Mood music

Let's start:

Basic Concept

Sgvn is in need of a mascot to represent itself. Design a mascot that we can proudly display on our group's homepage and win stuff! Submissions are text-based,so no drawing skills are required!

Rewards

Rewards work with tiers - more submissions equal more rewards!

Tier #0: Random Background (x1 - x5),Steam

A Random background will be given to the first 10 valid submissions regardless of whatever any of them is chosen for any other tier. 10 more backgrounds will be given out to random participants in the thread for every tier achieved - this is chance-based for each comment and can stack with itself,up to five times (meaning each person can get a max of 5 backgrounds,but will never be awarded more than one background per one comment).

Tier #1: Alice: Madness Returns or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Tomb Raider GOTY(x1),Steam

Assuming a submission is accepted as Sgvn's official mascot,the person who submitted it will win this. If the submitter wishes so,he may switch it for any other gift from the other tiers. CS:GO and Alice were donated by Gaba,and Tomb Raider was donated by Montecristo.

Tier #2: Café 0 The Drowned Mermaid (x1),Desura

Unlocked when there are 10 valid submissions. A random person providing constructive feedback or improvement suggestions to a valid submission will win a desura copy.

Tier #3: Café 0 The Drowned Mermaid (x2),Desura,Voting System.

Unlocked when there are 20 valid submissions.

Voting system:

Each of the following gives you one vote:

  • If you have successfully completed at least 1 non-bundle giveaways worth $1 or more.
  • If you have successfully completed at least 3 bundle giveaways totaling in $50 or more.
  • If you have been a registered steamgifts user for at least 3 months,and either entered at least 200 giveaways or wrote 20 comments.

Once voting is unlocked,you may vote for your favorite submissions by replying to them with the sentence 'you have my vote'. Feel free to add your personal touch to that,extend your post beyond that and explain why you're voting or express your opinion about the submission. You may not vote for the same person more than once,even if he has more than one submission,or vote for yourself. The community's most voted submission,As well as one random valid vote,will both win a desura copy. If the submission with most votes already won tier 1,the submission with the second-best amount of votes will win this.

Tier #4: Mystery game (x?),Steam,Voting System Extension

Unlocks When there are 40 valid submissions and 70 feedbacks+votes in total.

Submission Rules

  • Each member may post up to 3 submissions. If you have more than one submission,post each on a separate comment.
  • Participation via submission for this contest is free for all - there are no restrictions whatsoever on who can participate.
  • Current deadline: 8.11.2014,10am GMT. This may be extended.
  • Submissions must be original characters. Please don't suggest any character from an existing title.

Each submission must include the following to be considered as a valid entry:

  1. Name. Please write the full name as well as any nicknames. In case your suggested name is not in english,please make sure it is moderately easy to pronounce in english,as well as include the meaning/translation of the name.
  2. Visual description: Explanation in detail about the mascot's look,clothes,etc.
  3. Personality: From arrogant and spoiled to cynical and bitter - describe our mascot's personality.
  4. Instance information: In the actual scene drawn when creating the drawing of our mascot,what should our mascot be doing? Reading a book,or sleeping on a keyboard? What expression should be stuck on his/her/its face? What pose should he/she/it be drawn in? Sitting on the bed,or looking under it? Any near objects? Pets? Everything that is on the scene and wasn't already mentioned should be here.
  5. Color palette: With what colors should the drawing be colored - light,dark,vibrant,shades of purple,etc. If you want to specify exact colors(not required),use this site and write the hex value. (e.g. Instead of "I want her dress to be crimson red" write "Her dress color is #7E1B1B").

A submission will can contain those,but they are not required:

6.Other: any details you want to add but don't fit above.

  1. Sketch: If you can,draw a sketch of how your imagined mascot looks. It doesn't have to be detailed - I expect rough black&white sketches.
  2. Backstory: Anything about the character's past. Watched his parents burn to death when he was 3 years old? Suffered from stuttering and thus turned socially awkward? Those go here.
  • Please do not suggest any of the following: Mecha,nude characters (exception:if said character is not human or has extensive non-human features),facial piercings (exception:earrings),more than one human character (exception:linked bodies).

Disclaimer & Notes: I will add winners once the contest is over,please do not add me. If you want to privately discuss contest-related issues,questions,donations,etc - please comment on my profile before sending a friend request. Please allow time for judgement and gift delivery - in case of failed contact due to timezones,please send me your email in a Steam message. If you refuse or ignore contact via steam,I will not seek alternative methods. More than one gift will not be given to the same person,even if he legitimately won in more than one tier,or multiple gifts from the same tier. In the unlikely case of me judging all submissions as being horrible or otherwise not fitting,no gifts will be given out. Technical issues are also not covered by me - keys not working despite the fact they should,gifts disappearing in steam inventory limbo,etc. I will do my best to assist the winner and contact support if needed,but I will not purchase the gifts again. Everything given away here was legitimately acquired and is not country restricted by any means.

P.S. Bumps are appreciated!

9 years ago*

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I would love to make something, but I'm not good drawing, making characters/pets... I could make a forum signature, wallpapers and this kind of stuff but I need the only thing you're asking (the character). so meh, good luck <-<

9 years ago
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It's even written in bold - Drawing is not required to participate. As long as your submission fulfills all condition,even if it's in text format,it will be considered valid.

9 years ago
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I am not good at creating and my English is poor, I think I just skip to the voting part.

9 years ago
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Entries are judged based on how good they are and not how good their grammar/spelling is. I personally think your english is above reading level,but if you think it might bring down your submission,you can send me a message on steam and I'll remake it for you so that the english is pretty.

