Characters

Okay so now for the meat and bones of the story.

Here are our heroes

I'm still debating name choices on all of them, so through out my notes I referred to them by letters.

Left to Right: K, C, A, B, D, E, Z

The lettering is intentional. A&B go together, and C&D go together. E is the character that knows both groups, but is aside from either. K is far removed socially from either side, but gets interjected into either groups plot; and Z is the alien/avatar/robot from the world running simulation A where the story takes place.

The Dynamic Characters

A & B represent young adults who cling to their 'childish' habits and tastes while shirking the responsibilities of their budding adulthood. They like to spend time riding around on a lawn mower as opposed to a car, enjoy shooting off aerosoft guns, video games, cartoons, harassing hobos, and just hanging out. Neither has held a job before, or have a license, and have given their futures at community college hardly a thought.

A: irish background, large family including his older brother C, all of whom he quietly resents. He spends much of his time at B's house playing video games. He is the more aggressive of the two, he is socially shy but somewhat of an exhibitionist. Does what he wants in a cold manner, often will leave in the middle of something because he is bored without causing a fuss. In private he is louder and opinionated against opinionated people. Believes taking a side means becoming ignorant to the other side.

His problem is he doesn't want/know how to express his feelings towards other people, so he become frustrated and avoids situations he might become invested in.

B: Brainy. Well spoken. Parents are usually not around, only child. Very cynical and opinionated. Believes most people are more trouble than they're worth. His problem is his emotional coldness towards others, his inability to care about people.

C&D represent young adults who have shunned their childhood interests in an attempt to be more mature. They imitate the behaviors they’ve seen in adults and try to block their childish thoughts/habits/behaviors. They live with nostalgia for the past and don’t understand the future.

C: A’s older brother by two years. An up and coming yuppie with a decent pay check. Lives alone in an apartment that isn’t lavish enough for his ambitious social desires. Currently he is invested in D’s simulation program. He is trying very hard to be what he believes to be the ideal social entrepreneur, which conflicts with his true nature at times. He is currently taking a cocktail of depression drugs and a mysterious pharmaceutical from E.

D: Brainiac running Simulation A’. He is a total recluse asshole. Because he has been so cut off from human interaction he doesn’t really understand sympathy, courtesy, or subtlety. Often he will bark orders, or make crude commentary towards others with no regards for their feelings or taste in general.

The Static Characters

E: Shamanic drug dealer, appreciates death metal. Lives alone with his dog. Doesn’t care much about anything, but spends a lot of time contemplating life and the universe in his own intoxicated fashion.

K: A good few years older than the 4 core characters, he lives alone and has a decent living going for himself. As he begins to realize the world is ending he trys to think of how best to go out, and decides it would be best to be surrounded by all his friends. He acts as the core characters guide in overcoming their respective problems.

Z: A small robot looking thing. Acts as the avatar for the beings running simulation A, as well as the avatar for D to interact with simulation A’ which leads to intentional confusion in the story since there are two Z’s. Ultimately they serve the same purpose, to put the other characters onto the path that leads to the stories end.

Their respective purposes are drawn below.

The characters evolved over the semester design wise so here are some pictures of the progression.

Early designs, D looks a lot more like me, and B looks a lot more like joseph gordon-levett in Brick. Also drawn a lot more anime styled.

From there I did lots of mass sketches of the characters before really focusing in on each one individually.

here is a focus page of E, he was the character i struggled with the most. I wanted him to be a combination of Dimebag Darrell and every stoner with dreadlocks I'd ever seen. I also struggled with C in making him look similar but different from his brother and still older looking.