusonvcdkoha]

Week 8.2 - WIRE FRAMES + VISUAL STYLE = XD

This is my first completed design for the interim next week.

Rationale:

I change the colouring to blue and a soft orange because I feel like they were more inviting colours for a user. Especially when considering the ecophobia aspect. The blue reminded me of dairy because of the blue tops a lot of types of milk have. With this new colour palette I feel like the two pages are more stylistically cohesive. They feel like they are supposed to be from the same website. I particularly enjoy how in the second image, the sharp angular lines interacts with the soft inviting background to give a more passive but still emotive feel to the page. Especially considering that it is talking about climate change.

A lot of the text at the moment is placeholder. This is just so I can get a rough idea of layout and how the text and images should interact on the page.

I realise I have wondered from my original wire frames. I want to get an idea of how my style will best suit the page before I go back to how I need my content to lay out to effectively communicate my message. I am able to imagine how this would work together!

The nav along the top is intuitive, efficient and easy to understand. It doesn’t take up too much space and therefore does not distract from the potential of the rest of the page.

I really wanted the heading on the home page to be concise and to summarise what is to come. I’m not quite sold on the current title, I feel like it is a bit intimidating and still a bit too vague.

Creating a brand - I chose the name of the site to be called “Milkless” as I felt that it is short and catchy. I feel like it is important to create a ‘brand’ for my website that is catchy and easy to remember. I am hoping to make a memorable enough brand that will stick with people and help push them towards considering my small action.

Going straight for the issue - With my ad I wanted to relate to meme culture. By having someone literally drowning in milk but having his thumb up, I reckon it softens the blow that I am talking directly to climate change. Rather than going for food porn or health or ethics, I thought about my target audience and decided that students have a social conscience enough to be drawn in with a passive, comedic approach rather than having the wool pulled over their eyes altogether. I really went in on emphasising how easy my action would be and more importantly how affordable. I think this straight away addresses the student’s problems before they even set foot in the site. Setting them up to be open-minded.

Self-Crit:

I am feeling comfortable so far with visual style I am exploring and feel that there is definitely some potential... However, what I have so far still seems to miss the ethos and pathos side of the argument... I am hoping to bounce some ideas around with some class-mates and see if I can come up with something more unique and emotive without diving into the intimidating ‘ecophobic’ territory that I am trying to avoid.

[romanoartsless]

I'm writing a lot more since it's getting to a more fast passed part of the book so hope for the next update sooner rather than later

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Chapter 34

Edith had been going to the head of the high family meetings in the place of her mother for about a year now. With her father dead and her mother sickly, she was technically the Delikov head. She sat alone at the side of the table designated for Delikov’s and marked with the family’s blue. Across from her sat the Petrovs.

Shaw leaned across his wife to the purple section of the table to speak to the king. “The meeting was supposed to start half an hour ago,” he said, his voice carrying around the room, “and your fucking cousin is taking his sweet time to get here.”

“Shaw,” said the king, “March is probably just running a little late. You do remember what happened to his daughter yesterday?”

The Petrov head groaned and leaned back into his seat.

There seemed to be a ruckus stirring up outside the room because everyone could hear footsteps and guards yelling. Every member of the high families turned around to the doors when they swung open to March Ranez. His hazel eyes filled with rage when they landed on Shaw Petrov. He walked over to the man and without hesitation threw his fist into his face.

Edith sometimes wondered if Shaw enjoyed pain because when he snapped his nose back into place, he held a wicked grin and didn’t even wince. March seemed to be in more pain when he saw saw pure horror in Natasha Petrov’s blue-green eyes. “Tash,” he faintly whispered.

It was obvious to anyone with eyes that March Ranez was in love with Natasha Petrov. Edith had heard he’d been in love with her long before she even met her husband. Shaw Petrov and Lorelei Ranez knew about March’s unrequited love, but ignored it like the rest of the court of Novak.

“March!” It was the king.

The Ranez head snapped back into the situation he was in and resorted back to his rage towards Shaw. “Did you know it was a Petrov man who attacked Amber Lynn?! You had had my daughter attacked! You could’ve gotten my baby girl killed!” Tears began to well up behind his glasses. “You tried to get my baby girl killed.”

A sick laugh came out of Shaw’s mouth as he said, “At least if she died she’s not the future head.”

March was about to punch Shaw again, his fist already in the air, until Natasha threw her frame over her frame. He froze for a second then eventually went back to his side, sitting down at the orange side of the table, acting as though he hadn’t just punched and attempted to punch a second time the head of the Petrov family.