9 years ago
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u no ozo

9 years ago
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If I was ozo,there'd be a hidden giveaway. Also,my puzzles are easier :)

9 years ago
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Use dolan as a mascot. He would be perfect mascot.

9 years ago
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Got threm all rewards, but anyway - only apropriate masscot for a Visual Novel group is Hanako Ikezawa (or any other girl from Katawa Shoujo, but still Hanako > all ;p)

9 years ago
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As much as I like Hanako,I don't want any ties to a specific visual novel - or any title,really.

9 years ago
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Take a bump.

9 years ago
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Thank you :)

9 years ago
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lemme just enjoy how you've put my theme song in here :3

9 years ago
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also i kinda wonder, why did you choose that picture for a group about VNs? because it's fanart for a game :o

9 years ago
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It's a replacer until we have a proper one. This is why we need a mascot,honestly.

9 years ago
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Due to the lack of any real submission,this contest will end in 24 hours unless any valid post comes in. Also,if anyone has any ideas about why there weren't any submissions or what could've been done better,that would be appreciated.

Edit: Nullified.

9 years ago
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Well, you said until August 8th, so I imagine people are going to be taking their time to submit work, especially if they want it to be of any real quality, and double especially if they like to procrastinate (I know I do). I suggest simply letting it run it's full course unless there's an immediate need to end it, as to not cut off potential entrants by surprise.

9 years ago
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No rush,but I imagine that at least one of those future participants would at least announce that they will make something in the future. I can let it run to the end,but bumping to no results is pretty discouraging..

9 years ago
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I can only suppose why there wasn't any interest in this contest at SG forums.
Perhaps, most people here just don't like visual novels; therefore it is impossible for them to design a proper mascot for a VN-themed group.
Perhaps, the majority thinks that drawing skills are actually required for mascot creation, even though you said sketches are optional. In my opinion, what's really optional is the info about the character that you obliged every participant to write.
Perhaps, people here are just short on imagination (myself included).
Perhaps, they don't really get why the group needs a mascot in the first place.
I think, you should write to some really creative people about this, like folks who dwell on deviantart.

9 years ago
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If I count every person who participated in a visual novel thread I made on SG,there would probably be over 100. Just from this post SGVN gained 12 new members,so there definitely is some interest to get at least a few suggestion.

The information required is not something I'm willing to let go of; Both because the artist I collaborate with will simply refuse to draw if I don't provide it,and because I'd like it to be a mascot,not an avatar. In the future,I'll want to create themed content based on his/hers personality.

People are here are certainly not lacking in imagination; There have been numerous contests on SG to design logos and the such that had good responses.

Like I said before,the mascot will serve be the focus of future group content. Also,we want a pretty avatar.

And well,I don't take this too seriously. If all I wanted was a perfect mascot,DA would probably indeed be a better place; however,SG is the community SGVN originated from,so not only there is the idea that most older forum dwellers here already have a background about how SGVN even came into being(even if they are not interested in visual novels),but it also serves as a way to give back to the community SGVN would exist without.

Any other ideas? :| Is there anything I can do to make the contest active?

9 years ago
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Ehh, I don't really know what you can do in this case. Try mentioning the main reward in the topic name, maybe? Make the contest sound less complicated? Expand the TL;DR section a little bit? like "design a mascot for our group: write a short story about them, describe their appearance and personality, and get a huge chance to win the main prize, which is .."
Rules are always good, as long as they're easy to read and don't invoke that tl;dr feeling.

9 years ago
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Honestly,I could've written a whole paragraph with examples and elaborations for each point a submission must feature,or invent complicated rules that nest ifs,ors and ands; I've simplified most to no longer than 2 sentences.
If I expand the TL;DR,it wouldn't really be a TL;DR anymore,right? It's meant to get shortly convey the core of the thread,not to describe details.
Maybe I can do something about the rewards.. I'll think about it. Thanks!

9 years ago
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By expanding TL;DR I meant just one sentence, which clarifies what "design a mascot" means in general and what can people win, that's it.

About a whole paragraph, that you could have written. It's really good that you didn't write that. Creativity requires freedom. Just let people try to invent mascots how they can, while guided by a few simple general rules. All the details will come up with time; if you'll like any particular mascot, you'll always be able to develop it further with its author.

9 years ago
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I joined steamgifts few days ago so didnt saw this post earlier but I'd like to enter, just need a day or so to sort my thoughts out
Not really god at this stuff but it doesnt hurt to give it a shot

9 years ago
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Great, here's the first participant!

9 years ago
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Registered: 3 months ago. Did you try to register but got blocked before?
Well,nevermind that. Good luck in making it!

9 years ago
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Bump for update.

9 years ago
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Bump for another update.

9 years ago
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So the mascot has to be a humanoid I presume, some sort of OS-tan thing?

9 years ago
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I'm not sure what you mean by OS-tan thing,but I can answer about the humanoid part - Characters are not required to be human per se,and I have nothing against modifications such as zombies,flower girls,centaurs or half-worms; With that said,if your character turns out to be an actual horse,I will look quite skeptically at it(although not outright turn it off). I want future content to be true to the character's backstory,so if the only thing your character can say is 'Neigh!',then,well,it's going to be problematic to say the least. You could say that the horse can talk and is actually a princess who was cursed by some evil witch,but I'll require you to have a backstory that makes sense in this case.
I think the last object-human combination I saw was with a bucket,and anything before that was a long while ago,so I can't really say anything for or against it. If you feel an urge to draw a table-human combination,I would be need to see it to see whatever it's considerable.

9 years ago
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When I think of a mascot, something like Linux's Penguin comes to mind. Though there's also World Cup mascots which seem to be humanoid..ish, without much of a background.

When I read the requirements, it seems the idea is more inclined to humanoid characters or human characteristics. That's why the OStan comes to mind, as that kind of personification seems befiting for a group mascot.

