CHARACTER SHAPES
I've never consciously designed characters this way, but I recently remembered hearing about this notion some time ago, on the dvd special features for an animated something-or-other.
Characters derived from basic shapes can give a very strong impression of their basic personality type. This can help the ...

A friend of mine, many years ago, showed me a cartoon that was fascinating, funny, and horrifying. In my memory, it was the first anime I'd ever seen. I'd forgotten most of it over the years, and would try to find it once every so often, without knowing ...

It seems that I get into a very opinionated argument whenever the topic of discussion veers toward Neon Genesis Evangelion. Usually it is about how the Evangelion movies are awesome and how the main character is not so awesome. That being said, it has been twenty years since the mid-1990s ...

Image by Banes

Conflict
If you're anything like me (you poor soul), you may have learned about conflict in English or Creative Writing classes, and they told you that stories could either be

Man vs. Himself,
Man vs. Man, or
Man vs. Nature.

So a character would be either ...

This newspost was inspired by this week's Quackcast on testing your writing and knowing your characters. In the comments, KimLuster posted a Mary Sue test and discussed her annoyance in finding that one of her characters scored highly.

So what is a Mary Sue? Everyone sort of knows one ...

Here's the Scene:
Palms are sweating, the convention doors are about to open. Every plush doll, button, glossy 12“x24” poster is hanging around the overpriced booth that was paid for with a year's worth of savings. Welcome to the Artist Alley, where it is always a game ...

Television lovers will certainly have heard of the hugely popular House television series that was run between 2004 and 2012 over on Fox, with Hugh Laurie being the lead actor with his character Dr. House. The medical genius, who uses rather unique and unconventional methods at treating his patients and ...

It is difficult to imagine a greater canvas than the nose of an aircraft to display art. I love to visit aviation museums to look at each individual plane, but one part I always like to pay special attention to is the art displayed near the front of the plane ...

My personality appears extroverted in the right social situations when I am surrounded by like-minded people, however I know deep down that I am truly an introvert because I recharge when I am by myself and drawing.

When I first started getting serious about webcomics in college, there were many ...

Nikolan, Axe, and Eight VIII, also known as the Hunters of Wintercut, are three hip, technologically savvy, combat-boot wearing heroes who battle against monsters during an ancient, forgotten time. Niko and Axe spend their morning bickering while on a stakeout until the dreaded Dinosaurus Rex joins the party. Now it ...