1 Graphic artist
Ping!
I got a new notification.
[New Request]
A png of a pixelated fat woman with three derpy uneven dots for eyes sat on the screen wielding a wooden stick that morphed into a club.
{Character Description:
Marilyn's rival. In her early 20s. Has brown hair, orange eyes, tan skin. Has a beauty mark beside her right eye. Ethnicity: Korean.}
I see so that's not a third eye.
{Client's Request: Please make her cool. Redraw her in a way players will love.}
A way the players will love? A very vague request. I think the Client trusts me a lot now and is getting lazy in writing their description.
I remember this character png from the beta-testing group chat, so many players cursed out this character and nearly quit because of her. She was the only NPC that could instill fear in the hearts of these beta testers.
They call her "The Real Last Boss" or TLRB because she's way more challenging to face than the bosses you face in the dungeons, having Marilyn, her rival, on your team helps a lot when playing against her but you can still die.
Ah, Marilyn is an SSR-type character you can recruit in the game. She's the protagonist of the story mode, segment.
Marilyn's magic is mental type that stems from her childish positivity, imagination, and optimism making her one of the strongest female summoners in the game. As she loses her innocence, the angelic creatures in her mind become more vicious and powerful.
(There are two different ways to summon: from a different plane or from the mind.)
Similarly, this last boss character's magic is a mystery.
People have been confused as to whether or not she's an elementalist, or a summoner. Her presumed element is wood but as she levels up she can even summon fairies, treants and elves etc.
It was recently updated that she's a bond type of summoner, meaning her power stems from her love, and deep understanding of Mother Nature; the nurturing, and destructive circle of life.
Others even argue that there is little difference between the two.
Marilyn is simply too naive to accept the darker truths of life in beginning. Making TLRB one of the strongest Elementalists(summomer?) in the game from day one.
Now I see, the client wants players to love her instead of hating her.
Haha, that's right, right now I am one of many artists commissioned to redraw the art for a popular mobile game, the original game was pixelated but now the client is reintroducing the game with 2d graphics.
Many artists, beta testers, and programmers were commissioned for this. My art style is innocent sex appeal, ah and mostly tanned girls- as a half korean I always felt bothered that dark koreans weren't drawn much so that became my specialty. Other artists have specific styles, so whenever a character is sent to us from the Client, we, at least I, know what sort of type is exprcted.
How should I redraw such a problematic character?
I felt a bomb had been handed to me.
People will hate her no matter what I do.
Marilyn is an adorable innocent loli who becomes more sexy as she becomes unhinged. So what about her? Since she's her rival she should be sexy, but also refreshing... we can't make her plain, but her backstory is a farm girl right?
Let's not stress and just re-draw in my own style.
I told myself that but as I sketched, inspiration lit a fire in me.
I ended up with a tall young girl with taut honey brown skin.
She leaned her weight onto her wooden staff, her long brown braid cascading over her shoulder like a rope resting on a mound of her breast. Not too big or too small but just right for a normal farm girl. Her jasper orange eyes curved charmingly into half-moons. It was so seductive it felt haunting.
I sat back from my screen and huffed.
And I saw that this character was good.
I redrew the battle-ax, one with a glowing amber eye that's closed, unless her aura is charged. and finally a scythe. It wasn't asked but it made sense to me... I named the scythe png version SUGGESTION.
I rolled back in my chair to survey her curvy broad-waisted figure, let's veil it with a green halter top and jeans with slits that stopped at the knees, they were the type you could button back up.
Something felt like it was missing so I drew potted cacti earrings and a golden fertilizer locket chain on her neck.
For her illustration cards,
1. I drew her sitting on a fence in the fields, with one hand keeping her straw hat on her head, she closed her eyes and relished the strong gust of wind.
2. Her laying down in a field of flowers with cleavage slightly spilling out from the sides of her knitted camisole, ah I'm in love with her she's gorgeous enough to contend with those foreign celebrities! A goddess!
Underneath my pen nib, she was reformed as I drew her different facial expressions, poses, and her earth summoning ability.
I submitted all the relevant files and before long the pics were updated in the forums. Many began to comment.
She was hated because she was fat and hard to beat, now she's loved for being thick and curvy, I hope players will accept their losses to her with grace and honor now instead of rage and fat-shaming insults.
Let's see...
Many different artists with similar art styles were commissioned for this project, as well as other programmers. Whenever I look the game up these days I still can't find it, but they pay well, for me a college grad with no real job or income yet, I've been able to scrape by thanks to them.
Ping!
As I prepared to start on my own personal project, my own webtoon, I got another request from my client.
I rarely had time to work on my own these days, so I felt annoyed for a split second but after seeing the client's innocent request calmed down.
Г"A god in the flesh":
Create your own character and profile, please. It's just for fun~ ;)]
Ah, is it for an easter egg?
Let's see me...huh...
I glanced across my room towards my vanity, one couldn't tell from the dark circles around my eyes and my thin frame but I was once pretty cute with my babyface.
Others always make the mistake of writing me off as a quiet and good child but my mind was actually quite twisted and filthy.
A character like me in real life is jaded but in a fictional universe, I'd blend in well, video games/anime/manga have ridiculously skewed logic after all.
Name: [(pronunciation**)YOUR-EE Ale] Euryale Gale
Age: 21
Ethnicity- French/African-American/Korean
A girl that looks ordinary on the outside but underneath her pure and sweet facade is a perverse otaku. Her hobby is drawing sweaty handsome men, sex scenes, martial arts scenes in the nude, smut. scenes, writing, playing Rpgs, and dancing girl group choreography.
Using my own face as reference, I kept my latte-colored skin but swapped my boring curly black hair for a wavy ash brown. I drew myself in a stylish gold-threaded nun outfit with a French beret.
However, before I could send it the power in my apartment went off.