As contrast, what do you think of characters like Lassie or Chatran? Do have names, distinct personalities, quite the backstory and can indeed do poses and expressions. They don't talk though, no anthropomorphization there.

9 years ago
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It's simply the fact that human or at least partly human-like characters tend to be easier to relate to,as well as the fact that they are able to speak,and thus better express themselves. A quick search suggests armadillos sound like a cat that ate an alarm clock,so I doubt that will work.
You can say that if your character is human or human-like you'll have a better time convincing me you should win. Again,I'm not ruling those outright but it's not something you want to do unless you're sure your idea is really great.
OS-tan seems pretty humanoid to me,so I don't see any problem with her. If you say it because she's the personification of a software,then I see no problem with that either (just keep in mind that you're making a mascot for a vn group,so even if you can make an incredibly cute Opera personification it has nothing to do with us).

9 years ago
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I know the character should be original. I mentioned OStan, since those are characters based on the software's (in this case) characteristics. So a similar process seems appropriate, as in, assess the group's characteristics that can be translated as personality traits.

I ask because no matter how great a character can be, it could be cringing to see as the group image. So it seems human/humanoid/anthropomorphization is prefered. And with that in mind I ask, how would you describe your group?

9 years ago
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My desktop crashed a few days ago so I've only noticed this now, but have a bump! ><

9 years ago
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Will you participate?

9 years ago
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Sure, I might give it a try! If I come up with anything remotely not lame (+_+) I'll submit it!

9 years ago
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Sometimes I think I have more faith in people than they have in themselves >_>

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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+1

9 years ago
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Spank you very much, you clearly have an exquisite taste in the arts.

9 years ago
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You have my vote.

we're supposed to vote here, right ?
9 years ago
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No. Votes are unlocked when there are 20 submissions,to block vote gathering just because there was little to no competition. This is also an invalid submission,so votes for it are not eligible for any tier.

9 years ago
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Pfft, Facist.

9 years ago
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Aww...

9 years ago
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If I wasn't scared of our IT guy creeping up on me while I'm at work I'd totally write you a true masterpiece of a mascot, because we all know I have various talents and being an artist with words is one of it.
I'm too lazy to write it on my phone though, maybe I'll do it when I'm back home, we'll see.
Or just kill the IT guy here, I don't really care that much.

9 years ago
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Why hello there fellow anarchist, I too would like to participate in said activity, if you could just send me your personal details and where you work at I'm sure we can ensure this plan succeeds.

9 years ago
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Page was not found Kybaig pls, you're sick, you don't know what you're doing. I think we'll need to have a serious talk young man.

9 years ago
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Page not found? I have no idea what you're talking about.

9 years ago
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Go for it. All are equal in this contest,no matter whatever it is a citizen or a fake queen.

9 years ago
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You're always so passive-aggressiv towards me. I know you may be intimidated by my shining and overpowering personality, but fear not, your concerns are unnneeded.

9 years ago
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Was it in my hands to decide,your head would already be off to shine upon the worms; However,as our true queen is merciful,I shall treat you as a citizen until otherwise ordered.

9 years ago
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thought you could use a bump

9 years ago
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Yay bump.

9 years ago
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babump

9 years ago
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Do entries get submitted in main discussion or is there a particular forum/thread for them to make posts in?

9 years ago
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Here is the best option; Technically,you could post it over on sgvn,on my profile,or wherever you want,but you'd be exceptioned from getting any of the rewards/requesting a deadline extension.

9 years ago
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Oh, ok. How long do you allow an extension of the deadline to go to?

9 years ago
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Up to a week from a declaration of intending to submit,extra 3 days once submitted.

9 years ago
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Would it be ok to push the deadline back a week then, Koma? I do intend to submit something I've been fiddling with for the past couple weeks, & though I probably shouldn't need that much time to finish I'd rather be on the safe side.

9 years ago
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I prefer Komachi,if you don't mind. Done.

9 years ago
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Thanks. :D

9 years ago
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You're welcome.

9 years ago
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Ooh, a group for visual novels. I'm joining the group for what it is :D

9 years ago
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Enjoy your stay :)

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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This is technically a valid entry and qualifies for tier #0(though if I wanted to be petty,even if that's what his parents named him,you still should've included the basic translation).

As for my own opinion,I want you to ask yourself: Would you want this person,with all honesty,to represent you in something you're enthusiastic about? This is not what I'm looking for. If,for example,I'd want a mascot for a FPS I made,I would definitely not stick a picture of my(as the dev) face in there,but rather a picture of my totally badass octopus holding 8 machine guns and spraying down waves of enemies. I don't want a character that has anything to do with visual novels;I want something I could throw into a visual novel and he'd fit right in. Again,while I technically could throw you this into a visual novel,I'd get a very boring visual novel about some generic guy with a generic name that has overused issues with his work and doesn't do anything about it.

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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Have you ever played a visual novel from any of my threads?

"If it was my community it would be focused around discovering hidden treasures" -> this is precisely what led to our group's establishment. I think about 90% of the vns I features weren't even made in japan,so you don't have to worry about that either.
As for the mascot,I think what you're missing is that it has to represent our group from first look. Well,it is in the end a matter of personal preferences,and I may never able to truly understand your intentions; But this mascot doesn't have a line or catchphrase; It has it's own way of speaking and a personality from which it originates,it has a past and we will write it's future. "I make the games you like, and I make the ones you hate too"? We don't hate visual novels that feature everything we don't like; We ignore them,because they have nothing to do with us. Some people like them,great for them,we'll just play our own visual novels. In the most straightforward way - "all that is wrong with modern art and media" doesn't concern us,and we're not here to point out their flaws or fix them or anything of the sort; We are here to enjoy what we like. As such,an avatar which partially represents something we don't care simply does not fit.

