Last week, we covered the definition of picrew, and four of my faves. This week—even more of my faves!
As you could see with last week’s, there were a few repeat characters, and they never looked exactly the same. I think that’s a good thing. While you may have The Most Perfect And Most Consistent Character Image in your head, that’s really hard to convey to your readers without flaws. They will get their own mental image. The more wiggle room you get in your brain, the better you’ll be able to think about your character from multiple angles.
(It’s also great for thinking about the overarching parts of a character that are oft-forgotten: Do they prefer to wear overalls, or sweaters? What colors do they prefer to wear? What makeup do they prioritize? What might a bad hair day, or a good hair day look for them? It adds realism, the more you know about your character)!
Now, onto more makers and more examples!
This is a really expressive one, a hybrid of anime and western cartoons, creating something that has a lot of personality. There are a lot of additives here, too: hand gestures, accessories, blood splatters, and more. It has a good enough mix of hairstyles and accessories you could very comfortably make masculine, feminine, or neutral characters. So long as they get to show off their personality!
@chereverie’s エリーのメーカー, which as far as I can read is “erii no meka”. Something maker. Point is, it’s a cute one!
This one definitely has a cutesy style, a little cartoonish. There is a decent range of options so you could make most kinds of characters, but, well, it’s cute. Hope you’re ready to create the kawaii version of your Totally Evil Villain. (That could actually be a very entertaining mental exercise…)
This is a really fun one, and another at an angle that I personally feel sorry for the artist for. It has some good variety to it, specifically in regard to how some clothes have visible breasts and some don’t, so you can play with body type as you please. (A lot of picrews go for androgynous bodies, or don’t give you an option, so it’s refreshing to see, even if not all of the clothes are available for each.)
@alohasushicore’s Icon maker—and note that I made these before the watermark, so when making it now, you’ll get a watermarked appearance.
This is another one I really adore! It’s got a lot of personality options, plus enough variety and simplicity to make most kinds of gender presentation. (I really like the eye style in this one, too.) It’s a round, cartoonish style, but with enough options that you can make it as cute or as creepy as you’d like.
Did you try any of the picrews featured these past two weeks? Have you tried making your characters, even if you never had before? I know authors sometimes lament the fact that they can’t draw, or that commissions aren’t in their budget, or simply that they never think of characters except as in their head. This is a good way to let your artistic side show and play around with design!
Can you show what you imagined more characters would look like I’m especially interested in kirara and Oliver and mirai and Rory
It’s really hard to find picrews that work with nonhuman characters, especially ones with odd hairstyles, such as Kirara and Mirai. That said, I’m hoping to commission some art with book profits in the future. And thanks to your comment, I’ll think about making a sequel post to this series with more examples of my cast members!