hey i want to read your webcomic but the chapters are SO SHORT and pressing the next button so much is kind of aggravating.. pls tell me this improves in the later chapters?
(The "name your artstyle" thing seems to be an AI bro tactic to try and tell the machine how to emulate your art. Never name your style even if you can!)
plus in general, art styles -or art movements- are named when they're dying, not thriving if they dont have a manifesto and specific members eg. pre-raphaelite brotherhood. and even then they're still influenced by whatever art "trend"/movement came before it
The garbage-farting machine doesn't need your art style to have a name. It can use YOUR name. You just say "in the style of" whomever and it will make an effort to fart out some garbage that stupid people would think looks like your work.
I heard people who ask "what is your artstyle called?" are just looking for a prompt for AI stuff (yuck) so I wouldn't recommend answering this question.
2:00 Don't name your style! It gets asked so people can get your specific style out of AI generation programs. One of the funniest ways to do it is to tell them your art style is [not well known lewd word], so when they try to put that into the AI, they get something they weren't expecting.
Petition that when people ask what your art style is, everyone just starts insisting their art style is realistic (or some obviously wrong art style) so the people asking don’t get an actual answer, and the bots doing it just mess up the AI
Some of my favorite writing tropes are (in no particular order) 1- the villains who are villains due to the flaws of society. Where the problems can’t be solve by punching the villain to death 2- a married couple that actually love each other but is still realistically flawed. 3- the heart of the cast that’s trying their best to make everybody happy all while neglecting their own personal demons and problems. As they learn that sometimes is okay to be selfish 4- found family, as that’s probably my all time favorite trope 5- the gender non-conforming character cuz 🖕🏿gender roles and other dumb societal expiation 6- opposite personality character being best friends and being supportive of each other 7- any romance between opposite people that still have chemistry. Like the bad boy x good girl trope, that’s done really well. 8- any story that subverts/ commentates the genre while still being a love letter to it. And that’s it for now
I absolutely love love "Big sweetheart super precious wanna feed him cookies character using the sweet as a front to hide deep dark traumas" trope. One of my main OCs (that I use to deal with my own traumas) is a good example of it. And it's probably why I love Frankie so much. He deserves so many cookies even though he wouldn't be able to eat them.
The Memory loss/Amnesiatrope is one that I feel is used so much, but rarely does it seem to hit its full potential if not done well. And a trope I can relate too in a funny way.
I have an OC that actually puts effort into making the amnesiac work, basically I just made their past extremely important as they are a "chosen one" character, but I lean into that for the lore (and it makes the brother they forgot for *obvious dramatic reasons* that is more interesting left not known until late into the story) linked to many important events and stuff. But yeah, tldr just make the amnesiac actually have a backstory for sillies sake
So the bamboo in Nezuko's mouth isn't about speaking. If I recall, she does say a word or two later on, but even if I'm misremembering it's more to do with preventing her from becoming a full demon. She's eternally hungry for human flesh, but if she consumes human flesh she'll fully become a demon. It's also a reference to ninjas and kitsune having scrolls in their mouths to absorb its knowledge and wisdom.
@@robhillen8007 no, non-ninjas mythologizing ninjas as always holding a scroll, and putting the scroll in their mouth to free up their hands and absorbing the knowledge at the same time, lol. Did you think kitsune were real too? 🤣
@@ShadowDrakken I see now that I may be stupid. In my defense, I have a really bad cold right now, but normally I'm super smart and funny. At least I'm still funny, it seems.
3:22 the reasons here are logical as a demon slayer fan but the thing is why Nezuko has a bamboo on her mouth is to prevent her from eating humans or biting someone, thats the only thing i know about why she has a bamboo on her mouth so-
One of my favorite visual design tropes is prosthetic limbs, especially mechanical prosthetics, and yes my love for them is entirely inspired by Edward Elric. Hell, I went by some variation of "man with the metal arm" online for years. They're just so cool and you can have them do so many cool things, you can give them so many cool gadgets and tools integrated into them, and if it's a setting with magic you can also use said magic in creative ways with them. My current DnD character, Vulcan, has a mechanical arm that not only has a suite of blacksmithing tools, but also a blade, he can shoot his fist out on a chain to act as anything between a grappling hook and a flail, I've had him use Heat Metal on it as a heat source and to deal some extra damage if he punches someone, and had him use Produce Flame at the end of one of his mechanical fingers to act as a welding torch
thick lineart is so nice, I recommend you check out CherriFire's art, she also does the thumbnails for InTheLittleWood aka Martyn and Two Much Grian any mcyt fans here? :3 edit: THE OH HELLOS MENTION
I love how I drop everything to watch this video, watching a guy talk about radiation? Nevermind I’m watching Star draw while talking about art and writing tropes she likes!