Now that March and Lorelei sat next next to each other it made Edith think about how little the Ranez daughters looked like one particular one of their parents. If anything, they looked more like perfect a combination of the two. March had dark chocolate hair he kept short and slightly messy and hazel eyes behind the glasses on his freckled face whereas Lorelei had a bob of midnight black hair and the palest of pale blue eyes. The main consistency, she thought, throughout the Ranez bloodline was their sharp, angular faces. Even the king had it, his mother being Anya Ranez.

“Go back to your speaking, cousin,” March said while pushing his glasses farther up his face.

“We need to tighten the competition. These boys are running around and getting distracted when they should be searching. I need them to be searching.”

“And what do you propose, Bartholomew?” Shaw cut in, his voice full of sarcasm. “We can’t send guards out to watch them because all the good ones are in your stupid competition. Even that little fucking nice guy of a captain your darling love Victor promoted is in it. We need to think of a logical option-.”

“I swear to the gods,” March, “if your ‘logical option’ is to give the throne to Crispin, I will throw my glasses across the room into your pretty little face. We’ve been hearing it since he was six.”

“I don’t see the problem with that. You won’t be able to see and I’ll have your glasses. Where is my con in this?”

“I’m nearsighted, Shaw, not blind.”

“We are keeping the competition in play, I just plan on tightening the rules. Crispin will get the throne if he wins.”

“I expect no less. He is my son. Son of a witch hunter.”

March laughed from across the table. “Who grew up in a generation without witches.”

Shaw threw himself out of his seat, his chair flying practically halfway across the room. His fist slammed into the table as he leaned in closer to the Ranez section. March looked like a child compared to Shaw. Shaw towered over anyone and anything and he knew it and used it to his advantage. He was even taller than his son who likely stood taller than three quarters of the men in Novak.

March, however, was not as easily intimidated by the Petrov. He knew Shaw used his size to scare people into his manipulation, he’d learned this years and years ago. Shaw almost expected everyone to fear his presence so March learned not to give him the bait to latch onto.

March sat still and emotionless, hazel eyes locked onto those strangely bright green eyes as Shaw yelled at him. “What is your fucking problem with me, Ranez?!”

He still sat like a statue in his seat as he pushed up his glasses before directly pointing at Natasha who sat trembling in her seat, aimlessly playing with her dirty blond hair, and on the verge of tears.

Edith wouldn’t call it rage, the emotion on Shaw Petrov’s face, she’d compare it more to the look a man would have right before he was about to snap someone’s neck. “Last time I checked she was my wife, not yours.”

“Yeah, because you raped her and got her pregnant when she was sixteen.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Edith could see Natasha now crying in her chair, seated in the fetal position. Behind the tears in those teal eyes you could see the contemplation whether to crawl under the table to cry in privacy. In the end she chose not to, instead using her hands and short hair to muffle out the sound of yelling.

“She is my wife, therefore I can do whatever I please with her.”

“She’s a person, not a piece of property, Shaw!”

The king and Lorelei alike sat in silence as the fighting continued. It was normal for those two to bicker or fight, but it rarely ever got this bad. The common denominator in every confrontation was Natasha. They could’ve started off talking about breakfast foods and March would find a way to confront Shaw on his alleged abuse and rape of his wife.

With Shaw distracted Edith saw a small folded piece of paper glide across the the wood from March’s hand to right in front of Natasha. Her fragile and slightly bruised hand reached out to grab it as the other one swiped away her tears. She read the words on the paper then looked up at March with the most sorrow and longing Edith had ever seen in her life. She wondered what it read. It was probably one of March’s cheesy, romantic poems.

“March! Shaw!”

The two men and everyone at the table shot their attention towards the king. He was sitting calmly in his seat even though he had just yelled as loud- if not louder- than the others. “If you wish to continue fighting, go outside. The meeting is over.”

Shaw sighed and held his hand out for his wife who had just finished stuffing the note into her dress. She took it and hopped out of her chair. Natasha Petrov wasn’t a short woman, but she looked like a child who hadn’t gone through puberty yet compared to her husband.

Shaw, Natasha, March, Lorelei, and Edith now sat waiting for the guards to open up the doors so they could make their way back home. Edith felt eyes glued onto her and turned over her shoulder to see bright green eyes locked on her body. “Shaw.”

“You didn’t talk much in the meeting today.”

“You did, so how could I?”

