Often when there are children in a cast of characters, especially in sitcoms or certain types of movies, audiences groan because they tend to be immensely annoying. They are a very special type of uncanny valley in the way they are written to talk and react. Usually, we get one ...
The Problem With Kid Dialogue
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 4, 2021The Significance of Hairstyle
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Nov. 13, 2021
Hair is very important- the way we wear it is a form of self expression, a canvas for artistic exploration, and shorthand for who we are or want to be. This significance carries over even more in fiction and especially visual arts like webcomics, cartoons, and movies.
How a character ...
It's the Peak of the Spooky Season!
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Oct. 30, 2021
So I want to talk about the Dread Persephone!
We are familiar with Persephone as the abducted bride of Hades, the floral, pastel-themed, light-hearted girl that brings about Spring and is the daughter of Demeter, goddess of nature and the harvest.
But is it really who she is?
No. No ...
Rooting for the bad guy
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Sept. 11, 2021
Normally in stories there is the hero vs the villain or the protagonist vs the antagonist. As the audience, we generally expect to root for the hero or the protagonist and hope for the villain's or antagonist's comeuppance.
But there come those times when we find ourselves rooting ...
Know Thy Bias
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Aug. 21, 2021
We like to consider ourselves open-minded, free of inflexible thinking and open to ideas. And we probably are- in certain areas. In others, we are not.
This is one of the few statements I still feel justified making in the absolute. Every person has biases. It's one of the ...
Making mistakes in your art
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Aug. 20, 2021
Three things happened that inspired me to write this article.
1) When reviewing an episode we recently completed for one of our comics, I realised I had missed a key character design aspect of one of our boys. Although it was not egregious, I did notice it, and it has ...
Pretty Boy Badass
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Aug. 14, 2021
When this guy appears for a fight, there are eyerolls or scoffing sounds. The opponents start smirking and giggling, taunting and goading him because he's dressed to the nines. Or maybe he's got a very intricate hairstyle that takes hours to get just right. Or perhaps he has ...
Writing Women, Writing Men
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, July 31, 2021
We've all seen the cringy dialogue. The weirdly stereotypical and awkward situations. The sheer effort of the script writer, the novelist, or the comic book writer to write someone they don't know: a woman, or a man.
Too often the problem is very stark when comparing character designs ...
Madness Powerup
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 19, 2021
So you have this badass character, who is usually a gentle soul, or affable, or kind and easygoing. They fight efficiently and are formidable as they are.
Until they meet someone who is their better.
He/she can meet all their attacks, break through their defenses, wears them down to ...
Archetypes Through a Psych Lens: Bringing it all together
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, April 24, 2021
It's finally done! We've gone through the basics of each psychology school of thought when it comes to personality theories. Each theory brings its own aspects of what makes human beings be the way they are. It could be described like each theory describes one facet of a ...