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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You should play Narcissu,it doesn't have anything common with your average anime/jrpg.
The description is already very long and was shorted a few times,so abstract ideas like this were dropped out. Thank you for understanding!

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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Narcissu isn't exactly drama,it's more..er,hard to explain. The type you have to try yourself to understand.
Horrors are sadly rarer in the vn scene. I can throw out Saya's Song(widely known as Says No Uta) as a paid title and Phenomeno as a free one. Actually,I think my link for the prepatched Phenomeno is still active - there you go.

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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Phenomeno is mostly atmosphere-based and more mystery than horror,but I hope you enjoy it regardless. Cheers :)

9 years ago
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I like doing stuff at last moment :D

Name: SeGy(doesn't have any hidden meaning, just tried to make it simmilar to group name)

Visual description:
SeGy is a small alien with large head, palms and feet and small body, thin legs and thin arms. He has big unequal eyes and 2 teeth sticking out. Also he has 2 toes on each foot and 3 fingers on each hand. His outfit usually includes ragged jacket and short pants.

Sketch:
clicky, clicky2(srry for bad quality, camera on my phone is terrible)

Color palette:
C2D6C2 skin, #990033 jacket, #8585FF pants with #0000FF on edges, pants are being held by #666666 rope (ugly colored sketch)

Instance information:
He sits most of the time, usually holding a controler in front of pc screen with confused look on his face. When he's trying to communicate he's holding a sign because he can't talk.

Personality:
Cheerfull, likes people and playing with friends. Sometimes he misses his planet.

Backstory:
SeGy comes from a distant planet whose name can't be written or pronounced with Earth language.
His planet is a boring place where everyone are focused on their work so he decided to travel the universe in search for something fun to do...that's how he came to Earth.
He finds earth language to be extremely difficult to pronounce(because his vocal system is very different from ours) so he can't talk, instead he communicates using big signs, but he still loves it here. Trip back to visit his homeplanet would take several years so he sometimes gets homesick.
At first he loved stories and reading books, but then a big book hit him in the knee which made him develop a fear of books. Now he loves playing video games, especially those with a good background story.

9 years ago
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Valid Entry.

Honestly,it looks more like a plush design,or something for a kid's show - Like,I can totally imagine 'SeGy the alien,Episode 32: Visiting the theme park.' Other than that,I guess it's a bit..plain? As in,aside from being an alien(how does it work? Can he breath? Does he eat?) and being mute,he isn't very discernible from your average everyday guy. What does he do for a living? What was his home planet like? It's like he's an alien just for kicks.. Things like this just beg for a decent backstory.

If I had to,in one sentence,point out the most obvious problem with this entry,I'd say that it tries too hard. Somewhat like Voidy's submission(although probably from another approach),you say that he loved books,got somehow hit by one in the knee(was he an adventurer before?) and now loves games with backstory - that all kind of points to a character that would love visual novels,but I'm not looking for that but rather for a character that would fit in a visual novel.

9 years ago
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Gah, this took longer than I expected.

Here's a small introduction to my character.

So, the mascot I created simply goes by the name of Veeni. She's a young girl with blue eyes and long brown hair she wears in a large braid over her shoulder, with a red ribbon tied on top of her head. She has a blue dress with a red stripe design down the front and back as well as around her waist, blue wrist bands on her arms, and brown boots for shoes.

And she also wears a paper bag on her head.

Veeni is extremely shy and awkward to talk to face to face if she isn't familiar with you, however as long as she has the bag over her face, she feels comfortable and confident enough to interact normally with new people. Usually, her expression will appear crudely drawn on the front of the bag she is wearing, and each one has its own red bow that she's attached to the bottom of the bag (since the one on her head is always obscured underneath). Sometimes the bags she wears will display item and sales information on the front (like a sales flyer) which she uses for her job as a a clerk at a second-hand item shop. She's very good at memorizing item info and is actually an enthusiastic worker, but new customers are put off by her unusual behavior when meeting her. Outside of her job, Veeni has an interest in street magic and from it has a developed skill for sleight of hand. She also likes to draw, but isn't very good at it.

She wishes to be a talented performer someday, which is a problem for her because of her difficulty interacting with strangers and crowds, and proves to be a daily challenge for her.

Veeni's palette is made up primarily of red and blue for her outfit, brown for her hair and shoes, and light brown for the bags she uses.

I made a rough image of the idea I had for the instance portion, though, its kinda simple and I didn't get to coloring it like I wanted to, but it illustrates the idea.

9 years ago
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Valid entry. This is the type of submissions I'm looking for,deadline extended for 3 days.

As for feedback,What's the source for the name Veeni? Nicknames? What about age? How exactly does she go on with a paper bag on her head - doesn't seem to have holes for vision,so,er,how does she manage in everyday tasks like eating or walking in a crowded street? It seems a tiny bit impractical.. Also, Usually, her expression will appear crudely drawn on the front of the bag she is wearing and Sometimes the bags she wears will display item and sales information on the front - This might be possible if she has a screen embedded in it and some other electronic parts,but it seems like a simple paper bag for me.. So,how does it work? And why the hell didn't her the store manager fire her if she has trouble dealing with costumers? (and no,I won't accept 'he has a fetish for little girls.')
Other than that,solid entry. I honestly thought at the start that she's not going to part with the paper bag...meanie :< The instance sketch maybe could have been added a bit more details to,like making the background be made of grass or having her play with a yo-yo or something..but it's fine also like this,since it leaves the focus on Veeni.

On a side note,while it's not my personally preferred style of drawing,I can say that your instance sketch is pretty and has the basics done right (simple coloring w/basic shadows in this style are very popular with low-budget kickstarters).

