Author: Micey

J. Shen or "Micey" is a Junior at Umich. She loves character design and telling stories and dabbles in making her own comics. Sketchbook Smashing is an attempt to chronicle her process in designing characters. From first concepts, hairstyle and outfit changes, or even complete shifts in design. She also hopes to map out how her own art style changes throughout the year. Her website is https://wallmouseart.weebly.com Her art Tumblr is https://wallmouse.tumblr.com

Simon Fashion Sheet

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I’ve decided that Simon might be the type to have no ‘main’ outfit, but rather a lot of different ones. I envisioned him as fashionable and a bit vain, so it fits him. Trying to find a main outfit for Simon was hard; I had so many concepts for him.

As you can see, his fashion sense is very 1970s – lots of high-waisted stuff. He also has lots of sportswear, crop tops, blue, and other cool tones. He also has a more elaborate side going on than what’s shown here. His shoes on the far right were supposed to have red heels to symbolize blood, but I changed them to copper for better color cohesion.

Denise from Craiglist

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This is Denise, a harpy I built for a GURPS game. She’s wild and gets easily distracted. She had a hodgepodge of disadvantages that made her unplayable in anywhere but combat. I ended up retiring her in the first session. Still, I am fond of her design.

I envision her as a redhead with a coppery tinge. Orange is her main color. She has dark skin with freckles. I wanted her to look like this 1970s secretary. Her little skirt and vest were created under the assumption that they would have a hideous 1970s carpet pattern. Her boots aren’t stylized; they’re that big to hide her talons. I’m not sure if I prefer her half-up hairstyle or her ponytail.

Sigrid Holgata

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This is Sigrid “Sigi” Holgata, a witch/volva in my story. The left and center figures really have a western influence, but I think think the far right outfit works for her better. I like the silhouette and it’s much easier to draw. The colors are more striking too, plus, I was never a puffed-shoulders kind of person. I’ll keep the hat thought. I will keep working on embroidery for the outfit on the far right too.

I drew these with no pen pressure. It helped me think less about making the lines perfect. I built from sketch below. I freehanded the hat, cape, and far-right outfit.

Deranged Auntie [INSERT NAME HERE]

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This is a villain in my story, she’s basically like a walking nuclear reactor. She is one of my main character’s aunts. I’m still working on her name. I want it to have some medical basis.

Please assume that unless highlighted green, her clothes are black. I want her to look like a walking hazard/nuclear waste sign. I also wanted her to look classy, like she could be perched daintily on a mountain of her enemies’ skulls.

I experimented with her having spikes on her outfit. I wanted every bit of her to give off the message that she is dangerous, don’t get close to her. I think I won’t be including the spikes. I want her to look sleek.

Her outfit’s still a work in progress. Additionally, I’m busy trying to think up a symbol for her. Time to look at radioactivity symbols again!

Simon Redesign Finalization

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So this is my finalization of Simon’s outfits. One for when he’s in one place, another for when he’s in another. I wanted to add colors but forgot I did everything from the sketch to the lineart in one layer.

I’ve been forgetting to draw the choker in my sketches lately. Perhaps I’ll remove it in the future.

Simon Kuai: Fashion Week

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Behold! My main man! So soon after I posted his group shot I decided to redesign him. I made his face more heart-shaped. You can see my word concepts on the upper left side.

Before, I planned his causal outfit to be sweats. Now, he’s in this black short-sleeved collarbone-exposing shirt that resembles a Hawaiian shirt. It’s because he sees himself as on vacation when he starts the story. It’s the little figure on the far right side of the image. I tried to find ways to incorporate red into his outfit without it taking over. I settled on him having some bloody heels.

I also got the concept to give him some statement earrings. I in real life love wearing statement earrings; I just keep forgetting to draw them on my characters. Hopefully, I can remember with Simon.