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I have it constantly, then I work hard for a week, the routine becomes overpowering and I fade out..

The text is still a bit hard to decipher, not due to the colors but rather the font itself. As the W's left part is almost completely covered by the O and the bottom parts of the "at the" is covered. The colors do their share of the problem aswell though, but it is improved by making the bg a darker hue.

Just for the record, this close-up is so scary it rejuvenated my fear of clowns. Perhaps not the intentions but this is truly a masque grotesque 

I'd say it is dead on. The hairthesis may be a bit odd, but the overall design is really good. The only thing that brings some sort of unbalance is the slightly (IMO) small boots. You could make them larger, not so much in width as in height.

This update will be much text and little imagery. I apologise.


Let us discuss some aspects of the conceptual design of characters. Or better yet, the creative process behind conceptual design. If we start out with a tabula rasa, and empty slide, and work upon this. First off, this is not a blank, there are aspects even within a semi-naked body that brings forth characteristics and value - the body is male, thus assigning male characteristics (whether they be queer or brute) and fit, assigning some sort of athletic capacity. But the finer tunes of the design remain unspoken of - who is he, what does he do? What does he like, what does he strife for? What does he hate, and loathe? This is a matter of identity, and the answers are not easy to come by. The complexity of conceptual design to bring forth values and ideas throughout visual stimuli alone is immensive, but let us try to narrow it down to 3, or better yet 2, since the third being facial design. But let us leave faces behind and focus on the other 2, namely fashion and props.

The fashion is a fascinating subject since it interveins the whole history within itself. Just like art, the evolutions and revolutions of garments follow a series of anti-thesises and synthesises. From the clumsy and inpractical clothes of the nobles, made specifically to NOT work in, to the practical and slick garments of the working class - these ideas follow us still today with a compilation of both thesises into a mixture of practical and impractical. Long sleeves on a slick shirt or loose veils onto a tank-top basis - we are truly living the postmodernism age and all ideas battle for recognition within our fashion designers. BUT, fashion maybe even more fascinating in the earlier days. When we look back on our history, the fashion of said time brings the ideals and minds of those living in that time, whether it be Victorian England to San Fransisco in 1969. The notion of placing your story within a specific era brings naturally the collective ideas and believs of that era, and fashion does aswell. BUT, something even more interesting can be the usage of Punk - the notion of combining eras separated by time into a mixture of modern era postmodernism and history, whether it be Goth-Punk, Steam-Punk or Renessance-Punk. In such a design, we can bring forth not only the ideas and notions of said era, but also the collective ideas and history within our modern society. This is a decision made at Step 1 when making a story - the placement of the story within history, whether it be Contemporary (a look into the present), a Historical document (history looked through the eyes of the present), Sci-Fi (a look on a possible future based on the present) or Fantasy (a brave new world through the eyes of the present). No matter what you decide upon, you will bare with you the collective ideas of the present and all the knowledge we have and have inherited in the present time. In that sence, everything is Punk, just not as deliberate.


Since the fashion history is immense, I could go on making thousands of examples. I'll make two. Two takes on our nude gentleman. The first is some plush garments, a vest and something much like the late 1800's. Rough pants and boots increase the notion of a semi-worker - not the boss and not the treadmiller. The plush is highly impractical, thus would imply a somewhat lightened workload. The boots and rough pants however make him rougher than the average pencil pusher. Our second take is wide shoulderpads, t-shirt, narrowed pants and loafers which brings us into the eighties. He's slick and aware of his appearance. These two takes have inherited the ideas of the era presented - the industrial and intellectual development of the late 1800's and the capitalist trait of the 80's. The second take also brings forth our next subject, namely Props.

Props are objects that state something - it may be symbols or made symbols but either way, it brings forth an idea or notion about the character throughout its existance. Above we have Mr. Eighties with a tiny but significant Rolex. It might not show that much, but can be put to good use with an idle animation of him checking the time now and then. It will thus imply him being stressed or just impatient. Another set of props could be a fast car, or a slick briefcase.