She still felt his stare and realized he was staring at the dress she wore. It was blue, like her high family’s color, but it was skin tight, strapless, and multiple cut outs around the waist. “Shouldn’t you have worn something more modest to the meeting, Edith? You look like a whore.”

She chuckled at the comment. “Oh Shaw, you wouldn’t be complaining about my dress if it was on your bedroom floor.

The last thing she heard before the guards opened the doors and walked out was March’s laughs.

 Chapter 35

Tash.

Her heart fluttered at that one word alone. When she was young, her mother used to call her Tasha, along with many other friends and family members, but only one person ever called her Tash. It was March.

Tash Merenkov.

Natasha never thought she’d heard March ever call her by anything that wasn’t her maiden name. It always made her smile and reminisce on her younger days, since she’d been referred to as a Petrov for twenty-four years.

I wanted to write you something about how beautiful you are using metaphors, but what do I compare you to? I’ve thought about this for hours. I thought about whether your hair was closer to the color of corn or wheat. Or whether your eyes were more like water when it gets a green tinge or the most expensive turquoise gems. The thing is, I can’t compare your beauty in a metaphor because you’re beautiful because you’re Tash, not because your hair looks like wheat and your eyes look like gems.

Every word he had written was more cliche than the last, but Natasha would choose cliche love letters over beatings and fighting and yelling and yelling and yelling and yelling-.

“Natasha.”

As soon as his hand touched her shoulder, she tossed the paper into the fireplace. The less evidence he had, the less hits she’d receive. “Yes Shaw?”

“What was that paper?”

“Nothing, dear.”

His grip tightened and he pushed her to the ground so he now stood like a tower above her. “Paper does not equal nothing.”

“I swear it was just paper. It was nothing to me, it means nothing.”

“Paper can change a fate, paper can tear a family apart, paper can kill a man, so don’t tell me paper means nothing.”

Natasha didn’t cry anymore when he hit her. She’d suffered through the pain for over two decades, she’d learned to become numb to it. Tears only came when the children saw it go down. No child, even if they were technically an adult, should have to watch their mother take pain like she’d been dealt it at the hands of their father for forever.

She thought her ears were lying to her when she heard clapping. It couldn’t have been Shaw and it couldn’t have been one of the girls. There was only one other viable option.

“Dearest father, I don’t think beating your wife senselessly sends the best message to your children. Aren’t you supposed to be a role model?”

“Go to your house, Crispin. This is none of your business, stay out of this.”

“None of my business? Last time I checked that woman created me.”

“How many times has she told you that you’re a useless heir to the Petrov name? How many times has she told you your little phase of not wanting to fuck people is just an attention grab and a con to get out of your role? Tell me that Crispin.”

The words cut like knives through Crispin. Natasha wanted to reach up to him and take him into her arms, but he might as well push her away the moment she did it. “How many times have you manipulated and abused her into saying those things? Tell me that Shaw.”

Crispin then crouched down to his mother’s level, completely ignoring his father as he walked away from him. “I’m heading out again,” he kissed into her forehead. “I’m not going out with Thomas or Gideon, but I’ll be back to see you before the sun goes down.” He glared up in a passive aggressive manor. “I promise.”

Natasha empathized with her son on a level she didn’t empathize with anyone else. Crispin was too much like her for comfort. It sometimes crossed her mind if it was so easy for the attacks to roll out of her mouth because in her mind she was saying these things to herself. If someone tells you something enough times they’ll start to believe it. Natasha began to believe those things, there was no other way to survive in the world.

This world was cruel to people like Crispin- people like her.

[scrawnydutchman]

Character Design: Curves vs. Points

Character design is an essential part in communicating theme, atmosphere and, as the name suggests, character in any given animated work be it a television series, film, video game or what have you. It’s of utmost importance that one be able to communicate what kind of character they are trying to sell in their story through their appearance. What should a good guy look like? How should a bad guy appear? What if I want him to be funny? Or cute? Or Scary? What colors should I use? What article of clothing should I give him? Does the appearance reflect his or her history at all? It may be a good idea to go through a checklist of what attributes you want to reflect in your character before you begin to draw them, especially if you want said character to reflect what is being described in a novel or screenplay. That really doesn’t even begin to explain just how deep the process goes. Even an element as basic as linework is something you have to seriously consider in order to express your characters personality. So how does linework affect our perception of a character? How does a difference in strokes create a difference in persona? Well, in my mind, the easiest place to start is in articulating the difference between curves and points.

we associate shapes with comfort and danger in our everyday life. It’s a defense mechanism to help us stay away from hazards but also know when something is safe to touch. Curves are what we associate with optimistic qualities such as youth, cuteness, sexual appeal, innocence, safety and trustworthiness. As such, more often then not you will find sympathetic, relatable or otherwise desirable protagonists have very curvy figures, which can often be broken down into a series of circles and other curvy shapes. Large examples include Mickey Mouse, Super Mario, Pac-Man, Po from Kung Fu Panda, Winnie the Pooh and many many more.

