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NOW IN LESS THAN FLAT COLOR! ... Because I finally got around to shading it. I didn't really want to post the final version as a separate submission, though, since the WIP colored image is still essentially the same picture. Just not quite as pretty.
This is my latest chatroom character, Caracalla the anglerfish guy. He's a particularly grouchy, unfriendly sort, straight to the point and all but impossible to coax into smiling. The environment he grew up in-- the ocean, obviously-- was extremely hostile and unforgiving, and he has adapted his demeanor to suit that; he can't be bothered to show empathy because those who do so are the first to get killed off. While he certainly seems cold and cruel enough at a glance, he isn't nearly as monstrous as he might appear. Unlike some of my other predatory characters, "CC" isn't sadistic. He just does what he has to to get by.
Oh, and did I mention he's 70 feet long? Yeah, that's... kind of an important tidbit there. Eheh.
http://rp.aryion.com/profile/Caracalla
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Posted by Sindereal 13 years ago Report
I am going to touch the lure. JUST TRY AND STOP ME (and dude this came out too awesome for you to not share so nyeh nyeh).
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
OH GOD NO DON'T DO IT HE'LL GET TURNED ON
wait is that what you wanted :| because that's what's going to happen. and then he's going to get all flustered and angry and probably eat you. hope you're happy man.
Posted by Sindereal 13 years ago Report
i am a happy man
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
but you're a woman.
Posted by Sindereal 13 years ago Report
am i? AM I?
touche. you win this round. But next time I will be the victor and- oh that light is so pretty here let me go over there and OH GOD MY BODY HELP
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
SEE WHAT DID I TELL YOU oh hey he's eating you that's kinda... cool
...
/videotapes
Posted by Sindereal 13 years ago Report
OH YEAH THAT'S TOTALLY NOT AN INNUENDO i jdfsnfsefwfdrew
Posted by Dragga 13 years ago Report
Did you color this? What happened to the Ceru who isn't any good with digital? ...then again, it has been a while.
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
Yes, I colored it. But it's just flat colors... I'd much rather it actually be shaded. It's hard for it to look like much compared to my traditional art otherwise... eheh.
Posted by Dragga 13 years ago Report
Flat colors work well enough, to me. At least, for basic character portraits like this.
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
Hey, that's actually somewhat reassuring... I mean, I still do want to shade it, but I'm glad it looks good enough as is.
Posted by Readasaur 13 years ago Report
I was kinda "Meh" about this character at first, but the more I read, the more he grew on me.
He seems pretty interesting.
Once question though: How does he talk to human prey when they're both underwater?
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
So you actually started to like him a bit once you read what he was all about? ... That kinda makes me really happy, to be honest. Not to mention that I appreciate people even reading through his profile in the first place to any real extent.
And, um, as for that question... I don't have a clear answer for you, but I have definitely thought about it. Realistically, he wouldn't even speak English; where would he have learned it from? He can speak, but it'd be in his own damn fishy language. But for the sake of roleplay and interaction, that isn't terribly fun... so I kind of bypass it. IT IS A MYSTERY. Though if someone wanted to play it in a more believable manner I could make communication tougher for him. I'm just not figuring most people would actually want that. :>
Posted by Readasaur 13 years ago Report
Oh, sure!
I'm insatiably curious about backstory and personality and character development.
And you left him with a lot of potential!
He's got a dark and unhappy backstory, but he's not whiny about it, he just believes that's the way things are and acts accordingly.
And yet time and time again he shows that, in some way that even he doesn't quite fathom, he wants something more.
One of the really interesting things about him is which way he's headed. I mean, thus far he's just been a killer because he's hungry and needs to eat. He kills people in the usual vore manner, which would be pretty horrifying if you weren't into that kind of thing.
And yet it's all been as impersonal as any animal. He doesn't get morals or ethics, and would probably find them baffling/stupid concepts.
And yet there's that "He wants more" bit that hints there there is something deeper beneath the surface of a sexy giant monster.
If he does manage wrap his head around higher concepts of morality and the lives of the screaming creatures who plead with him for their lives, he could go one of two ways, I think: He starts to feel reluctant about eating them, even guilty, and this impedes his survival. Or maybe he accepts his status as a monster completely and becomes truly sadistic, realizing that his life has sucked when it didn't, strictly speaking, have to, and he decides to punish all the little foodies who got to have it better than he did.
Or something I can't even guess!
Like I said, he's really interesting.
Okay, all that gobbledygook, and then I have to throw this in...
Does he ever... rub his own lure? When he's... ah... 'coping with loneliness'?
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
Heh, it seems like you actually understand him pretty well. I must admit that he kind of fascinates me, in his own way... because he's very different than the other sorts of characters I'm used to playing in that he has that neutral, survivalist mindset behind his predatory actions. I would actually love to play him in an ongoing story and let his character develop as he learns more about people who have ways of life other than his own, because you're right-- it would definitely have an impact on the way he ends up. Though I'm actually somewhat inclined to believe that he might remain neutral, even if he does learn of human concepts of morality... because he knows that he isn't human, and that he never will be, and that in the end his world is still the ocean and he'll never be able to live among socialized people because he's bound to the water. But it would all depend on what transpired... who knows? I don't think he really minds how tough his life is, though. He's used to it by now, and it's shaped who he's become.
