Concept Art: Jenny

Posted on November 13th, 2013

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Here’s the main character of what, in all likelihood, will be my first non-Twine game. Her name is Jenny (it just kinda stuck), and it took me a while to pin down her appearance. The coat, boots, black lipstick, meat cleaver and ponytail were always there. So was the idea that she should look kind of badass. And I always saw her as more-or-less racially ambiguous. It’s the other details that got me: her height, her features, that sort of thing.

The first sketch didn’t feel quite right. I liked her attitude, I thought she looked too butch. (Butch women are great, BTW. That’s just not how I saw Jenny.)

The second looked more like Jenny’s face, but she wasn’t having enough fun. She was also much too tall.

The third sketch was almost there. Almost, but not quite. And after I scanned it an loaded it up in Manga Studio, I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I just couldn’t ink it. Then, it hit me: go back to the source. The thing that helped inspire the game. The problem was I was drawing this more-or-less in my usual style. If I was going to make it work, I’d have to adjust some things.

So, I played around with the sketch in Manga studio, adjusting proportions and re-sketching things until I smiled, pointed at the screen and said, “THAT is Jenny.”

Here’s the final version of her. Below that, links to the sketches that helped give her life.