Characters @ MindSay 
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Writing & Gaming
Today has been one of those incredibly boring days.
The highlights had to be playing Final Fantasy VII and talking to Reiss about DATWBSVOH at 3 in the morning. :D
In my several-hour streak of Final Fantasy VII, I've levelled up my main party slightly, along with mastering a few materia crystals.
I'm at the stage where I'm battling constantly to max everything out that's actually possible.
Along with talking to Reiss, I spent a few hours writing on my DATWBSVOH planning sheet. Reiss has asked to be included as a character, and he's helped me along with a few ideas - so naturally, I'm going to include him.
I got absorbed in writing it, until I got a bit stuck at 5AM and decided to quit and sleep.
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Section:
Andrew seized his chance; while Ashleigh’s arm was raised, he grabbed her by the wrist, his large fingers closing tightly around it. He then proceeded to twist it harshly between his thumb and forefinger, bending her arm back over on itself as he did so. Ashleigh let out a yelp of pain, furiously trying to struggle free - but this just caused his grip to tighten and the pain to worsen.
“Say you’re sorry, little Sparrow!” Andrew sniggered, raising his eyebrows challengingly.
Ashleigh whimpered, still having no luck at freeing herself, as she gnawed upon her lip, trying to blot out the pain. “…N-No! …I’m… I’m not saying it…!”
“Have it your way then…” Andrew smirked, grabbing Ashleigh’s arm with both hands, one at her wrist, one at her elbow - as he yanked it up and over her head, causing her to spin backwards in her wheelchair as he pressed her palm to the back of her neck.
Ashleigh screamed, burning agony welling up in all of the joints of her left arm, feeling now that there was no way she could ignore the pain, nor silence herself.
“AAAARRGH….!!! I…I’m… Alright!!! I’m sorry!!” Ashleigh wailed, flailing her free arm madly as she felt almost ready to start crying as a result of the pain.
Andrew spared her mercy, smiling smugly as he let her arm drop. “Much better, little Sparrow,” he said, baring his teeth in a smirk.
Ashleigh frowned, lowering her head slightly in embarrassment. She quickly placed both hands on her wheels, ignoring her aching arm - and forcefully propelled herself out of the hall, muttering violent curses under her breath.
I wanted to reply about the characters photo.
Here we go!:
Jeremiah here, (and for those of you who don't know i sing in the band) have to say, when I was told by the guys to look at the photo, i was a little shocked, but of course that's the value of nudity used as shock value.
Many organizations and bands even use this marketing value of art within their work. Going to art school, i've learned some value in shock and it can be used in a positive light to get a great concept or statement out. But it's the statement that has to say something, not just the photo. (Which you'll see is very ironic next week when the new disc comes out.)
However, I can say that I'm sure THIS is not necessarily the concept or idea that the band IS looking to promote. I feel that if we we're to actually persue this idea with nudity assigned to our name, I would like to be conscious of:
1. Change the setting (not a household, perhaps a studio or classy 'clean' looking enviorment,)
2. take it with a high quality camera, so the idea can be conveyed clearly, and meaningfully to the audience.
3. Present the idea to the audience properly.
Both arguments are valid because neither arguments are relevant to us. I'd like to reference Jeff Farrera (sorry if the spellings off bro) a Montserrat student- we haven't met yet but many of our friends have recently posed nude for him covering their sexual parts and just smiling being young and beautiful. For fun. Keeping in mind, that I saw this photo after it was taken, I have to relay the message that like Jeff's photos, this one was done for fun, and for friends. (Which also may I remind you is posted on Facebook, a private place, and Myspace, A PLACE FOR FRIENDS)
As much as I love the controversy and everyone talking about the best at a very exciting time for us, ...jus'cool'ya jets!
Love you guys, don't ever loose your cool.
Jeremiah
Characters.
