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Nala15 — Moira and Cian - Test Style
Published: 2014-03-27 04:51:56 +0000 UTC; Views: 811; Favourites: 14; Downloads: 0
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For - her OC's Moira and Cian.I really thought these guys needed a style - not only to give them more soul for animating, but also so you can tell who's who without markings/colors. Let me know what you think, Ash.
I put a lot of thought into these guy's redesigns, including incorporating a little something-something from your original inspirations behind the characters. I hope you like them! 
Art © Nala15 . Characters © AshWolf-Forever and used with permission.
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Comments: 30
Thank you! 
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Those are really cool and I love how different they are. I really like how Cian has more fur on his back and is more round than Moira. I like her eyes. Also the fangs idea seems nice to me, a little detail for Cian.
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Thanks so much!
I'm glad you like the little details. 
LOL I love the fangs, too.
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I completely understand what you mean! The characters were originally supposed to be realistic, so that's why they weren't so different and they could be done on one template with changed colors. I really love what you did here.
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That's what I figured. 
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I'd say Stallion and The jungle book are pretty cartoony and Wolf's rain is not, but I see your point. Those little things like bangs, eye/ eyebrow shape, high/low forehead make an enormous difference.
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In terms of anatomy and such, Stallion and Jungle Book are much more realistic than other cartoon interpretations of the same animals. Bambi may be the most realistic, though. The "cartoony" comes from the human-like expressions added to the faces so the animal characters can be relatable to the audience.
But yes, there's so much that can be chaged, just by adjusting facial/physical features ever so slightly.
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Not to cut in - again - but I think I finally understand what I've been getting at thanks to this ^ comment. I don't really mind if the faces are more expressive, but I prefer the bodies to be more anatomically accurate.
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Ah-ha! 
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I do have a couple ideas on how this could work:
1. You do the minor role characters, Shembre does the major ones (said that before)
2. Or you do the basic sheets, Shembre does the expression sheets
Or something...
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No, that's good.
I'd be okay with either option. 
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Thanks. Where I get them is the weird part. I noticed that real wolves have that eye-line thing, and the others are from Disney's White Fang: "Look! The white fang. This wolf is part dog."
Well, I have 51 points so far.
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Aaah, In terms of anatomy. I get it. For Bambi they had a real-life fawn in there to study it's anatomy. 2.bp.blogspot.com/_bxVZ7GvshNg…
And they did that for every movie, for Lion King they had lions.
The line can be cartoony. Human expressions can be added to both cartoony and realistic drawings.
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That's the problem (not to cut in) with drawing realistically. The little things that let you tell members of a real wolf pack apart are really hard to pick up on.
Case in point: Kamots, Lakota and Amani of the Sawtooth Pack:
www.livingwithwolves.org/image…
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Yes, I know. But that's where the challenge of interpretting a wolf in realistic style to a style that can be animated easily and recognized collide. If you look at the early sketches of any Disney movie where animals are the main focus (Lion King, Bambi, Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians) the early concepts were all realistic/stylized. Even the storyboards were drawn in a semi-realistic style (sometimes more cartoony depending on the artist for the scene). It's one of those things where you'll have to take what you can from reality, but leave the rest up to style for sake of having easy to recognize and animatable characters.
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I was looking up character sheets last night, to be honest. They are pretty interesting.
It doesn't help that the style in my head is some weird mix of Balto, The Jungle Book (Disney and Anime), and Wolf's Rain. What I mean is, I can see the "movie" in my head, but trying to get that image on paper is not my best skill.
I keep telling myself any character you guys do that seems "off" in anyway is just the style difference, but its that and the fact I can't quite get there myself.
If that makes sense.
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Aren't they?
As for style that already exist, I know what you mean when you say you imagine your movie as having a mix of styles. The important things is that you need to have a style developed that is completely seperate. Not just for copyright issues, but so that your style won't be too easily confused with anyone else's that already exists.
Again, I understand what you mean. And that's why I think we artists need to work with you, the writer and intellectual property owner, to develop a style that will be something close to your vision and something that the animators can work with easily, AND something that your intended audience will enjoy watching.
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I always liked more realism to a story, but I enjoyed simpler styles to draw as it took less time. And I've noticed animators taking into account the looks of the actors, but I always fail when trying to do that. For example, Cian has some similarities to "Michael Weston" from Burn Notice, and Moira (who you nailed as far I can tell) is like Dr. Brennan in Bones. But trying to get those type of features - like how you can see shades of Matthew Broadrick in Simba, is something I just can't seem to do.