To work with Props, we'll make our model into Joe Average - t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

Now, first off we give him a badge and gun. He is a copper, defined only by his props. We exchange the badge for a cross. What the hell is he now? A christian acting as Gods Angel of Vengeance or just a plain Gangbanger? The nuances of this powerful symbol is highly useful, it beats even the gun, which in all senses are a most powerful prop, and the character can now be interpreted in a multitude of ways due to contradictory props. We exchange the gun for a camera. An oldschool camera, not the digital ones. This is crucial, because it makes him much more aware of the creative process behind the photos and not only an average christian tourist. The usage of a specific (and possibly older) instrument makes the character much more interested in the prop and its usage. It also superseed the cross, since there are no conflicts within the props. So we exchange the cross for a pentagram. What is he now? Wicca, or stupid hobby-satanist? Because of the values inherited within the symbol, this once again presents a conflict within the character - what value does the put on the symbol and has it any influence on the subject of his photography? If he is a professional photographer, would he still wear such a symbol? Or is he just a bit of rock and roll? Possibly..


So, we go back to fashion for a while, with a combination of practical and impractical garments once again. There are sturdy boots there, but a bit long innit? Is that due to functional reasons, the character behind literally knee-deep in feces in his shores, or is it an impractical design? We have a strict shirt, a tie which in most cases could best be described as a symbol prop rather than functional garment. This presents order - a well placed character, properly dressed etc. Add a vest which once again brings no actual functionality other than perhaps increase the warmth of the clothing. That and wide trousers. The whole presentation breathes 50's farmer or landlord, perhaps with his riding boots on, but they're shiny, almost military in their appearance. From the bottom half down, it could easily be depicted as an uniform so the final definitions of this hybrid of garments would be some sort of countryside fellow, proper and stern. His placement within time could be from 1940 to present days, all depending on the surrounding scenery. That covers alot, just with the usage of fashion. With a few Props, who knows what we could accomplish.

Is he scratching his crotch?

The new version is good. He has a lovely pose, looks a bit cowboyish.

When it comes to shading, it can be accomplished in so many way. First off you can try cellshading, with perhaps one darker hue as you've done on the arms and head. You can make this shade even darker, it does not show much as it is now. Try shading the black parts, perhaps with a brighter highlight. This can be made on the orb aswell, a bright reflex on the upper half.

Congrats!!! 

I'd say, a great design. About the head, you may want to avoid tilting it to really bring out the tube shape, or just let the eyes be in level with eachother. The orb is lost within the shirt, you could alter the color even more or keep the black but alter the color of his shirt. It all looks well down to the legs, which seem flat and unnecessary far apart. You can make his stance as confident without exaggerating the pose that much.

Pfft.. have you ever tried Kandyman, you can never go back to plain Australians. 

You liberal hippie!

I find a man and woman kissing not the slightest bit arousing, even how attractive they might be. The movie-kiss has ruined everything tickling about it. And when seeing them IRL, it is just embarresing. Stop kissing and be social you twats!

I have kissed several guys just for the hell of it. No tounge though. Dunno if I missed out on anything. But I bet several girls have done the same thing, where the actual kissing is degraded to an act of pure provocation or mental borderbreaking, rather then an act of physical enjoyment and arousement. So the arousing feeling is reserved strictly to the onlookers. Would that impeed on the level of arousement - the engagement of the people actually acting it out?

I kind of preferred the sterile enviroment. Prog's edit removed the dried up, rough industrial feel and made it look stereotypical sci-fi. It is a matter of conceptual design I guess, but lack of life ain't necessarily a bad thing. The first rendition had a more hostile and grunge-tech feel to it.

The reason your city comes of as odd is that the cliffs in the background comes off as pretty close to the viewer. That and the perspective on the vessel and tunnel gives the impression that the ground is not close to deep enough to warrant a city in the depth. There is no easy solution to this I'm afraid, without reworking the whole image.