the whole memory thing is why i love dante from limbus company. dante themselves wants to know who they were in the past and you get to learn more about The City alongside dante who is still learning the ropes. honestly one of my fav characters from the game
You should check out Jojo's bizarre adventure!!! -thick stylized lineart -lots of metal accessories -very vibrant color palettes -a lot of expressive characters -large variety of eyes -fangs but few and far between - same with elf eared characters -part 6 is entirely based around badass women -there is at least 1 himbo every other part -every battle is a smart off cause they're all written like a puzzle box -part 8 is just a series of secret identities. -amnesiacs that play major roles
on the subject of amnesia stories: if you havent watched or heard of it already, i recommend the anime Re-main! it's about a boy who was like, The Best at water polo but completely loses his memory after being involved in a terrible accident and while yes it's a sports anime and the amnesia is convenient for explaining the rules to the audience, that is FAR from its only use in the story, they don't squander ANY potential with their premise!! the show is just as much an in-depth character drama centered around the main character's struggle with his past self vs him now and man it's done SO well. also the cast as a whole has great chemistry and the character writing is wonderful they're all so funny & endearing and i just want more people to watch this show and love them with me gdi!!! anyway banger vid everything you mentioned was basically a big SAME moment for me, even like. the ponytails??? it's so specific??? but like I GET IT THEYRE SO GOOD WAAHHH i feel a similar way abt characters in hoodies IDK WHY ITS JUST SO GOOD literally peak character design IMO👌 we love listening to mfers yap abt the things they love that's serotonin babey!!!! ❤
Okay but the fact that I have every type of character you talked about in my story, too, down to the fact that the one with the Trauma TM has “Hello my Old Heart” on his character playlist- I- get out of my head 😭
18:17 I… well… it certainly worked. Castoff clicked with me the second I read the prologue… you did that masterfully!!! I adore this❤❤❤❤❤❤ thank you so much for making Castoff
oooo!! u reminded me of one of my fave things being when the characters appearance changes with their adventures!! like korra and aang and how their hair grows and is cut depending on what they're dealing with! i feel like they don't use this as often in animes but im always so happy whenever i see a character actually effected physically by what's happened in the past
Girl, please tell me you've read House in the Cerulean Sea. It's got characters who use a bright personality to hide their sadness. It has a hidden dragon character. It's so good and strangely wholesome and is such a wonderful example of found family
In no particular order, here’s some tropes that I like because why not: 1) Characters who look nothing like their gender (like a woman with a beard that dresses very “masculine”) 2) Spec bio stuff, love learning about how the species people make function 3) Kaiju. Just Kaiju in general, love me a big bastard 4) Stranger in a strange land, love wonderland like stories where we learn about the world with our main character 5) Evil best friends, just 2 absolute bastards that see eachother as equals and fuck shit up together (this also applies to evil couples) 6) When a characters design intentionally doesnt match their personality (like a guy thats all big and muscular with loads of scars but is actually a total caring sweetheart) 7) Big monster protects and/or cares for small child, just generally super wholesome 8) Guys that are just kinda assholes, I’m picky about this one bc there’s a lot of examples I don’t like but sometimes it can be really fun 9) Bug themed/inspired characters, I LOVE BUGS RAAAAHHHHHHHHH Thats all I can think of but there’s def more lol
I love how star spent the entire "characters that I like" part saying tropes and then sneaking in a castoff character. It left me cackling, especially the second time arianna came up
I don't really like any kind of memory loss, but sometimes it can be entertaining. But, with that I totally agree with you, I love the secret identity trope. A lot of my favourite books, movies, comics, etc. have it in one way or another. I also tend to include it in my own works a lot. As well as glowing eyes
The fun eyessss I love fun eyes so much. I enjoy looking at Genshin/Star Rail eye designs a lot because I want to make my own characters eyes more varied and fun!! Also the point of putting all your favourite things in a webcomic...good point AJSKDKF I really enjoyed this video I feel like I vibe a lot with the stuff you like. Been meaning to read your comic for ages and I really need to get to it cause clearly I like similar stuff to you AJSKFKG
literally got so excited when she said she liked amnesiac charecters cause thats the trope of one of my main cherecters in a story im writing, and to have stars aproval makes me so happy ❤❤❤
STAR I HOPE YOU SEE THIS I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW I STARTED READING YOUR COMIC A MONTH AGO AND I ENDED UP FINISHING IT IN ONE NIGHT LIKE I WAS SO ADDICTED TO IT
You should play omori, it has a guy who is a little silly and a little dumb who is cheerful and uses that as a front for his tramua (kel) and then we got aubrey, and female character with a tempure who is an emotionally closed off character who keeps people at a distance due to tramua and has the learn to open up and care about people again. Think you would like it
18:35 If you see this, I think you'll really like The Glass Scientists by Sage Cotungo! It's a amazing take on Jekyll and Hyde and has a great art style. Jekyll's secret is hidden for most of the comic, but gets VERY close to being reveled multiple times when Hyde starts causing problems. It also doesn't help with the stress of his childhood idol coming to him for a cure to her sickness but absolutely HATES him and the exhibition for his "Society of Arcane Sciences". Any how, I recommend to everyone and if you see this I hope you like it :]
I've read castoff (not caught up, I tend to wait with webcomics that only release a page at a time.) I was thinking your artstyle looked familiar and then BAM 3:44 you put the red girl on the screen. Idk why but that genuinely scared scared me lol.
5:11 Man, I do that too! I think my inspiration for making white pupils was the Deep See Prisoner games? All the characters have white pupils and I liked this detail and after a while I started doing the same. and sometimes depending on the character the pupils will have different shapes. like, one of my characters is a dragon so I draw his pupils sharp and thin.
I was going to mention my D&D character in your last stream where you drew your D&D character who has amnesia but she fits better here. She has a lot of things you enjoy about characters. On the surface Crystal is a half dragon sorcerer who is training to be a wizard amd trying to learn about her ancestry. In actuality they were born a human male and followed the voice in their dreams where they met the goddess of the moon who awoke their powers and found out they were living out a second life. (The game was set in Xandria and they were a part of Xhorhas society and was consecuted. They died in the fall of Draconia and was one of the souls reborn when the Luxon the was stolen so they were born to a family outside of Xhorhas. Because they did not grow up correctly, the amnesis process didn't work and the dreams they were having were flashes of their past life. The moon goddess was actually a fae so their class is actually warlock (fae patron with pact of the chain) and they are now learning to be an enchantment wizard so they can make high-society fashion in the form of magical gowns and accessories.) Oh and she uses 'Mask of Many Faces' and clever costuming to keep up her preferred guise of the half-dragon (half dark elf / half dragonborn) because that look is who she feels is most true to herself.
For me, one of my all time favourite tropes is the "trapped beast", when a character has this great creature sealed in them. Think of the tailed beasts and jinchuriki in Naruto, Ichigo from Bleach, or Sukuna and Itadori in JJK. This idea of a character having to work, somehow, with this beast so powerful, they could wipe our armies all alone, just sounds so cool. It's a main gimmick to my story, though I try to implement that into the politics of my world and how those with these beasts are treated Also isekai. I think isekai, as a plot device and a way to create a setting, is absolutely phenomenal. That said, most isekai/new world series, predominately anime, just can't for the life of them make a story worth literally anything. Very few, like Mushoku Tensei, Konosuba, The Wrong way to use Healing Magic, and early Tensura actually have a story and characters to compliment the idea of an unfamiliar world
7:34 PERFECT because my story is so entirely self serving that it’s tailor made for me. Which is what I was after. It is my baby and all my characters are so precious to me
AHHH I LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE AMNESIAC CHARACTERS, one of my main characters in my comic has amnesia. I love it when characters have to find out who they were. Like everything u said about it is me to a T.
