last updated: dec 16th 2025
Just want to ramble about my style. I'm still figuring out the right balance between stylization and realism. I experimented and practiced with my style & my fundamentals throughout the whole year of 2025 and will continue to do so. I always learn and experiment just like everyone else.
Going into an even more stylized direction, but I don't want to mess up the tone I want to convey. At one point the "ID" gets lost and I don't like it, especially with things like personalitiy & genre. I've been using canon characters & animation studios more as a guide lately. Animated characters are designed in ways that feel very fluid & alive, which is what I hope to achieve, but at the same time keeping the mature, aspect of my world, characters and stories.
When I see artists going for an very similar direction like me, they're still quite realistic, much more than I am, but it tends to work better for them than me. They also use different shapes in their designs, but those simply don't fit my own designs well. Finding a good balance isn't too easy and it requires time. One mature issue I still face is drifting too much into child-like-looking appearances when going cartoony. This is also very common in 3D animation & the 2D concept art or fan art of movies. The features would fit but the age appearance and vibe doesn't, which is why I don't just copy from it 1:1. Some of Dreamworks character styles also fit the bill, sorta, especially old films.
I rambled about a lot of negativity in this post too, but I deceided to cut it out. I don't feel comfortable venting to the public anymore.
Studies, Tests & Sketches
dec. 16th 2025 character style practice, doodles & tests of Karly and Lui primarily