DWIV - 2D - DevonLee - Norm Stalker

[DevonLee]

I'm totally new at this, but I thought I'd give Dominance War a try. I'm going to create a norm stalker. At this point, I'm considering giving her some kind of magically created decoy to aid her stealth/assassination skills. Here are a few basic sketches with the foundation of the costume design.

http://homepage.mac.com/scott242/devonDwConcept2.jpg

[miycko]

Interesting.

[MonteCristo]

No. Sorry, it's not interesting. It's a woman in some clothes with a knife.

Not meaning to sound like a jerk, but I think you need to take this as a starting point, a bare-bones foundation and build on it a lot more than you have here.

Firstly, this character is symmetrical, which, unless the design is uber-cool, (and this isn't yet), can be really boring. Secondly, everything she is wearing is totally vanilla, with maybe the top as an exception. The boots are standard DMs. The belt is basic, the trousers are basic. What this tells me is you need to research a lot more items online. Go find some interesting boot designs. Get inspiration from them. Go Look up Hair styles. You want long and dark hair? Fine. But there are much cooler ways of styling it.

You want to create some creature to go with her? Go find inspiration. Is it a squid? A wolf? A Squid-wolf? Make a decision, and go find the right references.

Then, maybe you can develop something that is interesting. Something you can be proud of, and that feels like a step UP in your personal development as an artist.

[miycko]

Monte, you do have a point. I wanna see where this goes though.

[MonteCristo]

By the way, I am really not intending on this being some kind of diss, to either of the two posters here. But DevonLee, I think this is what you need to hear right now.

You aren't ready for the big thumbs up yet. And that's OK! We all needed some blunt advice to get moving in the right direction. :)

[DevonLee]

Monte Cristo - I'm flattered that you even took the time to respond to my post! You're right, there is a lot of stuff yet to be done, so thanks for the encouragement.

Found this incredible website recently...feel like I could design an entire character just around one of these knives:
www.jensenknives.com (http://www.jensenknives.com)

Also, maybe I could get some feedback on this idea: I'm thinking of having her decoy be a ghost-like presence that she generates through magic, something with a infrared signature so it's noticeable to both machines and demons. I want it to be spooky and decrepit looking.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

OK, so here is the issue your character will have in this war. She is normal, in every way shape and form.

Don't get me wrong, your on the right track with the knives, but she will need more than just knives to stand out. You need to push the proportions, digg deep into your creativity and give her an outfit that screams look at me, I'm dangerous. If she is going to call on magic powers, then we the viewer need to be able to tell that from looking at her. Take a quick look around, super heros, or even bad guys, use them as a refrences to push what you got to the next level. You said she is an assassin, so she should be sleek, yet strong, powerfull, yet stealthy.

It will be hard to pull of, but that's what makes it fun and that's why the competition has those cool prizes. Go win you some.