*Notice how in Mickey’s design there’s not a sharp edge in sight, with the exception perhaps of his tail.

In contrast, we associate pointy design with danger, intimidation, hazard. We’re cautionary around things with sharp edges and therefore are intimidated by characters with very sharp designs. As a very common use of shorthand so many animated villains have very angular cheekbones, prominent chins, long bony fingers and so much more. Just look at 90% of Disney Villains.

The most frequent use of curvy linework is used for protagonists and characters we’re generally supposed to be sympathetic with, and in contrast pointy linework is most commonly used for characters we are scared of or characters that have more dramatic weight to them. But this does not necessarily mean bad guys always have to be pointy and good guys always have to be curvy. Sometimes crossing the line is the best course of action to evoke completely different feelings.

Elmer Fudd is most definitely an antagonist. Always trying to hunt down that wascawwy Wabbit when Bugs just wants to mind his own business. But his intent is not to be a legitimate threat. He’s very easily thwarted by the cunning and mischievous Bugs, and this is largely due to him being naive, not very bright, gullible and a little clumsy. This is articulated through his adorably baby-ish design. He puts up a tough guy attitude the whole way through but has such an innocent and harmless demeanor you laugh at him more then you’re intimidated by him. By being exposed to his design we as the audience immediately understand that despite technically being the antagonist, he’s not actually anything to be worried about. Now that we see him it’s less about whether or not Bugs will survive and more about in what silly way this funny little man is going to get his come-uppence. Pretty well all the Looney Tunes bad guys have the same principle applied to them except maybe Wiley (but there’s an exception to everything).

Now on the flipside, let’s look at one of the most iconically scary crimefighters in all of fiction. Batman, as everybody knows, is a good guy, and is the protector of Gotham City. But people in his universe often have huge trust issues with the guy, and for good reason. He scares the crap out of everyone he interacts with. He’s rigid, mysterious, dominating, and is both sharp in the mind and in design. The picture above was taken from the ever so great Batman TAS but incidentally this show got a redesign in it’s 4th season and pushed the points and the angular linework even further then this. It made the tone even more gothic and gritty then it already was and was IMO the right creative move . . . with the exception of how the Joker was redesigned but that’s irrelevant.

*side note: Bruce Timm is one of my all time favorite show creators. Loved Justice League to death and JLU is one of my favorite series of all time.

So generally speaking curves relate to innocence and points relate to dominance. But what happens when you mix them together? It can be done, and often creates a very slick and cool result in which a character is relatable but also admirable. You take him seriously but you’re also confident around him.

Sonic the Hedgehog is the perfect example of this point hands down. In his original inception Sonic was very round, short and plump, and was heavily inspired by classic cartoon characters as they appeared in the early 20th century (hence why he also wears white gloves and has very Felix the Cat-like eyes). But being a hedgehog, he naturally has sharp quills peering out of the back of his head, typically in a formation of 3. This is a wonderful design because it makes him cute but cool. It articulates that while he can be fun and innocent he can also be adventurous and mischievous. In the revamp that took place in the late nineties and early 2000s Sonic took the slick and lean side of his design and took it a step further. Now he’s taller, thinner, more spikey and angular. More “extreme” if you will. Personally I’m more akin to his early design but his later one is great for it’s purposes too. All of this said, be warned: a design like this is a very delicate balance to uphold, and going too far in either direction can lead to some VERY awkward results.

*shudders* hideous . . . 

So whenever you’re designing a character for a new show or a comic or, are just doodling for fun, really think about what kind of personality you’re drawing and what the best decisions are to express that. Even the most minor details make the most dramatic difference.