Difference. Something that stands out. Not your average LEC/Sierra clone but rather something unique, whether it be gameplay, story or presentation.

I'll join that band, Eric.

Great improvement of the sky. Very postapocalyptic. The alterations in the background however has worked up the composition, perhaps to the worse. The eyes are either way wandering towards the metal pole in center-right. If this is an important object, then you're dead on. If not, you're not as dead on. There is still a problem in the bottom-right part of the screen. The eyes slide off. You could place something that would stop up, instead of a hole that more or less aids the sliding. Perhaps some bushes in the foreground, or a pole or tree.

The general mood of the pic is rather well, but it comes off as odd in some ways.

First, the perspective seem odd. The tunnel and rest of the whad'everitis doesn't seem to fit together, and that brings us to point two...

Secondly, it seems like a colleague (sp?) since the different pieces don't seem to match up together. It is due to perspective issues, but also the difference in rendition (some pieces being sharper than other etc). It reminds me of a matte painting.

Nice touch with the man in the tunnel. Very atmospheric.

Let us discuss shapes and tension.

These figures all represent a tension - the first being loose and mellow, the second sharp and energetic. The square is steady and rigid and the circle is plain and bears no special tension.

The usage of tension in your conceptual designs are an important feat - it bears with them energy and perhaps hostility or tranquility within their shapes. It all goes back to ourmost primal urges, where something round and mellow is regarded as friendly and blissful, and something jagged or sharp be regarded as dangerous or confrontational. NOTATE that the same is featured within colors where a highly saturated color may witness of poison or alure, where a blend, mellow saturation witness of earth at is kindest, or simply something that do not want to be found. The signal colours are a complex matter however, and so are shapes and tension. It is not easy to try to fit it into a compressed text, but let us give it a try.


Here we have the blend circle, with simply different hairstyles. The hair is useful for portraying different tensions within your character, and here we have different approaches deriving from the same blend core.


The same can be used within the bodies - shape of head and conjoined lines in the torso to produce different energy within seemingly same character.


BUT, often the best results comes from a combination of BOTH tension and looseness within the same piece. In this, the hair, chin and burns all work with juxtaposition in order to get tension and energy. In the same design, we have the round hair and head shape to dempen the energy and provide ease. It is not the best example ever made, I grant you that, but it serves to describe a way to make good energy without overblowing the piece with tention. Let us work with two examples.


First we work with stickmen, as before. The pose is here unbalanced, which is fixed in the second take.

Here we work with mellow shapes - roundness, no sharp edges. A lull and tranquil piece.

We finish it up, adding clothes and socks. Still very lull and peaceful.

So we return to the stickman and do another take:

Here we work with jagged lines and sharp corners. It is ammeaditly a more uptight version, not only because of slightly raised shoulders, but tension throughout his entire body.

We finish him off aswell with clothes and take a look. It is rigid and tense.
Now, both these takes may serve a purpose, but they are perhaps not the best pieces of imagery made. So let us combine the two and make the tense luller and the lull tenser.

Again, the hair is easy to work with, and so are clothes and shoes. Both characters still bear with them difference in tension, but at a lesser level. It is wise to combine both lull and jagged designs within the character, to achieve both balance and tension at the same time - not overdoing the tension, nor making a character that blends into the background.

This is ofcourse a matter of balancing both energetic and mellow shapes into the tension desired. There are no rules, nor tricks for achieving this, only practice and experimentation.

Your logo has a couple of problems. Your text is hard to read, mainly because of the shadow effect and the heraldic icons steeling the attention. A mellow blue and black in the background works rather well on its own, I think the main issue lies in the text. First of, get rid of the shadow effect. Then use a bold version of your font, and outline it with black and see how that turns out. You could also shorten the line separation inbetween the two words, they are unnecessary far apart.

When it comes to logos, you may also want to think about ease - making a logo that works in just black and white so you could use them in simple copies and faxes. This could be achieved easily in your piece by removing the heraldic icons and make the text white with black outlines.

Fiddle around some more and post it. I am eager to see your results! 