Amen to that. My own style, when I draw with no reference, comes out Disney-esque as that's what I started with. Balto's wolves drive me nuts to draw, as they aren't on screen enough. (I mean the first film, in the second they are pretty much Balto clones.)
Any tips on how I can help with that? Sal and Sel sent me the pics via stash, then I re-lined over what was off as best I could. But I am at a loss to explain the ... spark, the expression, that makes the characters who they are. Zephyr is the hardest; he's so old that I know him very well, but in this film, its not the Zephyr I know.
To explain, the Zephyr I know is like the class clown, the protective best friend. This version is that all grown up, with a constant worry that he's going to fail.
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Indeed so. You can certainly lean toward a more realistic style (ala Bambi and the very beginning of The Lion King), but in the long run, more stylized characters will be more relatable to the audience, easier to animate, and more timeless. And yay for including VA features in animated characters!
My style is semi-realistic to realistic when I'm not drawing in a cartoon style like Disney. But I feel your frustration when you find a style you'd like to imitate, but the material is rare or virtually non-existant for reference purposes.
Ah. The translation from words to visual art is probably one of the trickiest things to master, even though hundreds of people make a living out of it. Screenwriting/scriptwriting, novels/illustrated works, playwrights... and even actors who need to read a script and then give a visual or audio performance. I think for you, the best thing you can do is do your own concept visuals (like you have already) and then create very, very specific writings about the characters. One at a time. What is their personality? What/who do they remind you of? What are their quirks or pet peeves? What do they love? What motivates them (big and little things)? What are their ambitions? What are their talents? Add anything else that's important to define who they are. Like a great big character sheet/sketch.
LOL I teach this stuff on a regular basis, so I'm kinda in my element here.
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It doesn't help that since I was 10 or so, I've been trying to match realistic art. I saw this lion painting that was so real I thought it was a photo. Afterwards I strive for that. And come up short. Until I saw Rinja's VAs, I didn't pick ones for my characters that much. Sometimes, yeah, but not on purpose. So it was more this picture in my head. Music helps a lot for me, which is why my characters have theme songs.
Zephyr for example loves Bon Jovi, more than even I do, and often "sings" their songs if I hear them. There's a couple Bryan Adams songs, too and ... well way to many to count.
Yeah, I mean it isn't that I think its perfect, its just that its close to the balance I want, and wanted to take something from it.
I've been drawing longer than I've been writing, if you take into account I didn't write stuff down much at age 3. I do have a detailed character profile for Zephyr and Sequana, if you want to see them. I can make ones for the others, though sometimes its just... I know the characters. They live in my head, and while I know they aren't real, they sure seem like it at times.
Its quite fine. I want to learn how to do this stuff. I also want to be able to do ref sheets like you do - the turnarounds, etc.
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These two look awesome! I love how you draw wolves
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Thank you!
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I think they both look neat! Moira looks spot on. Cian... reminds me of Quasimodo for some reason, but still looks nice. Thank you very much!
Can I ask what you mean by "incorporating a little something-something from my original inspirations"? I mean... have you read those books by chance? Its just so rare to run into anyone who has.
Should I add this to the group?
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Thanks! Glad you think so!
I can certainly explain. For Moira, you said she was Italian and had some inspiration from the white wolf from Balto. I gave her a sleek Ferrari look with a little Mediterranean, exotic flair. She also was described as being loyal to a fault, so I gave her elegant, but friendly eyes and features (like fluff; and a gentle smile). For Cian, he is named after a vampire. I know nothing of the show where Cian is from, but I know a thing or two about vampires (good and evil). On his character ref, you described him as smug, and the way you draw him, he looks like he should be a little stocky to me. So... extra muscle, dark eyebrows, round/friendly eyes, a long, manly muzzle, and having his fangs stick out just slightly when his mouth is closed (ala vampire) finished the look.
No, haven't read the books. Sorry.
Please do.
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Quite welcome.
That makes a lot of sense. Cian gets his body shape from Zeph, and his face from Sequana. The fangs is actually the only part that I was unsure of.
lovestar1.webstarts.com/upload… <- That's the main book in the Trilogy about Cian and Moira, if you want to read it.
OR:
Cian: “Because you’re good and their evil?”
Moira: “No, and there’s nothing so simple as that. You yourself are proof of that, for you’re neither like her nor like us, but something else all together.”
Cian: "That's how I think of you, as a steady glow."Moira: “And if I think of you as the night, it’s the mystery of it, and the thrill. I’ll never be afraid of the dark again, because I’ve seen into it.”
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Yay! 
I'll have a look at it.
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Or being a smart-Alec. He's good at that.
Let me know what you think.
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