As far as 'interesting eyes' go, I'd recommend checking out the art for Honkai: Star Rail. A lot of the characters have unique eye colours and patterns. Off the top of my head, notable ones are March 7th (whose eyes are pastel blue and pink), Sparkle (who has butterflies in her eyes), and Aventurine (whose eyes are blue and purple rings). March 7th is also an amnesiac character with a completely unknown past. She was found floating in space, encased in magical ice, and her name is taken from the day she was found. The mystery hasn't played a huge part in the story, but it does influence her character to be someone who is very much 'live in the moment' and loves taking photos to record pretty much everything. She has no memory of her past, so she makes the most of making new memories. There was a quest line where she made an attempt to learn about her past but was blocked by Mysterious Forces... HSR is also a gacha game and can be quite a time sink, so be warned about starting it if that's not your thing.
18:24 You just described the overall plot of the game Charlie in Underworld. It's a text-style visual novel about a ghost named Charlie who, after being trapped in another ghost's keepsake for many years, gets released with all their memories gone. We follow Charlie as they slowly piece together who they once were and learn many other things along the way. If this sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend checking it out! The only thing I'd suggest you to do is playing the previous game, Underworld Office, before you play Charlie in Underworld. It's not like it's required to understand the story, but Underworld Office introduces and lets you get to know most of the characters you'll see in Charlie in Underworld, which is nice. I hope you enjoy these games if you ever check them out!
We love the same writing tropes!!! I never knew why they always appealed to me, but your Evansto explanations make SO MUCH SENSE in my mind!!! Thanks for the comic recommendation - sound super interesting!!!
only at 9:43 right now but i’m very delighted so far to say that everything you’re saying you like in characters are things that i’ve incorporated into MY oc’s and stories :DD
Think lines and strong shapes combo is Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab, craig mccracken, and genndy tartakovsky respectively! Used to watch them as a kid and now I'm really looking back and appreciating the art of it and monster designs and stuff. XD
Even though it’s been out for a few years, spoilers for the prologue and Act I of Genshin Impact. When you were talking about ‘the unassuming person who is actually a powerful being’ my mind immediately went to Venti and Zhongli.
i recognized most of the tropes from previous videos you made and not in a bad way either, i find it really cool to see what people like in stories. btw that oh hellos mention was really nice, i frequently watch their music because its really good
my god ghost trick is so good i'm so happy to see it mentioned here! if you enjoy mystery and haven't played them, the zero escape series is also pretty fun (it's the somnium files's creator's previous game series, which you probably already knew haha). Anyway yeah, well done amnesiacs are so juicy and i defs share your sentiments about secret identities as well! i especially love writing those secret dragons myself lmao
ive actually taken alot of my artstyle for you! ive been trying to do white pupils right but havent gotten a good grasp of it yet, but you artstyle is really fun! mine basically a mix of yours and scott pilgrims'. keep up the good work!
10:30 one of the characters in the book I'm writing has a ponytail. My notes on it are really funny because I wanted to make sure I remembered he had a ponytail so I incorporated it into the story a little. So he's this cool assassin and then the main characters think he super cool because he has a ponytail and the way I wrote it down made it seem like the fact he had a ponytail was the sole reason they wanted him to join their group, lol
6:35 dude. The fact, I could tell exactly who you were describing with the tropes that you like with every character is hysterical to me.😂😂😂😂 it’s really true just put all your favorite tropes into the characters you’re making ❤❤❤❤ the fact I like a lot of these two is just- YAS
My absolute favorite character dynamic is two characters who are very outwardly different but inwardly the same. You know, your Pearl and your Amethyst. Great for comedy and drama.
I’d recommend seeking out the works of John Allison. He’s been creating webcomics and print comics for over 25 years, and each of his stories share a connected universe, with certain characters having been consistently featured since the very beginning.
Just saying after watching that video I would recommend the magnus archives + its sequel it's basically nearly everything you described and probably one of my favourite pieces of media
Oh yeah, definitely, it perfectly matches the "emotionally closed off characters tries to trust to people" development arc along with the overall mystery of the story. (Also a bit of secret/hidden identity shenanigans, but that's much less of a focus) Edit: I didn't think much about it when I was originally writing this comment, but there's actually a lot more hidden identity shenanigans that I thought
Hearing all the things you like in stories but also further explaining WHAT SPECIFICALLY you like about them was so interesting to hear! 3:22 Can completely agree, I do like Demon Slayer though the pace could use some adjustments. I personally kept watching it because I read the entire manga (which felt... better in pacing? felt natural for it?) so I wanted to see how they would translate that into animation!
so star, you like sweet goofy himbos......... one of my webcomics main characters (tom) is a sweet natured goofball himbo hehehehe (the comics called bluebell wy, if youre interested in a fun gay sheriff who doesnt know that his husband is a notorious bandit)
12:46 Danny phantom mention while I’m currently drawing dp fan art!!! also I too love characters with ponytails and am experiencing something similar with wanting to put my comic’s MC in a ponytail eventually. There’s just something about them that’s just so fun to draw imo
My own web comic has thicker outlines (though not nearly as dynamic) and one of my main characters is an angry female with a ponytail, lol. I love cell-shaded art, especially when it's applied to 3D, like Legend of Zelda Windwaker. You're mystery thing with your comic really worked, I was literally reading the latest page and thinking to myself, "Is this connected to that weird moment at the beginning???"
I LOVED Danny Phantom growing up. Also, I'm now supremely curious if you ever read Animorphs. It's got the big secret, it's got the warrior princess (Rachel), it may have some other tropes, but my brain blanked on what else you like haha
I love videos like this 🩷 One of my favorite tropes is girls badass or bubbly, both can wear dresses and still be who they are. I love drawing a good dress.