9 years ago
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Thanks for the feedback. I guess I should elaborate on a few things, then.

As far as her name goes, there's not really much special significance to it, I just wanted to give her a name that worked for both the character and the group. I'd put her at 14 for age.

So let me go into detail about the whole paper bag characteristic. It's not something she constantly wears over her face, it really only comes into play for her when having to cope with situations where she is having to deal directly with people unfamiliar to her. In a situation where she knows she has a stranger's attention, like in a conversation, she'll use it, and she's fine dealing with anyone as long as it is on (though, for the other person, its pretty strange). It's her way of coping with having the attention of someone she doesn't know, otherwise she kind of freezes up without it. Most of the time when its not necessary, it would just simply sit on her head like a hat, or just be kept on hand.

In regards to how the expressions change, that's just a detail I put in for fun. I never really intended to have it show changing expressions in real time, its just there to detail the kind of expression she's wearing underneath it or reflecting the mood she's in whenever there's a change to the frame state or pose. And she actually has more than one bag on hand, I guess you can just consider them all stacked into one another.

In the case of her boss, she TOTALLY has a loli complex for Veeni. (Nah, I'm kidding.) Actually, she is good at her job, and her manager can sympathize with Veeni's socializing issues, so she just accepts that aspect of her personality and hopes that she can overcome it if she deals with people often enough. And as long as she has the paper bag over her face she has no problem dealing directly with customers. Originally she was hired on because the manager thought that Veeni would be a good draw for customers, and actually asked her if she would take the job, but it didn't quite work out the way she'd hoped.

And that image is still incomplete, I just wanted to use it to help get the character's appearance across. I'm not sure yet what to use for a background, should there even be a proper one.

Something I just wanted to mention Komachi, since there's a little more time left, maybe you can add what game prizes you're offering in the thread title to help bring more attention to it and possibly get more people to participate. I'm actually surprised there hasn't been more activity.

9 years ago
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Done. I don't like doing this because it's somewhat bribery,but seeing as the participation really is low I don't have that privilege. The expression change is going to be a bit problematic,but I guess it could be dealt with. Thank you!

9 years ago
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Nah, I gotcha, it just seems you have to put the big shiny stuff front and center to really get people's attention a lot of the time.

Don't worry too much about making use of the changing expressions on the bag. Like I said, its just something I did for fun, so its hardly a requirement. Its perfectly fine leaving it as a single expression if you want to keep from stretching plausibility.

9 years ago
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This is Pongario Gullivan, but you may call him Poogo. He is a young boy who is a bit bigger that boys usually are at his age. This is really sad because older boys make jokes about him because they think he is funny. He has 3 friends, Ganka, Sminka and Timpa. They don't care that Poogo is a bit fat, they care what's inside him (No, not his blood and viscera. His soul you dumb!) They together are square of happiness. Poogo doesn't really want to be at home because his brothers, sisters and parents are very thin so they say bad things to him, so he walks on the streets, travels in forest and plays with friends. He is really thoughtful. Sometimes he is happy but most of time he is sad.

He is wearing white t-shirt and grey trousers. He would like to have better clothes but those are only clothes that fit for him. His hair is blonde and skin is light colour. His clothes are clean because he doesn't like dirty things.

He should play with his friends in a forest, near a small river. He likes this place the most because it's so pure and nobody else knows this place. He plays volleyball with his friends. Timpa is on his side. They all have fun and are happy. He is jumping to the air, trying to catch the ball.

His t-shirt should be coloured in colour fbecec and pants should be bfbebe. His face should be dbba7b and hair should be ffec50. His eyes should be fdfcf1 with small 030303 dots in them.

Now he has found a mission in his life. A mission that he may complete. This mission is to become a mascot and become popular so nobody would make fun over him or say that he is too fat. This is the only way he could become a popular and happy guy. (Sorry for not so good drawing) :)

9 years ago
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Invalid entry as instance information violates the do not suggest list: more than one human character. I have no problem with any of the other requirements,so you may automatically consider this a valid entry if you reply with a valid instance information. Extending the deadline for this reason.

Things your suggestion could expand on are explanation on the name's origin/reason,age,some additional details on personality.

When you say "He would like to have better clothes but those are only clothes that fit for him",does it mean he never changes clothes? Or that all of his clothes are alike?

As for feedback,I feel that rather than creating a unique character,you've created something that is very general and can grow in many different,separate ways. As in,he has yet to develop a full personality. I don't have any problem with annoying personalities,broken mindsets or characters that are still deciding on their values and morals; But this is more of a 'he's free for you to shape'.

"No, not his blood and viscera" makes me a tad sad; It would make for a slightly more interesting suggestion and open up room for backstory.

9 years ago
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Okay, sorry. English isn't my native language and I just woke up when I made it, so it's bad. I'll try to make a better one :(

9 years ago
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This is Pongario Gullivan, but you may call him Poogo. He is a young boy who is a bit bigger that boys usually are at his age (7). There are many jokes about him, which makes him really sad. Poogo doesn't really want to be at home because there he can't be the person that he wants to be, so he travels in forest and plays there. He is really thoughtful. Sometimes he is happy but most of time he is sad.

He is wearing white t-shirt and grey trousers. He would like to have more colourful clothes but those are only clothes that he can afford (He'd really like to have one green hoodie). His hair is blonde and skin is light colour. His clothes are clean because he doesn't like dirty things.

He plays in a forest, near a small river. He likes this place the most because it's so pure and nobody else knows this place. He plays ball. The Ball is red because he loves that colour. He is jumping to the air, trying to catch the ball. He also has a hobby, watching birds. He has a notebook full of bird drawings. His favourite bird is pheasant because it's so majestic. He dreams about having his own pheasant, preferably the male one, because he is really colourful.