(Comment back on facebook)
Instead of just presenting a few more character sketches, I decided to collage several together as a stand alone piece. As my characters and their stories grow longer in my mind, their images become more immediate and recognizable. There was a time when I was greatly discouraged with my ability to convey what my characters looked like in my mind versus how I drew them on paper, but now I'm finally reaching the point where the image grows more real with how real my confidence has grown over the years. I think I am starting to display my age and experience with my drawing techniques. But it's not all about technique anymore, it more about letting style emerge as well as emotion. I hope that the following images provoke a passionate reality to you, my friends.
Alexandre "Alex" (or Lex) Lucien Valois
Alexandre was born and raised in a very wealthy household. He is used to wearing fine clothing and has never had to worry about going without anything. The privledges he has enjoyed has not, however, made him into a bad character nor is he a big goodie two shoes. He is actually fairly lonely, moody, a hopeless romantic, and a deep thinker. He often uses his large leather trench coat like body armor, standing straight, erect, very much aware of the world around him and prepared to stand against it, if necessary, but only in public. Privately he is shaped more like a tear drop and he sighs a lot. He's been picked on a lot for being a poor little rich boy. He's never been very popular and isn't much aware of how handsome he is because others consider him something of an odd ball. His pale skin and pale hair made him the butt of jokes. No matter how hard he tries to fade into a crowd, he stands out.
Hanging out with his best friend, Thea, hasn't helped. With her by his side, she tends to force him to interact with people more than he'd like to. It will be no wonder that, after a love affair gone wrong, he jumps at the opportunity to ditch university and live as a recluse in the house that he has inherited from his Great Aunt Marjolie.
Dorathea "Thea" Evangelisti
She's all about black lace, black ribbons, ruffles, fish nets, black silk roses, and is rarely seen in trousers. Her sense of fashion is timeless. She could easily be a 1920's flapper as well as a 1970's punk. Her bangs hide her eyes, but as she opens up emotionally, those eyes will peek out more and more. Reason why she lets her bangs hide her eyes? After surviving a sexual assault, she shaved off her brows and they have never grown back very well. She's self conscious about that. She is outgoing, almost to a fault, but it's only to hide that she is secretly just as introverted as her best friend, Alex, is. Overly curious and wishing to escape from a nasty ex-boyfriend, Thea is all too willing to beg Alexandre to let her move in with him at a mysterious mansion full of haunted history and family secrets.
His eyes will cut into you as he searches for who you really are.
He sulks over lost and past loves a bit too much, but doesn't voice his pain.
His tall, lean body often bends with a sigh.
Details of Thea:
A bit prissy, a little goth, all drama, she poses like a dancer, walks like a panther, and everywhere she goes you can hear the click of her heels stabbing the pavement.
Her mother still calls her "little doll" but her mother is anything but the kind of lady who collects and dresses up little dolls. Mama was a truck driver and built like a brick shithouse. Thea takes after her father, a short Italian man with Old World family money. Mama married well. Thea went to fancy schools and got kicked out of them for fist fighting with boys. Thea may be Mama's little doll, but she's not fragile, however she gives the appearance of one who is delicate and pretty.
Delicate, not really. Pretty? Sure. Party girl. Definitely. But she's recovering from that. She's running away from her problems. But the memories sharply bite back at her everytime she looks back in the mirror and sees what she did to those eyebrows. She had longer hair, too, cut off her ends haphazardly, made her hair into a mask for her eyes, her perception sliced by black ragged edges.
She's with Alexandre. It's just like being alone.
For more early glimpses into these characters, check out the following:
More Character Definition: Alexandre, sketching out his personalityThea and Alexandre: They are becoming more real
Character Development: Dorathea and Alabaster
When I first imagined Alexandre, I saw him in a long trench coat that would flow out like a cape behind him. The coat wouldn't be just any kind of trench, it would be classy, not dirt-baggy. This is the kind of coat a fashionable rich kid would wear. It would be light enough to flow out but also warm enough to wear during long Wisconsin winters. The hood of the coat would also be like a cowl, except this coat/cloak has to not look like it's a secret agent kind of thing. Imagine Alexandre taking long walks down his favorite nature trails and alley ways, not standing out too much but looking like he's on the way to an opera, if you can.