[itsworn]

Purists Beware: This LS-Swapped Corvette LT-1 was Built to Carve Corners

Over the years, the Chevrolet Corvette somehow became affiliated with a phenomenon known as a midlife crisis, but back when it was introduced in 1953, these sporty coupes appealed to a much younger demographic. The Corvette’s performance capabilities increased rapidly in its early years, and the endorsement of the second generation of this machine by some of our nation’s famous astronauts helped rocket the vehicle’s popularity to stratospheric levels. By the time the third generation rolled off the factory floor—with its sharp, angular styling resembling a mako shark—Chevrolet’s halo performance offering had arguably become one of the most collected cars in automotive history.

The car earned the nickname “Rambo” because it’s big and wide and looks like it means business. Notice the grille on the right side is a little crooked after an altercation with a cone.

Enter Garrett Randall, who sports flannels and flat-bill hats, rather than jean shorts and white tennis shoes. At age 29, Garrett brings a wrinkle-free complexion to the Corvette owner’s club of Simi Valley, California. He grew up being heavily influenced by the flourishing car culture around him, a sentiment that was reinforced by his father’s 1972 Pantera in their garage. He was hooked on classic cars at any early age. By just 14, he had restored his first car, a 1967 Camaro, with the help of his father, Lefty Randall, and family friend Mike Fennel. A few years later, after seeing a couple magazine stories about Optima’s search for the Ultimate Street Car, he attended an event to see what it was all about. He was hooked and immediately wanted to build a car to autocross. Like most people, road-course racing was intimidating to someone who didn’t have much experience on a racetrack, but autocross really intrigued him because of the sport’s accessibility and minimal risk of damage to the car.

Garrett Randall wheels Rambo around autocross courses like it’s a rented mule and not a car that would look equally at home in the show-and-shine section at Holley’s LS Fest West.

So Garrett built his (at the time) El Camino to start carving the cones, but found that without fully reworking the car, it really wasn’t suited for the small constraints of most autocross courses. He then hatched a plan to build a different car that would allow him to be more competitive. While buying a late-model performance car would have probably been the most financially responsible and quickest way to get a car that would perform well, the idea didn’t sit right with Garrett, who told us, “I can appreciate new cars, but I’m really just not that into them. There’s some really cool, newer stuff out there, but I really like the vintage stuff.” That ideology ultimately led to the thought of buying a C3 Corvette due to their extensive racing heritage, lightweight fiberglass body, and having an independent rear suspension that provides a solid foundation to create a vintage car that can handle.

Look at how wide the rear of this car is with 335 tires tucked inside the massive fender flares designed and built by Cris Gonzales at JCG Restorations and Customs.

After some time searching for the proper candidate on Craigslist, Garrett found a 1971 C3 in Austin, Texas. A few phone calls and a video chat tour of the car later, he bought it sight unseen and shipped it to California. Garrett had noticed some noteworthy cars at the Optima events coming out of Cris Gonzales’ shop, JCG Restorations and Customs in Oxnard, California, so he decided to take the Corvette to him to be built into the track-ready machine he imagined. As fate would have it, Cris actually had a Pro Touring 1970 C3 of his own that he was planning to rework into an even more serious track machine. Randall started negotiations to buy most of the old parts off that car, and after sitting down together to run the numbers, Cris explained that, with all the labor, it would probably make more sense for Garrett to buy his car and sell the other one. They struck a deal and got started turning the much-further-along project into the machine Garrett had envisioned.

This thing looks so killer rolling down the road with a stance that most would consider too low. Sure, the exhaust might scrape from time to time, but it’s a small price to pay to look this good.

Fair warning: If you’re a dedicated member of the National Corvette Restorers Society, you may want to skip over the next few sentences. The car Garrett purchased from Cris happened to be a real-deal LT-1 car complete with the Protect-O-Plate and the numbers-matching engine and transmission still hanging around, though not installed. If the thought of modifying this car at all offends your sensibilities, take solace in knowing the original owners flared the fenders and raced it in the early 1970s, so any perceived blasphemy was committed a long time ago.

The custom flares flow so nicely with the body lines, unlike so many of the aftermarket units people buy to slap on their cars, and the custom rocker panels ties the front and back together so well.

With his background being focused more on restoration than customization, Cris had never intended to cut the car up because of the relatively rare set of factory options. Garrett agreed with the notion, so the frame was left original but upgraded with Van Steel control arms up front, a quick-ratio ARG steering box, custom JCG sway bars front and rear, and JRi coilover shocks on all four corners. For stopping power, they went with Wilwood Superlite six-piston calipers with 13-inch rotors in the front and four-piston calipers with 12.88-inch rotors in the rear, all being worked by a manual Wilwood master cylinder. Included with the car was a set of wheels Garrett never expected to be able to afford: GA3R Forgelines. The front runners were 11.5 inches wide wrapped in 315 series BFGoodrich G-Force Rival S rubber with 335 series tires mounted on a 12.5-inch-wide wheels out back.

