The Evolution of Wren

[kiyakotari]

Many of my characters, though not all, have been with me since before I hit my teen years. A couple days ago, one of my friends gave me a picture she had drawn of the character that became Wren - who at the time was called "Q" - and it reminded me of all the little things that seemed so important to her character design at one point or another, but that slowly changed as her character evolved. Of course, that made me want to document these changes somehow, so I drew a picture at work last night. (As always, standard "I am not an artist" disclaimer applies.)

Thus, I give you the evolution of Wren.

Comments

[lionhearts.livejournal.com]

This is a really neat concept, and it's especially cool to see just how drastic the changes have been in Wren's case. :3 She's become such an ultimate badass.

[kiyakotari.livejournal.com]

She's definitely changed a lot! I'm not sure I'm up to doing any more of these evolution drawings, but it would be fun...

[greenjudy.livejournal.com]

I love your pictures ^__^

You convey so much here without words.

[kiyakotari.livejournal.com]

I think of it as "Wren grows up." XD

[dharma-slut.livejournal.com]

Damn, when a girl stops trying to look sexy-- she hits that nail right on the head.

[kiyakotari.livejournal.com]

Ironically, the character that became Wren is not one that has ever had "trying to look sexy," or anything approaching it, as a component of her design. Rather, the changes in garments, hairstyle, and accessories have been the result of changes in the storyline in which she exists. Would you believe she started out as part of a 8-person military unit composed of human soldiers that were the hosts of silicon-based aliens? That's why she had the silly bodysuit, it was part of their uniform. And the weird flowy-sleeves and wrap-pants bit was from a time when her character utilized almost exclusively "soft" martial arts, like Qigong, I Chuan, and Tai Chi Chuan (her wrist-bands had acupuncture needles in them, which she used in combat to immobilize her opponents). The differences in pose and expression are part of her change from spunky (I was twelve when I created that first one) soldier-girl to the somewhat jaded paramilitary spec-ops investigator she now is. Her design became more practical (and plausible) as I aged and learned more about How The World Works.

[dharma-slut.livejournal.com]

I love the nuances. And all that knowledge and age and readyness are what's "sexy" to me-- as well, of course, as the butch reading I get from her clothes and stance... That's just me. If i saw her on the street, I'd try real hard not to gaze too long!

[kiyakotari.livejournal.com]

Oh, heck yeah, I read you there! Knowledge is a total turn-on for me, too. ^_~ Wren likes men and women equally, even though she's in a relationship with a man, but I think she'd have ended up with a woman if she hadn't come across Jian Yuan.

[torimiko.livejournal.com]

hum, do I see a strong street fighter influence in the beginning of Wren's conception?

[kiyakotari.livejournal.com]

Actually, no. ^__^ I've never liked the Street Fighter series, and only know the names of a few of the very MAIN characters. At the time of Wren's initial creation, I was very into Gundam Wing, Dragon Ball Z, Animorphs (the books, not the show), Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, and ReBoot. My best friends were huge fans of Sailor Moon, so it also definitely informed my designs even though I didn't like it nearly as much.

[shipwreck-light.livejournal.com]

Cool! And I don't think it's dorky at all to draw and/or color one's own character illustrations. It's really neat to see how the outfit changed over time. Not to mention, she gets grimmer across the page.

*also has characters who have been around that long*

[kiyakotari.livejournal.com]

It's not that it's dorky to color them, it's that I color like a dork, even on a computer. I skipped preschool, kindergarten, and first grade, so I'm missing some basic coloring skills there.

She definitely gets grimmer as things move along. Also, I think, far more confident.