If you havent heard of Down To Earth its basically about this guy named Kade who befriends and let's an alien live with him in his house, while trying to be a better person and open up more because of her Zaida is the sweetest alien girl ever
Damn I LOVE a disguise trope. When characters are powerful they barely feel like they could lost anything, but when his identity revealed is usually juicy
I'm very neutral on amnesiac characters but Siffrin from In Stars and Time is a huge exception and hits what you mentioned so much. It colors so many facets of ther behavior, they are NOT dealing with it well, and it's not the "hit their head oops who am I" type. When they try to remember something out of instinct... Something happens,and it's gone. It includes basic words. It includes cultural habits. It includes *his name*. It's so amazingly done
I luv all the tropes on this video, but two of my favorites are multi colored eyes and suits, give any character one of these and I’m hooked instantly :]
you should play danganronpa!!!!! its a murder mystery and it also kinda has a memory loss plot tooo !highly reccomend it! start with trigger happy havoc then goodbye despair then killing harmony. theres also super despair girls which you can play after goodbye despair
Ik I watched this late but I just wanted to wait until I was in a drawing mood first. Also it's no secret I'm an insomniac but I had enough energy to pay enough attention today so now I've watched it. I love hearing about others' favorite writing tropes and especially why they like them because tropes aren't bad and it's not necessarily bad if a trope is "overused", naw... The quality of the writing is what makes it good or bad imo, and utilizing tropes to your advantage in fun and sensible ways that fit well into a story is great Speaking if favorite tropes, I adore sharp toothed gremlins, they're just fun and cute. Big, strong characters with soft hearts as well, who doesn't love the gentle giant type tropes? Also, demon or demon-like characters who are neutral or friendly in contrast to their general repuation and on the flip side of the same coin, angelic characters who are utter jerks or bad guys, which ig both kinda come from just a general like of subverting expectations of characters purely based on looks. Amnesiac characters and ones with secrets are definitely also on my list as well... Though I think I'm way too scatterbrained to make much of a list, some of them just have so much potential when done well or used innovatively so it's very hard to pick favorites ^^'
17:48 this is the dnd character I’m drawing now- Hes a skeleton who lost his memories after death, joining adventure parties to help get his memories back. When he gets them back.. he realized he was leading a cult The same cult his party was trying to defeat. (Plus as he gets more memories, he fades more and more into his spirit more)
Here's an obligatory Demon Slayer comment to boost algorithmic engagement!! I cannot argue much (your reasons are entirely valid and I'm glad you laid them out- the pacing really is horrendous, even if the world is pretty interesting. Definitely took me months to finally finish watching the dang show), but I cannot turn down a dare either 😔. BUT! To relate to the video, as I am simply here to boost in the algorithm and DS hardly relates to the video, I LOVE thick chunky lineart too!! Really, all the things you listed in the visual elements category I 100% agree with!! Otherwise, great video!!
9:34 Isabeau from in stars and time, please o please play in stars and time. I thought of it IMMEDIATELY when you mentioned liking stories that are depressing and still somewhat hopeful 13:17 _slides isat in your direction,_ it’s something the audience knows but not even the characters are aware is even happening (time travel shenanigans) So literally only two characters know about it and the main character Siffrin is living in their own personal hell 16:46 *THROWS ISAT IN YOUR DIRECTION PLAY IT PLAY IT OMG PLAY IT NOW YOU’LL LOVE IT*
You should really watch Unicorn Warriors Eternal for the face thing (and a million other reasons but still, lol). The art direction is inspired by old rubberhose style of animation, and I even saw some Belgian comic influences like the Smurfs, and Astrix and Obelix, so the designs are very charming and REALLY push every expression. There were so many times my partner and I were dying laughing cause they struck just the right look for a visual joke.
Omg if you love the secret identity trope and you haven’t watched, watch Adventures of Merlin (or Merlin) you would loooove it!! It’s one of my favorites since it came out in 2008 lol, and it holds up so well
I have three main tropes I love: Kento Nanami, Iron Giant, and Luffy - Serious person who’s major character moments are them being tender or loving - a robot/non-sentient character breaking from their intended purpose (bonus points for if they die and they say something the lines of “I’m glad I was able to actually live”) - emotionally driven dummy who is kinda chilled out until they aren’t. Biggest scenes are their reactions to the events they’re experiencing These are like the big three. Nothing else compares
Also you should really check out guilty gear. Any trope a person can like is in that game. Faust is literally me. Best album releases packages with a free game
Fun fact: There are two amnesiacs in this art. 👀
I can see Felix, so there’s one of them
I think she’s making fun of Zhongli lol
I'm a sweetheart, who's a goofball
Do I qualify?
Your choice if you want to reply or not, please don't freak out or get angry.
hey i want to read your webcomic but the chapters are SO SHORT and pressing the next button so much is kind of aggravating.. pls tell me this improves in the later chapters?
@@seaah I don't get this complaint? It's like saying turning pages in a book is aggravating
(The "name your artstyle" thing seems to be an AI bro tactic to try and tell the machine how to emulate your art. Never name your style even if you can!)
@@dweeborea That is... Scummy as all hell Jesus
plus in general, art styles -or art movements- are named when they're dying, not thriving if they dont have a manifesto and specific members eg. pre-raphaelite brotherhood. and even then they're still influenced by whatever art "trend"/movement came before it
My art style is "how I draw things"
I am several steps ahead.
The garbage-farting machine doesn't need your art style to have a name. It can use YOUR name. You just say "in the style of" whomever and it will make an effort to fart out some garbage that stupid people would think looks like your work.
I heard people who ask "what is your artstyle called?" are just looking for a prompt for AI stuff (yuck) so I wouldn't recommend answering this question.
Surely they could just write her name in
@@sugarzblossom8168 It would probably just be a starFishFace
I don't like putting labels on things
@@sugarzblossom8168 Not necessarily. The AI would have to be trained on their art and know what "theStarfishface" means when prompted.
Doesn't help that people don't understand the difference between artstyle, aestetic, movement and level of detail
2:00 Don't name your style! It gets asked so people can get your specific style out of AI generation programs. One of the funniest ways to do it is to tell them your art style is [not well known lewd word], so when they try to put that into the AI, they get something they weren't expecting.