Everything about this car is just right, especially the way the BFGoodrich Rival S tires wrapped around the Forgeline GA3R wheels fill the wheelwells of this classic ride.

For power, Garrett took a practical approach, forgoing excessive horsepower for driveability. An LS6 built by Mullinex Racing Engines was already under the hood, sporting a mild cam and an upgraded valvetrain to help it live at higher rpm. To it, they added a T56 six-speed manual transmission, which sends power through a custom aluminum driveshaft to the original rear end that was stuffed with an Eaton posi unit and 3.73:1 gears. To keep the fluids happy during flogging sessions at the track, a custom Ron Davis radiator was fitted, a Moroso oil accumulator was added along with a baffled C5 ZO6 oil pan, power steering and engine oil coolers were put in place, and some custom Trackspec-inspired hood vents were dropped in the factory hood. JCG built a custom aluminum fuel cell that prevents fuel starvation when cornering and installed a factory ZL1 Camaro fuel-pump assembly before plumbing the car with VaporWorx lines and fittings. The engine breathes through a K&N cold-air intake and exhales through a set of Kooks headers and into a stainless exhaust built by JCG with custom Borla mufflers. Keeping with the simplistic approach, a factory ECU was used to control the engine and HP Tuners software was utilized to maintain a reliable 450 hp.

Under the hood is a mildly built LS6 with an upgraded cam and heads assembled by Mullinex Racing Engines, putting out a reliable and snappy 450 hp.

Inside the car, the original interior was in surprisingly good shape, so there wasn’t much done to update it other than putting in a Kirkey seat on the driver side with an RCI harness, an aftermarket steering column capped off with a Sparco steering wheel, a stock gas pedal modified to make heel-and-toe braking easier, and AutoMeter gauges inserted in the factory locations. Prior to Garrett purchasing the car, Cris had cut out a rollcage that made getting in and out of the car much too difficult. In its place, he fabricated a rollbar that doubled as a harness attachment point behind the seats.

Inside the car really doesn’t look all that different from stock, with only the driver seat, a custom column and steering wheel, and AutoMeter gauges differing from what Chevy put in at the factory in 1970.

To complete the car’s exterior, JCG finished installing of the one-off flares that Cris designed to flow with the body lines. Everyone seems to put side pipes on these cars, but the thought of burning his legs and the drone of the exhaust on the road made Garrett scrap the set that was installed. Instead, Cris made custom rocker panels to fill the void where the side pipes used to be. He also made an aluminum rear diffuser to clean up air under the car at speed and cover up the area that used to house the spare tire. At this point, the car went to Ed Palmer at Kundensport, a shop normally known for turning out quality Porsche restorations. Ed sprayed the custom color based on Dodge F8 Green that Garrett spotted on a new Challenger at the Los Angeles Auto Show. With some gold pearl in the mix, the dynamic finish highlights the angular surfaces of the car. Aided by his years of experience with curvy Porsche fenders, Ed expertly laid down a show-quality paint job that turned out so nice that Garrett had Brian Vaccaro at Impression Auto Salon wrap nearly the entire car in SunTek protective film to preserve the paint during the thrashing that was sure to come.

Unless you look at the car closely, you would have no way of knowing the entire car has been wrapped in a protective film to preserve the high-quality paint job laid down by Ed Palmer at Kundensport.

Despite building this beautiful Corvette on a relatively limited budget, it turned out far nicer than Garrett ever anticipated. Even though he’s a little more careful with it than his other cars, he drives this Corvette regularly, because that was his plan from the start. Many Vette owners keep their cars tucked away in their garages like a collectible baseball card stuck inside a plastic sleeve, but Garrett believes stock is boring and cars are meant to be driven—and driven hard.

The Wilwood Superlite six-piston brakes and 13-inch rotors tucked behind those beautiful Forgeline wheels are a perfect match that really enhances the overall look and performance of this machine.

It’s all business under the hood, with little done in the way of aesthetics just like most cars that are built to be driven. Hiding in front of the serpentine-belt system is a Moroso oil accumulator to help the engine maintain oil pressure under heavy cornering.

The addition of gold pearl in the Dodge F8 Green makes this a really unique car to photograph. In various different lights, it seems to change color.

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