The Ultra Fem

Then and Now —

I posted this "Character Development Meme" on a couple of my galleries, and people seem to like it a lot. I do, too. The most striking thing, if you ask me, is how little Ultra Fem has changed. My style and technique have grown, to be sure, but Ultra herself emerged pretty much complete. Her costume and hair have seen only slight adjustments in her five years. My skin tones back then were SO yellow! I was using a small LCD monitor back in 2005, and it made things look quite a bit different, but I can't use that as an excuse. Also, Ultra's feet and fists looked like concrete blocks, LOL!

One trick I learned pretty quickly was to never use pure white in a costume. You'll notice the new art has an off-white, almost beige tone, instead of white areas. This is so I can add highlights and shine. If the space is pure white, highlights won't show. You can see the same off-white technique development in the Big Girl art below.

I had actually forgotten about the original Big Girl concept art! I had totally forgotten making her full-on yellow-blonde! Her skin was too yellow, of course, and her body was too muscular. Too much like Ultra. I definitely DO remember changing her costume from that harsh orange to a more subdued brown. It's easier on the eyes, and I think it looks classy, too. My back-story is that Big Girl's costume is one of Ultra's rejected versions. That's why it's the same design.

One thing I worked hard at over the years, and one of the things I'm most proud of, is how different all my girls are. Their faces are unique, and purposely so. You can't mistake them for one another, and I think that's important. I didn't want to fall into the lazy-artist trap of making a whole cast of characters with interchangeable faces, like so many comics and anime artists do.

I'll make more of these later!

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