So this is my first post to upper tier patrons (even though there's not many of you yet ;))
This tier is to show people some upcoming work (likely sketch work in upcoming comics and / or scripts).
But i figure just putting up a sketch (like the one on the left) on its own would be a little uninteresting without the context... but too spoilery with the context (it's an upcoming panel from the next chapter of V the Vampire Vigilante).
So instead i thought i'd use this post to talk a little about what i think makes good character design (and how i totally reuse existing designs, especially for minor characters).
At the right is a pic i posted on my deviantart page of a (heretofore unnamed) First Nations girl that i've been calling "Feather".
Personally i like her look. Her hairstyle is simple, yet distinctive. Easy to draw, yet easy to instantly recognize (you may see more of her in the future ;)). But notice how she looks suspiciously like the girl on the left? ... yeah.
What you do not know is that the girl on the left lording it over V actually came first (her name itself is a bit of a spoiler, so she's going nameless in this post).
I had originally created this character as a minor one off character for V to fight. But i liked the hairstyle so much, it seemed like a waste to leave it there. After all, "easy to draw" and "easy to recognize" are the hallmarks for great character design.
So i thought i'd come up with a new character and just give her the same hair style. Because the headband is a part of it, she would need to have an excuse to always have a headband. So i put some cute little feathers on the back and made her a First Nations girl (Which worked out nicely, because Canadian Thanksgiving was up coming).
And that's how i totally ripped off my own character design to make a new character!