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OBSESS-Archive — OBSESS 2.0
#andrah #chronicles #city #dr #obsess #online #otto #pcc #polymer #sheeri #webcomic
Published: 2014-10-12 01:27:36 +0000 UTC; Views: 4204; Favourites: 58; Downloads: 89
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Description
I've been keeping this under my hat for awhile, but over the last year I've been experimenting with various redesigns of the core OBSESS team as they approach their 20th online anniversary; here you'll find the result. Input from various sources as well as critiques on other posted art have helped me piece together a final redesign that I'm happy with, and hopefully longtime fans will like as well. These designs keep each character's essence intact (Sheeri in particular is very much a product of her earlier appearances) while stylistically bringing them into the smartphone age. As many of you know, a lot of redesign experiments over the last few years have been all over the map (Andrah in particular was the toughest to update), but I hope you'll agree that the updated team works as well as I believe it does.Related content
Comments: 62
I wouldn't worry too much about anything you see in here; despite appearances to the contrary, its more of a sandbox where I experiment with ideas I wouldn't use within the framework of a narrative. You can't really alter characters too drastically without changing their nature, especially in cases where the alterations are entirely against that nature.
I think character exploration is something worth experimenting with from time to time, if for no other reason than to see how those explorations are received. That being said, I'm pretty much done with any attempts at drama; putting characters through the wringer isn't something I think I'm really all that interested in doing again.
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I'm glad to hear that these pictures in the gallery are more "what ifs" than anything else. I do think though that drama isn't necessarily BAD per se; otherwise you wouldn't have a story to tell. It's more unnecessary drama that's a bad thing. Drama for the sake of drama, especially when it makes characters act or behave in ways that go completely against who they've been established to be, is what should be avoided.
I do have to say, looking at it again, I like that this take on Andrah seems to be channeling a neo-DCAU (DC Animated Universe) style. It reminds me a lot of their design for Big Barda, only more obviously beefed up. Though speaking personally here, what is also nice is that you avoided going into the uncanny valley affect of making her so beefy that she looks more like a (steroided) man than a woman. There's a subtle design of femininity there that balances out the muscles rather well. You should be proud of that accomplishment.
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Thanks; I spent a lot of time over the years working with extremes in an attempt to learn how to balance them.
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Longtime fan here and yeah I do like a lot. 2001 look Sheeri(which I assume was the look you were going for) has always been the design I've identified her with. Overall this has a nice nostalgic feel to it.
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Yep; you'll notice this is the pre-gem version.
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Definitely, didn't think I'd ever see her without those ever again.
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One doesn't (or at least shouldn't) reboot all that often, so I used the opportunity to strip out any elements I didn't feel were relevant.
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I personally always liked the half-dragon version best.
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Interesting.
Can definitely see the essence of each character in these versions.
I can see why Andrah would be the toughest. She seems the most changed of the three, but mostly in subtle ways.
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There were two primary changes in her design: eyebrows were redesigned into small, triangular shapes, and the ears went pointy. One of the things I discovered among people who looked at black and white sketches of Andrah is that it wasn't readily apparent that she was alien; these small changes work to make the visual signature a bit more obvious. Her mass is softened a bit and her chest more athletic; in her redesign I wanted to avoid extremes as my artistic direction matures.
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I love the eyebrows. Subtle, but gives the alien vibe perfectly.
I worry that the chest may have gone too far to the other extreme, and left her to be seen by many as androgynous. There's less indicators of "female" left.
There is the narrow waist, but in a "cartoon-like" format, it could seem to some eyes that it's a male character where the waist is narrow just to make the arm muscles look bigger (like the duck bodybuilder in the "Muscle Tussle" cartoon)
Anyway, would love to see more of Obsess, in any form. Been a fan a long time, even got some commissions from you so many years ago that it makes me feel old to think about it.
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