His t-shirt should be coloured in colour fbecec and pants should be bfbebe. His face should be dbba7b and hair should be ffec50. His eyes should be fdfcf1 with small 030303 dots in them.

Now he has found a mission in his life. A mission that he may complete. This mission is to become a mascot and become popular so nobody would make fun over him or say that he is too different. This is the only way he could become a popular and happy guy. (Sorry for not so good drawing) :)

9 years ago
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Valid entry. It's a tiny bit better,but my feedback stays the same. As a reminder,each person can have up to 3 different submissions active,if you'd like to recreate something completely different. Otherwise,I'd recommend working on shaping his habits and personality some more(although admittedly,it is hard to do with a 7 years old. My best idea is that you give him a tragic past,but it's your suggestion and you can go wild).

9 years ago
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Okay, but how much time do I have? I'll go and watch Under a Dome soon and then I'll go to sleep.

9 years ago
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Deadline is pushed back as more submissions are added or are actively being discussed. As long as the thread doesn't go for too long without any activity,anyone expressing interest in creating a submission or modifying his can request up to a week to make it,and up to 3 days after it was submitted for feedback and improvements. Current deadline: 1.9.2014,11pm GMT.

9 years ago
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Jeanne is a young girl, with blonde hair flowing until just above her shoulders and dark green eyes. She wears a brown leather mail above her white cotton tunic, with matching brownleather gauntlets and boots. She carries a sword on her hip, and a shield on her back. Why would she dress like that? Because she's a heroine, destined to defeat the demon lord!

Except she's more of a painter at heart and is not that interested in fighting demon lords. So instead she travels across the lands seeking new interesting places to draw. On further inspection, her sword's tip is actually a brush, and her shield is a canvas. She's a cheerful and pleasant girl, easygoing with a strong adventurer spirit. But being born a hero means she has her quirks as well. She likes to paint obscure locations that few would know, or would stay away from. A cave with overflowing dragon's hoard (and the dragon, of course)? A neat victorian-style vampire's home? Or sparkling rivers of flame where demons dwell? Those are the objects of her masterpiece, and being the heroine born with the power to stop the demonlord means she's capable of making the poor monsters whose home/treasure caught her eye play nice and go along with her wishes (said dragon from before was forced to pose for her painting and ended up with stiff neck after posing without moving for 5 hours non-stop).

As befits a heroine she travels not by foot, but riding her trusted mount Jera. Jera is a tiger, a guardian whom she grew up with and understands human speech. He often sigh as he watched Jeanne's escapades, but continues in traveling with her and supporting her (and he secretly likes the adventures as well).

Drawing Instances:
Jeanne riding her tiger, raising her brush-sword facing the screen as she prepares to go on a new adventure to find new interesting places/objects to draw, with her canvas-shield hanging on her back and some extra brushes and painting supplies popping out from leather bags fastened to the tiger.


What I'm trying to capture in her character and story is the element of adventure, and her hobby in finding the beauty in things although it might be obscure to others (which represents the group's purpose in finding hidden gems of games as you mentioned). The hero riding a tiger visuals should hopefully also reflect the adventurous theme from first glance.

I suck at drawing, so no sketches, unfortunately! :<

9 years ago
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Valid entry.

Good suggestion,mostly - no real issues with it.
Things you can expand on are age,pronunciation of her name,more visual details on Jera and a few more descriptions of past adventures(like the stiff dragon). As an extra,I'd love to see some more backstory and explanation on the universe (are people just born heroes? What kind of monsters are there? Does she have parents,and if she did,is letting your children pursue demon lords a common practice?)

As for feedback,you've done well doing the start and creating a unique character; But you miss specific details and leave me to infer them. What I mean by this is,after reading your description I imagine Jeanne is a carefree and naturally cheerful girl; But you never explicitly described her as such. Her traits,quirks,and hobbies all are missing.
Also,even if you completely suck at sketching,I won't mind it - after all,you're not the one who is going to draw the final version,and I'm not judging your submission based on it(as it's only used for reference when creating the actual picture).

9 years ago
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Finally have the time to add in more details!

Her name is pronounced like the french Jeanne (j-Ahnn). Her age would be around 16-18. She's around 165cm (5 feet 4 inches) tall.

Personality wise, she's indeed a cheerful and carefree person. This is not without reason - as the hero she's one of the strongest existence in her world (plus she's protected by Jera), so her carefree nature is nurtured by the fact that very few things can actually pose a danger for her ever since she's young. Put it bluntly, she kinda lacks a danger sense!

She's very curious and likes to see new things, which drives her love for adventures. As someone with the hero destiny, she also has some affinity with battles and finds brawling with monsters quite fun. She definitely doesn't mind spanking the monsters she meets in her adventures if they won't behave! That said, her biggest hobby is painting and as long as the monsters would stay still long enough for her to finish painting them, she'd let them off easily...

Her world is one where heroes periodically appear every few generations, so people are rather used to the concept of heroes. In fact, with the routine appearance of heroes the world is largely at peace, with the monsters mostly keeping to their own territory (and panicking when Jeanne appears to paint their house). Her parents are alive and well, and pretty much let her do her thing. After all, she's strong enough to take care of herself - nothing to worry about!

9 years ago
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Sent you a friend request in the hopes of asking you some questions about the contest / group.

Complimentary bump.

9 years ago
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Pushed the deadline. I'll be waiting for your submission.

9 years ago
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NOTE: This is the updated, final version, barring addenda or rewrites which may be required for validation.

Took slightly longer than expected, apologies.