Oh geez, you've got me rambling now, too. But to answer your last question, um... yes, he does. >___>; While it isn't actually a reproductive organ, its sensitivity is potent enough that he can, er... well, I'm that sure you can draw your own conclusions.~
Posted by Teruyo 13 years ago Report
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/angler
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
Pffff, I can't even count how many times I've been linked to that comic by various people. Not that it gets any less amusing, mind you.~
For obvious reasons, Caracalla's species possesses less extreme biology (neither gender is dominant), and is not based off of what anglerfish are actually like in real life. If you want a real explanation, though, it's more that I just love the bio-luminescent lure concept (and all the pointy teeth, shamelessly) but have no interest whatsoever in playing a female predator.
.. Okay, I admit that you didn't really ask for me to go into detail about it, but maybe someone else was curious. >>;
Posted by Jit 13 years ago Report
Awesomeness, not much else to say about it. :3
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
Awww, thank you.~ I'm pleased that you're impressed-- I take that as a real compliment, after all.
Posted by Jit 13 years ago Report
Well, if I was more of an artsy person I would try my hand at shading or anything, just cause those lights might be fun to play with. But I think it is pretty good artwork and all. :3
Also like the demiEridan that we've talked about before afodiasnfioasudn they are both sexy and those TEETH is that bad for me to say :I
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
I've already started shading it myself, it's just... going kind of slowly. The face has turned out very much to my liking but coloring the rest of him is a different story...
And no, it is not bad for you to say because I feel the exact same damn way B| THOSE TEETH. URGHHH. Why does a mouth full of razors strike me as so stupidly attractive, damn it all? That's not supposed to be hot. >___>
Posted by Jit 13 years ago Report
Getting eaten alive isn't supposed to be hot either. WOOT FETISHES.
Posted by Dragonic_Wolf 13 years ago Report
EEE, your linework is just so beautiful and enviable, as i probably have already said. I absolutely adore all of the detail in the fins and folds and everything. Oh, and not to forget the character himself is ABSOLUTELY LOVEABLE in some obscure way, well, to me he is. <3
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
I find him to be pretty lovable... perhaps too much so, considering he's my own character. @@; I'm pleased that you like him too, though. It says a lot. And you need to stop complimenting my line art all the time it's not like yours isn't absolutely amazing or something B|
Posted by Jolteon 13 years ago Report
Wow, I really like the design of this character a lot! I have a huge thing for webbed hands, I find them very hot...! I also think the spike-fin things on his back are awesome.
In general the color choice I think fits perfectly with the environment he'd be in.
Using very few bright colors, but with them still present, sparsely placed the way they are.
I'll be excited to see what a fully shaded version of this would look like whenever you get to doing that.
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
The bright spots are actually bio-luminescent patches; it's just tough to tell 'cause I haven't done any lighting on him. They're in lines along his body on either side, he has three on each cheek, and of course the lure on his head also glows. I'm somewhat surprised that no one has made a remark about him having pink fins, but then again I don't find them to be a particularly "girly" shade; they were meant more to be a variant on his generally red coloration than anything.
I originally considered having the spines along his back as another fin, but decided it looked more intimidating as it was-- and he's certainly meant to be intimidating (even if he's hot at the same time, eheh), so I kept 'em the way they were. And as for the shading... I'll get around to it. It's going slowly.
I wasn't actually sure if you'd like this guy or not, now that I think about it... so it's kind of awesome that you do! Heheh.~
Posted by Jolteon 13 years ago Report
Actually I sort of assumed they were luminescent when I said that, part of why I made the positive comment about the color choice fitting with the environment in the first place, and yeah I definitely think that's a neat idea itself.
Also do his eyes glow too? They're probably the sliver of color that stands out the most on the whole thing.
I never really thought about the possibility of the pink seeming girly at all, partially since it's a more off-shade of it as you said. Especially since I think in nature, in the ocean, any connotations the color might have would be irrelevant. I thought of it as a lighter version of the red everywhere else as you intended.
Also I definitely prefer the idea spines along his back here being separate like they are as opposed to another fin, so I'm glad you chose to go that route. Certainly makes him more intimidating, and just cool looking. It also kind of makes me think about how his normal fins themselves might actually be structured and how they'd connect to him.
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
His eyes are bright enough that they kind of have the air of glowing in and of themselves, but they don't actually produce light. When one sees his face from behind the light of his lure, however, his eyes (and possibly his damn teeth) are probably the first thing that would draw their attention. They're a little hard to miss. Amusingly, all things considered, his eyesight is probably pretty terrible despite how sharp and brilliant his eyes are... at least, I'm positive it's bad in well-lit areas. Maybe not so terrible in the dark.~
I didn't actually think about how the spines could make a viewer think about the rest of his fins, but I mean... they are built the exact same way, just without fins connecting them together and with a slightly different color to them because they're attached to the 'human' part of his body, if you could call it that considering his weird skin tone and stuff.
Heh, I get an odd kick out of discussing this character even in terms of design. I'm really a bit too attached to him for my own good. :<
Posted by Jolteon 13 years ago Report
I don't think you're TOO attached! It's awesome that you can get in to your characters this much in my opinion, and I find it fun to talk about things like this.
One thing relating to the fins vs. spines. I kind of imagine the "human" portion of his body to kind of be like the only exposed portion of that "layer" of him, which is covered up by the red layer for the whole long tail portion. With that being the reason that only the spines are shown, because the fins and such are only part of the outer layer. (I hope I explained that understandably enough)
I don't think that was what necessarily what you intended at all, but it's still a kind of neat way to look at that I think.
Posted by Cerulesta 13 years ago Report
I think I get what you're suggesting. It does kinda make sense when I look at the picture. :>
And... heh, well I hope you're right about the being attached thing. It has happened to me in the past, admittedly, but I don't know if it was quite to this extent. It was a little awkward during those past occasions too, admittedly.