Over the years, Alexandre has gone through several different looks. It's hard to capture his personality. He's both young and mature, snobby yet casual, well dressed even when he's dressed down. But how young is he? It'll sound weird for me to say this, but when writing and drawing a character, I go with how they "feel" to me and it takes several drafts and sketches to get the image of the character to match how they feel. Alexandre feels like he is in his mid to late twenties, suspended from university, just getting out of a bad love affair with an older man, he's in this state of in between everything and he's not as secure with himself right now. He's vulnerable and defensive, unsure what's going to be thrown at him next. If you can see that in his eyes and posture, then I'm doing a good job. You can see the decade long progression of this character's development here as I try to decide just how old I want to make him.
So now I'm getting to know him even better. Goes to show you that the more you draw and write about a character, the more you become friends. One thing I'm very pleased with is Alexandre's chin -- it's not a cleft chin, it just jutts out a little bit in a snobbish way. His long nose is a bit wider, too. A classic European kind of appearance. I also get the hint that I didn't before: he likes to augment his clothing, mix-matching vintage shirts and suits with more contemporary fashions. Like the sketch above -- an 18th century soldier's frock coat with a V-patterned shirt over a pair of well-worn slacks. I like that.
Now to put some final touches on a few other characters I have in mind...
Thea's dark burgundy-purple bangs cut into her eyes. Her bangs are like a veil to hide behind. Alex thinks the color of her hair is that of a wine stain. This is reflected on her lips.
Alexandre himself is quite pale (he has terrible allergies to sunlight) and looks a bit too old for his age (he has white hair). He is always well dressed, prefers to wear long trench coats that make him look even thinner and taller. His pale gray eyes often look lavender (when there's red in them) or appear very blue (depending on what he is wearing, like his eyes reflect color where there is none).
I like red, black, and white as a theme. Like the following character sketch of Thea, occasionally Alexandre prefers the same color scheme. His lips often appear red (without a touch of lipstick or gloss) due to his pale skin. In the background is the shadow of Alex's mother, a disgraced nun.
I've showed this drawing of Thea before, but repost it here for comparison with the color rough of her on top. I still see her in those lovely red shoes.
Another example of how Alex is developing. Can you feel him?
Thea is starting to "breathe" out from the pages of my sketchbook.
I repost the following from my 1998 sketchbook. This was the closest I got to Thea and Alex ten years ago. You can see the personalities emerge. It seems I imagined them first as being much younger. Thea's hair is always going to be this lovely silky black occasionally tinted with red or burgundy color. Alex will always have stark white hair and those pale eyes.
Another comparison posted here just for my reference (and possibly your enjoyment).
This was the very first conception of Alex and Thea:
I think I imagined them much older first as part of a flashback. Alex and Thea have matching hair for some reason. These were sketches done with ink and arcylic paint on tye dye fabric infused with silver.
When I met Bob Kane (creator of Batman) many years ago, he gave me this advice: "If you want to tell a successful story, one that everyone will love, you first have to fall in love with a character you create. And like any kind of love relationship, you have to nurture them and believe in them, especially when no one else does. The more you love your character, the chances are other people will grow to love them, too." Sitting next to him was Will Eisner (creator of influential comic The Spirit) who also imparted this advice to me, "Don't give up on yourself." I was honored to meet them at the very first comic convention I ever attended. I had shown them a small comic strip I was working on for my college newspaper and I admited to them that I wasn't yet satisfied with the characters I was working with. I think they sensed that I wasn't in love with what I was doing or that I was doing as part of some kind of university assignment, that I yearned to tell stories about characters I was more emotionally invested in but wasn't sure anyone else would like.
Anytime I had what I thought was an "original" idea for a story, my writer friends would often scoff at it for its off beated weirdness and my comic art heroes would tell me that it would be impossible to tell my stories in the format of a graphic novel. No one seemed to care about what I was doing. I was the only one into it. I believe that's the same for everyone who dares to imagine something so strong, they can't help but just make their dreams into a book.
Mr. Kane and Mr. Eisner were gentlemen in every sense of the word, and that impressed me. I'm not saying I am like them, but I'm also not saying I want to be like them. Yet I think about what they told me every time I committ a pen or brush to paper.
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