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Relearning faces

Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, July 29, 2023
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So I've finished Without Moonlight (yes I know I've shouted it from the rooftops already) and I'm starting on a new comic. And prepping WM vol. 2.

This time, as a …seasoned webcomic artist…


STOPPIT

Anyway, with the experience I've gathered, I'm actually building a buffer on the new comic as I study for WM vol 2. That means that yes, I've already drawn a few pages and will draw more until the first update I make, probably in September because life threw me a curveball and I might delay some stuff.

I also need to prepare to draw Fotis and the rest of the cast as older teens, since WM vol 2. spans at least 5 years if not 7. By the end of WM vol. 2 Fotis will be 21 and I need to be able to draw him that way!

I also need to learn to draw the new comic's characters, who have entirely different features than the WM cast.

And it's a really weird and fascinating experience. It's like I'm relearning to draw faces. Not in the sense of proportions or where the features are on the face or anything, but learning to draw new faces over and over, and keep them the same.

I realised these past couple of weeks just how fast I can draw Fotis as he is in WM vol. 1. I don't need to think about anything in his design, my hand just goes on its own. But with the new characters in the new comic, I need to think EVERYTHING. Is the eye curving this way, how do I draw the nose, what about the jawline, is the mouth supposed to quirk up like that?

And it's taking AGES. In the time it's taken me to draw a single page of the new comic, I drew almost two of the WM vol. 1 pages. That includes background heavy ones AND background non-existent ones (so only poses and faces). It's incredible.

I expect that after the first dozen pages or so of the new comic, I'll start speeding up. Same with Older Fotis, Older Diomedes, Baby, and more of the characters in WM vol 2. They take a lot to draw too, though not as much as the completely new characters.

Anyway, I expect I'll get some “well duh” comments for stating the obvious, but it's just such a novel experience for me that I had to share.

Have you had this happen to you when you start a new comic after spending a lot of time with a previous one, or maybe when you introduce an entirely new character?

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comment

anonymous?

Ozoneocean at 6:52PM, July 30, 2023

Ah... that explains Manga XD

Banes at 10:53AM, July 29, 2023

I've been spending a lot of time doing 3D comics - when I break away and try to continue my 2D comics, I'm VERY rusty. It's going to take some doing...

J_Scarbrough at 9:20AM, July 29, 2023

I sort of feel that way whenever I design new characters for the first time; when you've developed your own style and sensibilities, it's kind of easy to fall back and rely on what you've already done before, so if you want to avoid that, you have to try new and different things so that everything doesn't look too much the same.

marcorossi at 5:59AM, July 29, 2023

So I drew 3 completed webcomics (two of which are here on The Duck), and now I'm at the fourth. If I look back I realize that I have a few "basic schemes", that I tend to re-use, though as time goes on I become more precise so it becomes easier to draw characters with small differences. This is true also for the story: I realize that I oftes use similar character concepts (I do this unconsciously).

Ironscarf at 4:04AM, July 29, 2023

This is why a lot of comics essentially only had/two faces - generic woman's face and generic man's face, with characters differentiated by hair, clothes, etc. Yes its a style choice, but it's also time management. Actually drawing faces takes more work and an eternity to master. I'm also looking forward to the new comic. :D

jerrie at 1:40AM, July 29, 2023

Looking forward to your new comic


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