Do they look identical? Really?

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 5:45 pm

One suggestion that has come to me from the pitching forum is that the two main characters in my strip are hard to tell apart. I would like others to check it out and see what they think. The characters in question are Casper, with the funny fringe, and Cody, who is the smaller one with a flatter hair style of sqare eyebrows.

If indeed you find they ARE difficult to tell apart, leave some suggestions (or just say how cool they are). I may or may not follow them, but they will help me look at them from a slightly different perspective.

The link in my signature below will take you to the strip, and at the time of posting, the cartoon it links to has both kids in the strip side by side.

ZOMBIE USER 19235 · Post by **ZOMBIE USER 19235** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:09 pm

i can tell them apart by their hair, but their faces kind of look similar. that may just be me though.

so no, they don't look identical. i didn't find them too difficult to tell apart.

Joel Fagin · Post by **Joel Fagin** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:28 pm

Same nose, same eyes, same jawline, same ears. Very similar.

- Joel Fagin

Ruxen · Post by **Ruxen** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:33 pm

I can tell them apart from the hair but the rest of them are pretty much similar.

Caduceus · Post by **Caduceus** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:36 pm

Well, you CAN tell them apart but they aren't different enough to really seperate themselves in my mind. I wouldn't have trouble telling you which was which but I might have trouble telling you which one said a particular phrase a few days ago. I don't think their actions will have a life seperate from one another looking so similar. I don't think this is going to kill your comic but I also see it as a problem.

Suggestions? This is a cartoon style. There is nothing that says you couldn't make one of them have a round face and one a square face or any number of other major differences. It looks like you draw the faces pretty much the same and then add some superficial elements to differentiate. Try building your characters with a different structure. Also, their design might suggest what sort of person they are.

If you are uncomfortable changing body or face structures you could change the way they wear their uniforms. Perhaps one keeps his shirt untucked and has stuff sticking out of his pockets. Maybe one has a uniform a little too tight or a little too loose.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:43 pm

Heh...actually...I think Cody did start out wearing his clothes a little sloppier...somewhere along the line he's straightened himself up

.
Anyway, thanks. I'll fiddle a little and see what happens, but I won't be changing them too drastically.

A-Teamer · Post by **A-Teamer** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:20 pm

If they weren't next to each other, I wouldn't have known they were different characters. They have the same face, build (it's hard to tell their size in that pose) and are wearing the same costume.

El numero uno thing I would change is to give each a unique costume, even if (I haven't read it, just looked at the pic) they are school uniforms.