[Evil Laughter]
I hate ai with a burning passion
My art style is Tokyo Sandblaster
Would say my art style is wonder bread then lol
@@Kazekai_AJ You're wasting your energy. Go improve yourself
DATE SOMNIUM FILES MENTION LETS GOOOOOO
@@ActuallyRea holy shit a fellow Somnium Files fan 0.o
Hi, June!! Watched your video yesterday!
Petition that when people ask what your art style is, everyone just starts insisting their art style is realistic (or some obviously wrong art style) so the people asking don’t get an actual answer, and the bots doing it just mess up the AI
That's a good idea, another i recommend doing is when someone asks you what ur art style is than just say a random insult from any language you want.
@@Imane-qd7ho From now one I'm gonna say that my art style is named trou du cul
@@Imxxyourxxsenorita eheh 👀
Some of my favorite writing tropes are (in no particular order)
1- the villains who are villains due to the flaws of society. Where the problems can’t be solve by punching the villain to death
2- a married couple that actually love each other but is still realistically flawed.
3- the heart of the cast that’s trying their best to make everybody happy all while neglecting their own personal demons and problems. As they learn that sometimes is okay to be selfish
4- found family, as that’s probably my all time favorite trope
5- the gender non-conforming character cuz 🖕🏿gender roles and other dumb societal expiation
6- opposite personality character being best friends and being supportive of each other
7- any romance between opposite people that still have chemistry. Like the bad boy x good girl trope, that’s done really well.
8- any story that subverts/ commentates the genre while still being a love letter to it.
And that’s it for now
Found family I’d the GOAT! The GOAT!
For 3 I _highly_ recommend the webcomic Space Boy, it’s dealing with that very thing right now, in a very well-done way.
I absolutely love love "Big sweetheart super precious wanna feed him cookies character using the sweet as a front to hide deep dark traumas" trope. One of my main OCs (that I use to deal with my own traumas) is a good example of it.
And it's probably why I love Frankie so much. He deserves so many cookies even though he wouldn't be able to eat them.
The Memory loss/Amnesiatrope is one that I feel is used so much, but rarely does it seem to hit its full potential if not done well. And a trope I can relate too in a funny way.
I have an OC that actually puts effort into making the amnesiac work, basically I just made their past extremely important as they are a "chosen one" character, but I lean into that for the lore (and it makes the brother they forgot for *obvious dramatic reasons* that is more interesting left not known until late into the story) linked to many important events and stuff. But yeah, tldr just make the amnesiac actually have a backstory for sillies sake
@@k09viner89 Shamura from COTL is a wonderful example of the trope
JoJolion
18:07 media that has you asking questions in general is honestly my favorite part of any sort of story
So the bamboo in Nezuko's mouth isn't about speaking. If I recall, she does say a word or two later on, but even if I'm misremembering it's more to do with preventing her from becoming a full demon. She's eternally hungry for human flesh, but if she consumes human flesh she'll fully become a demon. It's also a reference to ninjas and kitsune having scrolls in their mouths to absorb its knowledge and wisdom.
There's no way ninjas thought they could get smarter by eating books. That's too funny.
@@robhillen8007 no, non-ninjas mythologizing ninjas as always holding a scroll, and putting the scroll in their mouth to free up their hands and absorbing the knowledge at the same time, lol. Did you think kitsune were real too? 🤣
@@ShadowDrakken I see now that I may be stupid. In my defense, I have a really bad cold right now, but normally I'm super smart and funny. At least I'm still funny, it seems.
@@robhillen8007 not stupid, I never said or intended that meaning. My apologies
@@ShadowDrakken That's good to hear. I was mostly laughing at myself for my blunder.
lavendertowne is an artist who's really good at the fun pupils!
5:02 the cat😭
Cat :0
Cat :O
3:22 the reasons here are logical as a demon slayer fan but the thing is why Nezuko has a bamboo on her mouth is to prevent her from eating humans or biting someone, thats the only thing i know about why she has a bamboo on her mouth so-
One of my favorite visual design tropes is prosthetic limbs, especially mechanical prosthetics, and yes my love for them is entirely inspired by Edward Elric. Hell, I went by some variation of "man with the metal arm" online for years. They're just so cool and you can have them do so many cool things, you can give them so many cool gadgets and tools integrated into them, and if it's a setting with magic you can also use said magic in creative ways with them. My current DnD character, Vulcan, has a mechanical arm that not only has a suite of blacksmithing tools, but also a blade, he can shoot his fist out on a chain to act as anything between a grappling hook and a flail, I've had him use Heat Metal on it as a heat source and to deal some extra damage if he punches someone, and had him use Produce Flame at the end of one of his mechanical fingers to act as a welding torch
thick lineart is so nice, I recommend you check out CherriFire's art, she also does the thumbnails for InTheLittleWood aka Martyn and Two Much Grian
any mcyt fans here? :3
edit: THE OH HELLOS MENTION
ayyyy
I love how I drop everything to watch this video, watching a guy talk about radiation? Nevermind I’m watching Star draw while talking about art and writing tropes she likes!
the whole memory thing is why i love dante from limbus company. dante themselves wants to know who they were in the past and you get to learn more about The City alongside dante who is still learning the ropes. honestly one of my fav characters from the game
omg twewy, ghost trick, and aitsf LITERALLY IMPECCABLE TASTE and might i add your shading and highlights are also on point 🙏
You should check out Jojo's bizarre adventure!!!
-thick stylized lineart
-lots of metal accessories
-very vibrant color palettes
-a lot of expressive characters
-large variety of eyes
-fangs but few and far between
- same with elf eared characters
-part 6 is entirely based around badass women
-there is at least 1 himbo every other part
-every battle is a smart off cause they're all written like a puzzle box
-part 8 is just a series of secret identities.