So let us discuss faces. Because faces are what makes characters. Well, not really. What is a face?

<- this?

._. <- this?

I think the latest try gives a rather good idea of what a face constitutes of; eyes and mouth. We are narcissists the lot of us, we see our face in everything; cars headlights and grill, the smileys, even an outlet. But the face main importancy lies in EYES and MOUTH. Yes you can skip nose, ears.. but not eyebrows, they are a vital part of the eye.

The japanese aren't that stupid. Behind those weird stylization lies focus on the EYES and MOUTH. The anime and manga stylization focus on making characters easy to relate to, with their slightly blank appearance spiced with a specific character trait that brings them apart.

What can be achieved with only eyes and mouth? Loads.

But even more can be accomplished with eyebrows.


When we've gone through these exercises, it is time to work on the face of our upcoming character. First thing is to get our basics down.

Remember this proportions? No? Eyes in the midde - nose and mouth get along in the space inbetween - ears from eyes to nose - mouth from pupil to pupil. Eyes one eyes width apart.

The most common error is to place the eyes to high. This because we focus on EYES and MOUTH. The forehead is completely useless information, and our inner vision of the human anatomy tends to get rid of the useless bits. Get a hold of childrens drawings - they are wonderful peeks into their inner world of symbols and stylization - and you'll see that a human is a face resting on two legs and with two arms, and LOADS of digits. How many is not important, only that they are many. Oh, and the sexual organ is peeing aswell. That is very important at that age. The child get's rid of the whole torso, because frankly, that is useless information.

But let us talk faces. We work with different shapes:

And mess with the proportions. It is usually wise to exaggerate only ONE trait and let the others follow. In our first example, we lenghten this forehead and fatten the eyebrows to make a grim appearance. The whole face has been squeezed downwards.

The black-metaller main traits are his sharp teeth. They don't show at all in the normal proportions, so we make the mouth 1/2 of the face and voila. Forehead is unimportant, so let's get rid of that, and the nose-ring is a somewhat important object so the nose need to be presented with that.

Then the baby. Let's do nothing but fatten the eyebrows and presto; a more adult appearance.

So, the key is to fiddle around with ONE or perhaps TWO elements of the face, depending on what is important for your character and their characteristics. And make sure the rest of the faces proportion follows your warped imagery. Or stick with the real proportions. It is your choice.

For my last example I work up a character from scratch, with a rather unusual shape, a triangle. I cut the corners directly making a hexagonal shape for my character.

Then I place the eyes accordingly to the correct proportions (middle and one eyes lenght apart). And the chin is important so the nose and mouth are raised somewhat. But the chin is really important for this character, so I lenghten it even more and make it slightly wider.

Then I add eyebrows, not too relaxed, I want him to be focused. Then I work on the chin even more, making it big and rigid. To finish it up, I add hair and 'burns - the burns being a juxtaposed angle to increase dynamics within the face. Done.

This was Part 3, about Faces and proportions.

I must say I have NEVER played the first two installments, and judge my Duke Nukem-fever solely on DN:3D. And I love it. From playing the Demo at a friends house to downloading it 7 years later of a warez site (yes I know.. boo me..).I never completed it though, but by golly I liked it. Ok, the pr0n is somewhat over the top, but in a young pubescent lad, that struck a chord. But it is the attitude that got me going. Duke is THE Duke and I would crave DN:F a hell-uva lot more than any Doom sequel.

If you prefer handmade bg's, you could make a separate layer and trace them over with a line tool. Usually, by holding down shift and clicking with the pencil - in most image editors - you get nice straight lines. Curves can be achieved simply by more clicks along the curve. As mentioned, the bg do seem a bit blurry and this technique gives you clear and sharp backgrounds.

I think the color scheme is simply great, and the composition works wonders to attract focus on the middle field for PC and possible NPC.If I was to be nitpicky, I'd say the bottom right corner could benefit from another stump or some sort of objectto halt the eyes - they slide off the piece there.