1) Her name, in her native language (Martian), is unpronounceable by humans. Before coming to Earth she decided she wanted to be called "Audrey" after her favourite human actress.

2) Martians are a humanoid people with a great deal of similarity in their overall body structure to humans. However, there are noticeable differences. Their skin is green with a slight scaly quality to it. They each have a pair of antennae protruding from the area just above their foreheads; around 6 inches long for males and 4 inches for females. These antennae are in fact the Martian sexual organs and, while some kissing, cuddling, fondling, etc takes place during their sexual encounters, the "action" (both stimulating pleasure and reproduction) occurs through the contact of the polar charged antennae of male and female.

They are naturally hairless, however hair augmentation surgery has become trendy, especially among wealthy females, since the Martian encounters with Human culture. Both men and women tend to be slightly built, less muscular than even average human specimens, due to Mars' lower gravity and a cultural preference for intellectual over physical activities. For similar reasons as well as greater bodily efficiency, Martian females tend to have quite minimal breast tissue, as the amount that they must nurse their children is considerably less than that of a human female. The low gravity has also lead to the height of an average Martian being somewhat more than that of a human.

Martian lifespans are approximately 50% longer than humans, but they go through the same general life cycle patterns of growth and development.

Baring the above in mind, Audrey is 23 years old, but is physically more similar to a 15 year old human female. She is taller though than most 15 year old human girls, standing at 5'9". She has shapely hips but is otherwise fairly lanky, her bosom virtually non-existent. She has had the hair implantation surgery, giving her reddish brown hair which she has styled into a bob. She wears fashionable human clothes while she stays on Earth (explained below).

3) Personality-wise, the most striking feature of Audrey is how at once intelligent and yet naive she can be. She is chronologically older than many of the humans she will mingle with in her day to day life on Earth and she has generally been more intellectually stimulated by Martian culture and learning than the average human would be. Thus, she tends to be more intelligent and mature than those around her. However, she still has some youthful naivete about her and, what is more, she is constantly surprised to learn how humans sometimes fail and other times exceed her expectations.

Additionally she is fairly self-conscious, owing to the stage she is in her life (though older, she is still in the pubescent period for Martians) as well as the lonesome experience of being a Martian among humans. This is amplified by the fact that she adores human culture, and thus the feeling of being out of place or falling short by human standards is heightened.

She is fairly out-going, curious, and eager to learn. She loves to meet new people and have new experiences, especially singularly human ones, however sometimes her self-consciousness does get in the way.

4) In this particular instance I picture her sitting at a desk in her room, #2 pencil in hand, with a large book open on the desk in front of her. However, she is not looking at the book but slightly to the side of it where her cellphone sits, with a forlorn expression on her face. The desk and her seated form is slightly off-center, to the left of the viewer. I imagine the vanishing point being the corner of the room diagonally behind Audrey, such that we can see some of the wall that would be to her right, as well as the wall directly behind her. The wall on her right (the viewer's left) would feature a large bookcase full of books. On the wall behind her (to the viewer's right) sits a large Victorian vanity, with an intentionally generic sounding sports team pennant for the "National Sports Team" hung on the wall to the left of the mirror. Audrey is wearing a private school uniform (white blouse, loosely tied striped neck tie, and plaid skirt (possibly not visible)... the blazer could potentially be hung on the back of the chair, if that would not make the picture too busy).

5) I think pastel colors would be appropriate for this. Beyond the stipulation above that her skin is green and her hair reddish-brown, the rest could be open to interpretation.

6 and/or 8) As noted, or at least implied, above, Audrey comes from a fairly wealthy Martian family. In fact, her father is one of a small handful of Martian diplomats currently residing on Earth. Each diplomat along with his or her family, and various support staff were sent to establish a diplomatic mission in each of the capitals of the provinces of the United Earth Federation (at some point before the first encounter between humans and Martians, Earth formed a one world government).

Audrey's family is sent to Chicago, the capital of the North American Compact (a union between the former countries of the United States, Canada, and Mexico). Although her Martian schooling exceeds that of most humans with doctorate degrees, both the Martian and human diplomats felt it useful for the children of the Martian diplomats and their staff to mingle with people who at least appear their same age. This would give the Martians greater knowledge of human culture and history, while it might hopefully accelerate the pace at which humanity comes to grips with the new reality where not so little green men really do exist.

Owing to her love of learning, curiosity, and near obsession with human culture and history, Audrey was all too happy too go along with this plan. Though, it should be noted that after the initial excitement dulled slightly, she did begin to feel a mild nervousness as she was already at least slightly aware of the differences between her and the humans she would be around. However, in general, she was expecting to pretty much fit right in with the humans who she thought would be characters from her textbooks come to life almost.

As it turns out, after arriving, both the feelings of excitement as well as self-consciousness would continue to rise. She was living a dream... a world of novelty to discover... and what was more a HUMAN world. However, at the same time, she struggles with feelings of inadequacy and non-acceptance which stem both from her unusual appearance and manner, as well as from racism towards Martians.

9 years ago
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Sorry for the late reply,I'll push the deadline a bit. This is a valid entry.
You certainly did try to establish a universe where this all happens - but you've forgot to mention the time this happens in. Is this a futuristic setting? How advanced is technology? Perhaps an alternate universe with modern tech,and it was the Martians who visited Earth?
You say that there are words in her native language that are unpronounceable by humans - how exactly do they communicate,then? I assume in English,but fellow humans have trouble speaking languages similar to theirs,so I assume that Martians have much more trouble.
I can see how all other physical appearances you described somehow combine together to create the character,but I don't really see how the antennae-like things on her head contribute anything to the character besides making it more 'alienish',unless you mean it to be used as a weakness point(e.g. people try to pull it,causing extreme pain). The bob hairstyle also looks somewhat out-of-place,as if she's jealous of humans I find it more likely she'd want a long,lush hair. It can be explained if it is also styled after one of her favorite figures,but if so,it's a detail worth mentioning.