-amnesiacs that play major roles
14:55 when you were talking about the secret identity section and the character of secretly not being human I was instantly chanting Frankie😂😂😂😂😂
INGRESS MENTIONED! God, it's such a gorgeous comic.
on the subject of amnesia stories: if you havent watched or heard of it already, i recommend the anime Re-main! it's about a boy who was like, The Best at water polo but completely loses his memory after being involved in a terrible accident and while yes it's a sports anime and the amnesia is convenient for explaining the rules to the audience, that is FAR from its only use in the story, they don't squander ANY potential with their premise!! the show is just as much an in-depth character drama centered around the main character's struggle with his past self vs him now and man it's done SO well. also the cast as a whole has great chemistry and the character writing is wonderful they're all so funny & endearing and i just want more people to watch this show and love them with me gdi!!!
anyway banger vid everything you mentioned was basically a big SAME moment for me, even like. the ponytails??? it's so specific??? but like I GET IT THEYRE SO GOOD WAAHHH i feel a similar way abt characters in hoodies IDK WHY ITS JUST SO GOOD literally peak character design IMO👌
we love listening to mfers yap abt the things they love that's serotonin babey!!!! ❤
Okay but the fact that I have every type of character you talked about in my story, too, down to the fact that the one with the Trauma TM has “Hello my Old Heart” on his character playlist- I- get out of my head 😭
18:17 I… well… it certainly worked. Castoff clicked with me the second I read the prologue… you did that masterfully!!! I adore this❤❤❤❤❤❤ thank you so much for making Castoff
5:03 HELP NOT THE RANDOM CAT- XDDD
oooo!! u reminded me of one of my fave things being when the characters appearance changes with their adventures!! like korra and aang and how their hair grows and is cut depending on what they're dealing with! i feel like they don't use this as often in animes but im always so happy whenever i see a character actually effected physically by what's happened in the past
Girl, please tell me you've read House in the Cerulean Sea. It's got characters who use a bright personality to hide their sadness. It has a hidden dragon character. It's so good and strangely wholesome and is such a wonderful example of found family
In no particular order, here’s some tropes that I like because why not:
1) Characters who look nothing like their gender (like a woman with a beard that dresses very “masculine”)
2) Spec bio stuff, love learning about how the species people make function
3) Kaiju. Just Kaiju in general, love me a big bastard
4) Stranger in a strange land, love wonderland like stories where we learn about the world with our main character
5) Evil best friends, just 2 absolute bastards that see eachother as equals and fuck shit up together (this also applies to evil couples)
6) When a characters design intentionally doesnt match their personality (like a guy thats all big and muscular with loads of scars but is actually a total caring sweetheart)
7) Big monster protects and/or cares for small child, just generally super wholesome
8) Guys that are just kinda assholes, I’m picky about this one bc there’s a lot of examples I don’t like but sometimes it can be really fun
9) Bug themed/inspired characters, I LOVE BUGS RAAAAHHHHHHHHH
Thats all I can think of but there’s def more lol
I love how star spent the entire "characters that I like" part saying tropes and then sneaking in a castoff character. It left me cackling, especially the second time arianna came up
You have no idea how excited I was to see the kitties. I said "OMG ITS A CAT" making my dog give me a weird look. ❤
10:15. Ok star, I’ll read your webcomic.
YES! FINALLY! SOMEONE ELSE WHO LIKES PONYTAILS!
I don't really like any kind of memory loss, but sometimes it can be entertaining. But, with that I totally agree with you, I love the secret identity trope. A lot of my favourite books, movies, comics, etc. have it in one way or another. I also tend to include it in my own works a lot. As well as glowing eyes
16:14 I still think about the prologue, even though we’re at chapter 12- so you’ve done us all a service
The fun eyessss I love fun eyes so much. I enjoy looking at Genshin/Star Rail eye designs a lot because I want to make my own characters eyes more varied and fun!!
Also the point of putting all your favourite things in a webcomic...good point AJSKDKF
I really enjoyed this video I feel like I vibe a lot with the stuff you like. Been meaning to read your comic for ages and I really need to get to it cause clearly I like similar stuff to you AJSKFKG
literally got so excited when she said she liked amnesiac charecters cause thats the trope of one of my main cherecters in a story im writing, and to have stars aproval makes me so happy ❤❤❤
STAR I HOPE YOU SEE THIS I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW I STARTED READING YOUR COMIC A MONTH AGO AND I ENDED UP FINISHING IT IN ONE NIGHT LIKE I WAS SO ADDICTED TO IT
You should play omori, it has a guy who is a little silly and a little dumb who is cheerful and uses that as a front for his tramua (kel) and then we got aubrey, and female character with a tempure who is an emotionally closed off character who keeps people at a distance due to tramua and has the learn to open up and care about people again. Think you would like it
18:35 If you see this, I think you'll really like The Glass Scientists by Sage Cotungo! It's a amazing take on Jekyll and Hyde and has a great art style. Jekyll's secret is hidden for most of the comic, but gets VERY close to being reveled multiple times when Hyde starts causing problems. It also doesn't help with the stress of his childhood idol coming to him for a cure to her sickness but absolutely HATES him and the exhibition for his "Society of Arcane Sciences". Any how, I recommend to everyone and if you see this I hope you like it :]
I've read castoff (not caught up, I tend to wait with webcomics that only release a page at a time.) I was thinking your artstyle looked familiar and then BAM 3:44 you put the red girl on the screen. Idk why but that genuinely scared scared me lol.
5:11 Man, I do that too! I think my inspiration for making white pupils was the Deep See Prisoner games? All the characters have white pupils and I liked this detail and after a while I started doing the same. and sometimes depending on the character the pupils will have different shapes. like, one of my characters is a dragon so I draw his pupils sharp and thin.
I was going to mention my D&D character in your last stream where you drew your D&D character who has amnesia but she fits better here. She has a lot of things you enjoy about characters. On the surface Crystal is a half dragon sorcerer who is training to be a wizard amd trying to learn about her ancestry. In actuality they were born a human male and followed the voice in their dreams where they met the goddess of the moon who awoke their powers and found out they were living out a second life.
(The game was set in Xandria and they were a part of Xhorhas society and was consecuted. They died in the fall of Draconia and was one of the souls reborn when the Luxon the was stolen so they were born to a family outside of Xhorhas. Because they did not grow up correctly, the amnesis process didn't work and the dreams they were having were flashes of their past life. The moon goddess was actually a fae so their class is actually warlock (fae patron with pact of the chain) and they are now learning to be an enchantment wizard so they can make high-society fashion in the form of magical gowns and accessories.) Oh and she uses 'Mask of Many Faces' and clever costuming to keep up her preferred guise of the half-dragon (half dark elf / half dragonborn) because that look is who she feels is most true to herself.
