Offline.
Dinner Conversation
This was a fun strip to draw. I couldn’t tell you why exactly, but it came together easily, and just about exactly how I saw it in my head. Lupa is also a character I’ve been working on getting a better handle of. As one of only two characters to sport facial hair, I still want her to look like a female, even though she has more hair than the other guy.
Only 2? You’re forgetting Meruga’s episodic ‘stache!
True enough.
Sorry for being in cheeky-mode today. Nice work, especially on the last panel. She does look like a hairy-she, as opposed to, say, an insecure Arts freshman (and, visually, the limit between these can be pretty thin). Good job!
Drawing a more distinguishing look between the two of them is in the top three art priorities. I like to think Merunga has a pretty distinct look, but all of the other females blend together. Trying to change up faces and body types will be a never ending project. On the guy’s side, I can draw portly, or superhero, not a lot of in between there either.
Now that you mention it Lupa and Mouse DO look kind of alike in some cases. Today’s strip would be a good example of that. I think drawing consistently distinguishable characters is every cartoonist’s main problem. You’re doing a fine job with the standard “hairstyle and dressing style” approach, considring MM’s format doesn’t allow for skin or hair colour subtle shades. The rest is left to the reader’s imagination, whic is good.
After all, people DO look alike in real life, too: same number of limbs, ears, nostrils, eyes, lips etc 😉
A lot of the differences we make out from clothing style, voice tone etc. Personality is a matter of text-bubble content as well as physical appearance (that’s true in comics as well as in real life: who hasn’t mistaken a perfect stranger for an acquaintance in the street, on first glance? It’s even become a comedy stapple!)
As long as you’re not introducing Merunga’s hot brunette sister, you’ll be fine.
Mouse’s golem does look super-heroic in this strip, much more than he did when she choose him. Also the “cleaner” look seems to be here to stay. Back to your first love, comics-like, are you?
We are going to meet some of Merunga’s sisters soon. I can say that they are not twins, they may or may not be brunette, depending on how much work I want to put into their hair.
Forget the “clean” thing, I only now read your answer on the last panel’s comment.
One (hopefully) last compliment, if I may: it looks like you’ve been working on your nudes. First, bare-chest Vraaken, and now that. Getting better at anatomy, are we? 😉 Lupa’s right arm and hand still look a little bit off in the first panel, but I s’pose it’s down to her shape-shifting nature… or the lighting. But most likely the shape-shifting, or so I chose to believe.
* bare-chest Vaagen, of course. I keep mixing my monsters up. Vaagen, kraken, Vraaken. Sorry about that.
She doesn’t have a kraken, not yet. But she also doesn’t have a gold-fish bowl big enough to put it in either.
That arm was a headache and a half to get down. I know what I wanted from it, and the paper shows the eraser marks of proof. Even still, not 100%, but closer than it was.