Concerned citizen · 9mo
Thank you for the responses on the Ainsley question, gotta say I’m afraid I already like her too much and would still cheer her on even if she ends up hitting ppl w/ hammers;)
This is totally random and tbh I don’t even know where the thought comes from, but sometimes when Red and Ainsley appears together, they are such an interesting duo to me, almost like a contrast of each other (i.e. the recent DTIYs piece). I think it’s partially due to their outward-demeanor, like how Ainsley will act pompously and a bit aggressive, piercing-ish in both her position in the story and outward personality. Her general aura feels more…solid. Yet Red is…dreamy in a bad way, like a slimy lump of creature, I rly like your post where it talks about the disturbing conflict within Red and he is such an interesting character in this sense. Maybe I’ll come back to this thought when I know more about these characters, but just fascinating to see how you write these characters. (Is there a place where you store all past ask-answers and writing pieces w/ their corresponding art works? Like how the toyhou page is structured? X is nice when it comes to daily updates, but I always feel like since I just recently started to get into your stories and have missed some important narratives here and there.)
(On a side note, just based on purely personal point of views, when going through Red’s gallery on your toyhou site, it appears to me the early design/the way you render Red is more…sharp (if that makes sense). Gradually he becomes more soft-edged and pale-ish (emphasizes on the gentleness of the appearance, but not in a gentle-gentle sense, but meek and a bit self-absorbed sense)…I wonder if this is an intentional choice as Red matures as a character? Anyways side-side note the way you structure your characters is rly cool to me, both in a sense of character arcs and how you put together and draw their physical traits. Very sturdy and densely packed, yummy!)
Also this is the part where I actually get to the point I’d like to make for this ask: Is the hare a kind of animalization of Red? It seems to appear in a lot of your drawings and the pro/con chart you recently posted kinda poked that thought of mine. However I’ve seen Rajiva appear with the hare as well, and w/ the general background setting of “March Hare” the warhead I’m not so sure at this point. If it rly is an animalization/association of Red, may I ask if there’s any significance/symbolism in that choice?
(And just as I refreshed the page, you posted that very cute list of animal friends around the base…lol what are the chances! Should’ve asked this earlier, but anyway I suppose the last part of the question is still kinda valid👉👈
Thank you for ainsley apologia. I fw her heavy but I fear I can't say much of her because of her being so fresh and new to me. Im still trying to nail down her role, and cool stuff i can do with her. I do quite like her in conjunction with red. Its a father daughter dynamic where both participants are actively disgusted by the notion and trying to pull away from it (ainsley more than red because he can't resist the opportunity to condescend to a young woman.)
She does see herself, a little bit, in red. As an object of surface level projection, Ainsley wants to be like him because she sees his life as easy. He encounters zero misogyny based obstacles in his professional life and he isnt even grateful for it. Obviously her opinion changes, red is little more than a slug in a suit and tie. Very pathetic. Not good!
I'm sorry much of my written information is ephemeral. This is in part to me being lazy but also a little insecure, about having too much info, too little, not being sure of myself etc. I am ideating on the best format to store my work. I have everything in Obsidian files but those are on my hard drive and not easily sharable. I like having the ability to pair images with text. Maybe a dedicated tumblr? In the meantime, I don't ever mind repeating myself, so if you wonder, please ask!
With regard to reds design: it is important to consider that he is a repurposed character that originally had a much more erratic and destructive personality. The only thing that I haven't carried over is his lack of inhibition. Red feels free to act insane behind closed doors, but his previous incarnation was basically an exhibitionist when it came to personal problems. And also literally an exhibitionist. As such, his design evolution has been trying to reconcile his desire to be perceived seriously and his profoundly fucking lazy behavior. The unbrushed hair and casual dress was familiar to me the artist, but didnt make him look “good” enough for the narcissist that he is.
Red is a character that is very preoccupied with his appearance but doesn’t know how to dress. Hence the “default man” vibe that i think people like so much, but more importantly he does not want to look dirty. I think he feels unclean, and doesn’t particularly mind BEING dirty until he is perceived as such. It kind of realizes his internal insecurities about being a predator or being prey. So him being clean and pink and fresh even though hes a slob by nature is his preference.
The hare represents red. So if there is a hare in a drawing of raj (barring the march hare mascot material) it is because the image is relevant to his past issues with red. Who is kind of a haunting presence for him. A reminder of his general abnormality and isolation given flesh and blood and a big big mouth. The warhead being march hare is a little less relevant and a little more complicated. Warheads tend to have silly names, the march hare is a silly character. There's something to be said about the word associations and its relationship to the project that OPNERO used to be (MIA). (spring, rot, sex, catastrophe, food, madness) that i dont think is particularly relevant and more of a cute reference to my old project. But yes in a way it is related to red, but not the current iteration of him.