For me, one of my all time favourite tropes is the "trapped beast", when a character has this great creature sealed in them. Think of the tailed beasts and jinchuriki in Naruto, Ichigo from Bleach, or Sukuna and Itadori in JJK. This idea of a character having to work, somehow, with this beast so powerful, they could wipe our armies all alone, just sounds so cool. It's a main gimmick to my story, though I try to implement that into the politics of my world and how those with these beasts are treated
Also isekai. I think isekai, as a plot device and a way to create a setting, is absolutely phenomenal. That said, most isekai/new world series, predominately anime, just can't for the life of them make a story worth literally anything. Very few, like Mushoku Tensei, Konosuba, The Wrong way to use Healing Magic, and early Tensura actually have a story and characters to compliment the idea of an unfamiliar world
7:34 PERFECT because my story is so entirely self serving that it’s tailor made for me. Which is what I was after. It is my baby and all my characters are so precious to me
AHHH I LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE AMNESIAC CHARACTERS, one of my main characters in my comic has amnesia. I love it when characters have to find out who they were. Like everything u said about it is me to a T.
As far as 'interesting eyes' go, I'd recommend checking out the art for Honkai: Star Rail. A lot of the characters have unique eye colours and patterns. Off the top of my head, notable ones are March 7th (whose eyes are pastel blue and pink), Sparkle (who has butterflies in her eyes), and Aventurine (whose eyes are blue and purple rings).
March 7th is also an amnesiac character with a completely unknown past. She was found floating in space, encased in magical ice, and her name is taken from the day she was found. The mystery hasn't played a huge part in the story, but it does influence her character to be someone who is very much 'live in the moment' and loves taking photos to record pretty much everything. She has no memory of her past, so she makes the most of making new memories. There was a quest line where she made an attempt to learn about her past but was blocked by Mysterious Forces...
HSR is also a gacha game and can be quite a time sink, so be warned about starting it if that's not your thing.
18:24 You just described the overall plot of the game Charlie in Underworld. It's a text-style visual novel about a ghost named Charlie who, after being trapped in another ghost's keepsake for many years, gets released with all their memories gone. We follow Charlie as they slowly piece together who they once were and learn many other things along the way. If this sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend checking it out! The only thing I'd suggest you to do is playing the previous game, Underworld Office, before you play Charlie in Underworld. It's not like it's required to understand the story, but Underworld Office introduces and lets you get to know most of the characters you'll see in Charlie in Underworld, which is nice. I hope you enjoy these games if you ever check them out!
How did I miss getting gifted a membership? What a great surprise! Love the video!!
I WAS ABOUT TO COMMENT ABOUT GHOST TRICK AND YOU MENTIONING IT JUMPSCARED ME ASDKSKDJLKJ
" I love female characters who get to be pissed"
Sasha Waybright anyone?
We love the same writing tropes!!! I never knew why they always appealed to me, but your Evansto explanations make SO MUCH SENSE in my mind!!!
Thanks for the comic recommendation - sound super interesting!!!
only at 9:43 right now but i’m very delighted so far to say that everything you’re saying you like in characters are things that i’ve incorporated into MY oc’s and stories :DD
Think lines and strong shapes combo is Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab, craig mccracken, and genndy tartakovsky respectively! Used to watch them as a kid and now I'm really looking back and appreciating the art of it and monster designs and stuff. XD
Even though it’s been out for a few years, spoilers for the prologue and Act I of Genshin Impact.
When you were talking about ‘the unassuming person who is actually a powerful being’ my mind immediately went to Venti and Zhongli.
I think you'd love "Sea of Stars". Garlic is a lovely himbo, Sarai and Valerie know how to clobber, and the setting is colorful and up-beat.
i recognized most of the tropes from previous videos you made and not in a bad way either, i find it really cool to see what people like in stories. btw that oh hellos mention was really nice, i frequently watch their music because its really good
9:07 Himbo is the peak archetype
16:47 (glances at Lapis cutely)
my god ghost trick is so good i'm so happy to see it mentioned here! if you enjoy mystery and haven't played them, the zero escape series is also pretty fun (it's the somnium files's creator's previous game series, which you probably already knew haha). Anyway yeah, well done amnesiacs are so juicy and i defs share your sentiments about secret identities as well! i especially love writing those secret dragons myself lmao
I hope you NEVER STOP making videos! I LOVE listening to you while drawing at 3am. Keeps me from being scared of those classic 3am noises
ive actually taken alot of my artstyle for you! ive been trying to do white pupils right but havent gotten a good grasp of it yet, but you artstyle is really fun! mine basically a mix of yours and scott pilgrims'. keep up the good work!
10:30 one of the characters in the book I'm writing has a ponytail. My notes on it are really funny because I wanted to make sure I remembered he had a ponytail so I incorporated it into the story a little.
So he's this cool assassin and then the main characters think he super cool because he has a ponytail and the way I wrote it down made it seem like the fact he had a ponytail was the sole reason they wanted him to join their group, lol
6:35 dude. The fact, I could tell exactly who you were describing with the tropes that you like with every character is hysterical to me.😂😂😂😂 it’s really true just put all your favorite tropes into the characters you’re making ❤❤❤❤ the fact I like a lot of these two is just- YAS
My absolute favorite character dynamic is two characters who are very outwardly different but inwardly the same. You know, your Pearl and your Amethyst. Great for comedy and drama.
I’d recommend seeking out the works of John Allison. He’s been creating webcomics and print comics for over 25 years, and each of his stories share a connected universe, with certain characters having been consistently featured since the very beginning.