As for feedback,it's probably worth giving a better description of her skin - how green is it,does it have a similar form to a human's,toughness,etc. Same goes for physical abilities - can she run faster/punch harder? Any innate skills?
About her personality..I can't say it's horrible,but you defined some two main attribues that kind of clash with each other - the 'happy' side where she is living a dream and is actually on earth among real humans,and the 'sad' side where she feels rejected,jealous,and dissatisfied with herself. I could understand if she came with high expectations and slowly they are replaced by those feelings,but you said that they coexist;I can save this by making her a bit 'off',occasionally snapping due to all the feelings piling inside her and having psychotic outbursts,but I feel like this would take the story too far from the picture you had in mind for the character.
A sketch would be useful,if you can conjure one up; Mainly to see Audrey's physical outline and whatever all of that stuff can really be inserted into a (very) small picture while retaining good visibility ..I suspect there's too much stuff to fit comfortably.

9 years ago
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Alright, I've decided to write my humble submission as well (humble - because without sketches; sorry for not being Rembrandt).

  1. Anne
  2. Anne is a young 15 y.o. girl with long ash-blond hair till waist. She has azure eyes with some grayish tone, pale skin, soft features and slim, graceful body. She usually wears a simple white summer dress reaching her knees with no sleeves, which she likes a lot, and plain girly shoes. She doesn't really need any makeup. Anne lives in a distant village of some north European country, far from noisy busy megapolises and industrial cities, so she's not concerned about urbanistic beauty standards dictated by glossy fashion magazines and other media. Despite her long hair, she usually keeps her forehead and ears open; when a hair strand falls down before her eyes, she tries to remove it back right away to keep her eyesight clear.
  3. Anne is more of a dreamer. You can rarely see her smiling wide, although a faint, light smile is always present on her face. She's always nice and polite towards those who talks to her, even though she's not a talkative person. Anne will never turn her back at those who need her help; she'll try to do her best even when she's unable to be much of assistance. Her willingness to be of help to everybody and open personality makes her seem somewhat naive, but it's not exactly so. She has her own secrets, and you can only wonder what she's thinking about while gazing on distant meadows and beautiful deep fjords. Anne likes collecting flowers and braiding them into other girls' hair, but she never wears braids herself. She's also skilled at sewing and makes quite good handmade clothing.
  4. Anne likes to wander off from her village in her free time, so she can be seen sitting on a rock with her legs crossed near the edge of a steep cliff looking down at the river flowing below or viewing a mountain chain, which lays on the other side. This is some windy area, so she has to hold her hand up holding off her hair strands from getting in the way of her eyesight when the wind blows. As usual, her face expression does not show much except for a half-smile. Despite being pale, one can see a bit of strawberrish tone on her cheeks. It's a nice summer day, time is about 6 pm, air is relatively warm.
  5. It's kinda hard for me to specify exact colors using hex value, so I'll stick with the verbal description. At that location and given time the Sun will still be in the sky near the south with its position on the celestial sphere at about 187° az and 43° alt or 9h20m RA and 16° dec; this means colors should be in early evening yellowish light with corresponding shadows.
9 years ago
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Valid entry.
Any nicknames?
What exactly is a grayish tone? How do "plain,girly shoes" look like?

As for feedback,I see Anne as a very quiet,presence-less character. That isn't necessarily a bad thing,but those kinds of characters usually have a neutral expression on their faces,so having her constantly have a small smile seems a bit forced unless you can provide some explanation for it.
About her skills,they're more of a free thing that can be bound to many kinds of characters; But I imagine if she cooks a lot and makes clothes she also shares them with someone;same goes for putting flowers in other girls' hair and helping other people - they all suggest that she frequently socializes with other girls,in contrast to her lonely figure.
I'm not really sure if or how that scene will fit in a small picture. Perhaps if you cut off the cliff from the frame? I need more details(and like I've said before,even a rough sketch is fine - and remember that we have less than 200x200).

"Celestial sphere at about 187° az and 43° alt or 9h20m RA and 16° dec" - I'm just going to take this as early evening.

9 years ago
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Ann, Annie - she doesn't really have any nicknames beside these. As for grayish tone in her eyes, it's a color that some blond people have, somewhat inbetween blue and gray; generally there are 3 types of eye color, which are blue, green and brown (and red as a result of no pigmentation), so this particular color can be considered as a variant of blue eye color. Plain girly shoes, well, I'm not an expert in fashion, so I used this to describe simple shoes without any excess details on them, like, shoes that would fit her overall image.

I didn't mean she constantly has this smile on her face, that would look weird. This smile is a way for her to seem friendly, to express her friendliness when someone is around her, talking to her, etcetera. She wouldn't smile with no reason. And she's not a complete loner; she lives in a village (or small town, if you like), where everybody knows each other. It's just a natural way of things - she maintains social contact with the others. It's not like she forces herself; she was born there and has been living in this community since that time, it is all natural and normal to her. But too much socializing tires her, so she frequently tends to walk out of the village, whe she can be alone, like, watching the scenery, birds flying, and stuff, and stuff. She likes that.

Cliff is not really necessary; she can be sitting somewhere at a meadow, if this would be more convenient to draw and would fit the frame. Let's see what I can do about the sketch..

By celestial sphere coordinates I was implying that there is a real place where I'd like her to live.. if she was real. But I've never been in that town myself, so I can't say exactly if it really fits my description of her village or not. So it doesn't really matter. All I know is that it's really beautiful scenery there.

9 years ago
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Any update about the sketch?

9 years ago
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