Character Development - Marzipan

Together with little Marzipan, thanks to Patreon subscribers, we identified several errors that need to be corrected this week for the gecko's proper functioning (he's losing orders, making strange requests…). While we're sorting this out, let me tell you how the idea was born and how I came up with a talking gecko with cardboard wings.

IMPORTANT: Everything below is strictly Zhurzh's opinion and concerns only her creativity and herself! Now, let's read :)

Point 1 / The Problem 

As a creative person, I sometimes face a state where thoughts chaotically run around in my head, hindering my work. This is particularly acute when a wave of orders with diverse requests comes. Not to mention tasks unrelated to drawing. When this happens, there are only two possible scenarios:

• First, gather my thoughts, have a good coffee, and start structuring tasks on a piece of paper, detaching from the situation;
• Second, let chaos reign and allow thoughts to whirl until they calm down externally (house cleaning, calm music, sports, a walk, a good movie…).

These are fairly simple problem-solving options. But even so, I'm not omnipotent. During another whirlwind in my head, I think, "Oh, it would be nice to have someone in my head helping me cope with my work…". This is where the idea of an assistant, who would take on at least a small part of my tasks, started to germinate.

Point 2 / The Solution 

The most obvious option was a standard manager, helping me communicate with clients and allowing me to spend more time on drawing rather than the public side of my work. I was immediately extremely against this idea because I didn't want subscribers to lose the opportunity for direct communication with me. The appearance of managers often removes the "soul" of the brand, turning it into a "product". That's not my story.

That's why I decided not to take anything away from subscribers. On the contrary - I needed to add something. But something that would take over part of my artistic responsibilities… "How about order applications?" - this seemed a good option, as I've long had a problem with opening slots. A sequence of regular clients and personal projects leaves no room for additional external orders. But managing art applications that I can do in my spare time - that's it!

Point 3 / The Search 

An automated order manager - a robot acting on a written script. But what about the "soul" of the artistic brand I mentioned earlier? Hence the need for a visual solution for the chatbot.

Naturally, I won't deceive users by passing off a bot as a live person. But I can minimize the "roboticness" of my assistant, giving him well-scripted logic, speech, and a face mug, which will be pleasant to work with.

Why such a character? Where I currently live is teeming with charming creatures that have occupied a special place in my heart from the start. And from this love, an image was born in my head - a little gecko! Responsible, independent, bright, but a bit obsessed with his work. Just like me…

The first sketches (1-2) were based on the classic Tokay gecko coloring, but stylized and hyperbolized. Other options (3-4) were born later when I wanted to experiment with colors. Here the character began to acquire soul and character in the drawing process (as it usually happens): different dialogues, reactions, and his behavior started playing in my head… That's how paper-cardboard wings appeared on his back. It became a small design element that shows the gecko's character (you can guess yourself).

And the name?
The name came when the bot's logic was being scripted. I needed to come up with some code name for it to work. I decided it would be Marzipan, because I love marzipan (you've probably tried desserts with this flavor). And in the process, this name took hold so much that I couldn't "peel" it off.

There was a small vote for the character's coloring because I couldn't choose myself (though I felt inclined towards the second number). I talked to independent guys who pointed out the advantages of the 2nd coloring, but to convince myself, I decided to draw different design elements for each, using only my feelings from the color palette of each. Thus, we got a gecko-seamstress, gecko-hooligan, and Gecko Geckoovich. And only the creature on the top right didn't tie to any idea. So yes, it was him - Marzipan!

Point 4 / The Decision 

The design is ready, time to move on to the final drawing! The first drawing of the gecko was a greeting picture. And the sketch looked like this:  

The face and charming smile were ready, but I had to decide which direction to take the illustration further - line or no line? I settled on a middle ground, where the liveliness of sketch-lines is preserved, but there is a light shade. And so, after about three hours, it turned out:  

"The hardest part is behind! Just need to draw +10 drawings with the new character…" - I think every creator now felt this bitterness. Honestly - I was tired because I drew all the illustrations for the chatbot in a couple of days. But it still brought me a lot of pleasure because the anticipation of announcing this assistant was stronger.

Then you already know everything! Thank you for reading this long post to the end. I hope my experience in creating such mini-projects will give you answers to your creative questions. Or you can ask them below, and I'll try to respond :)