Just saying after watching that video I would recommend the magnus archives + its sequel it's basically nearly everything you described and probably one of my favourite pieces of media
Oh yeah, definitely, it perfectly matches the "emotionally closed off characters tries to trust to people" development arc along with the overall mystery of the story. (Also a bit of secret/hidden identity shenanigans, but that's much less of a focus)
Edit: I didn't think much about it when I was originally writing this comment, but there's actually a lot more hidden identity shenanigans that I thought
Hearing all the things you like in stories but also further explaining WHAT SPECIFICALLY you like about them was so interesting to hear!
3:22 Can completely agree, I do like Demon Slayer though the pace could use some adjustments. I personally kept watching it because I read the entire manga (which felt... better in pacing? felt natural for it?) so I wanted to see how they would translate that into animation!
4:26 for me the two that come to mind are rise of tmnt and ghost trick. I wanna DEVOUR those art styles
4:42 THERE WE GO
so star, you like sweet goofy himbos.........
one of my webcomics main characters (tom) is a sweet natured goofball himbo hehehehe
(the comics called bluebell wy, if youre interested in a fun gay sheriff who doesnt know that his husband is a notorious bandit)
Honestly just looking at your visual list i can already you'll LOVE lego monkiekid!
Yer videos have been massive helps in my web comic
12:46 Danny phantom mention while I’m currently drawing dp fan art!!!
also I too love characters with ponytails and am experiencing something similar with wanting to put my comic’s MC in a ponytail eventually. There’s just something about them that’s just so fun to draw imo
My own web comic has thicker outlines (though not nearly as dynamic) and one of my main characters is an angry female with a ponytail, lol.
I love cell-shaded art, especially when it's applied to 3D, like Legend of Zelda Windwaker.
You're mystery thing with your comic really worked, I was literally reading the latest page and thinking to myself, "Is this connected to that weird moment at the beginning???"
Saw yomiel in the thumbnail knew this was gonna be fire
SHHHHHHH
I LOVED Danny Phantom growing up. Also, I'm now supremely curious if you ever read Animorphs. It's got the big secret, it's got the warrior princess (Rachel), it may have some other tropes, but my brain blanked on what else you like haha
I love videos like this 🩷
One of my favorite tropes is girls badass or bubbly, both can wear dresses and still be who they are. I love drawing a good dress.
If you havent heard of Down To Earth its basically about this guy named Kade who befriends and let's an alien live with him in his house, while trying to be a better person and open up more because of her
Zaida is the sweetest alien girl ever
this video got me into your webcomic, i too love secret identities!
I do like the traditional art in the background 🫶🫶⭐️ (LAPISSSSSS)
Damn I LOVE a disguise trope. When characters are powerful they barely feel like they could lost anything, but when his identity revealed is usually juicy
Woah, your tieflings look amazing with those markers! Kinda tempted to get them now for myself and my characters...
oH MY GOD I genuienly screamed during comic corner, I love ingress adventuring co. so SO much
I'm very neutral on amnesiac characters but Siffrin from In Stars and Time is a huge exception and hits what you mentioned so much.
It colors so many facets of ther behavior, they are NOT dealing with it well, and it's not the "hit their head oops who am I" type. When they try to remember something out of instinct... Something happens,and it's gone. It includes basic words. It includes cultural habits. It includes *his name*.
It's so amazingly done
Wait a second, I've read that webcomic before :O yippie! I'm not terribly uncultured!:D
I love your videos, and this is very good but I WAS NOT EXPECTING THE BLUE EXORCIST MENTION THATS MY FAVOURITE ANIME!! Great vid!!
I luv all the tropes on this video, but two of my favorites are multi colored eyes and suits, give any character one of these and I’m hooked instantly :]
i love how star advertises her comic sm
you should play danganronpa!!!!! its a murder mystery and it also kinda has a memory loss plot tooo !highly reccomend it! start with trigger happy havoc then goodbye despair then killing harmony. theres also super despair girls which you can play after goodbye despair
Ik I watched this late but I just wanted to wait until I was in a drawing mood first. Also it's no secret I'm an insomniac but I had enough energy to pay enough attention today so now I've watched it. I love hearing about others' favorite writing tropes and especially why they like them because tropes aren't bad and it's not necessarily bad if a trope is "overused", naw... The quality of the writing is what makes it good or bad imo, and utilizing tropes to your advantage in fun and sensible ways that fit well into a story is great
Speaking if favorite tropes, I adore sharp toothed gremlins, they're just fun and cute. Big, strong characters with soft hearts as well, who doesn't love the gentle giant type tropes? Also, demon or demon-like characters who are neutral or friendly in contrast to their general repuation and on the flip side of the same coin, angelic characters who are utter jerks or bad guys, which ig both kinda come from just a general like of subverting expectations of characters purely based on looks. Amnesiac characters and ones with secrets are definitely also on my list as well... Though I think I'm way too scatterbrained to make much of a list, some of them just have so much potential when done well or used innovatively so it's very hard to pick favorites ^^'
We love the joyful ramblings about fun things! 🥳
17:48 this is the dnd character I’m drawing now-
Hes a skeleton who lost his memories after death, joining adventure parties to help get his memories back.
When he gets them back.. he realized he was leading a cult
The same cult his party was trying to defeat.
(Plus as he gets more memories, he fades more and more into his spirit more)
Here's an obligatory Demon Slayer comment to boost algorithmic engagement!! I cannot argue much (your reasons are entirely valid and I'm glad you laid them out- the pacing really is horrendous, even if the world is pretty interesting. Definitely took me months to finally finish watching the dang show), but I cannot turn down a dare either 😔. BUT! To relate to the video, as I am simply here to boost in the algorithm and DS hardly relates to the video, I LOVE thick chunky lineart too!! Really, all the things you listed in the visual elements category I 100% agree with!! Otherwise, great video!!
9:34 Isabeau from in stars and time, please o please play in stars and time. I thought of it IMMEDIATELY when you mentioned liking stories that are depressing and still somewhat hopeful
13:17 _slides isat in your direction,_ it’s something the audience knows but not even the characters are aware is even happening (time travel shenanigans) So literally only two characters know about it and the main character Siffrin is living in their own personal hell
16:46 *THROWS ISAT IN YOUR DIRECTION PLAY IT PLAY IT OMG PLAY IT NOW YOU’LL LOVE IT*
I completely agree with your favs writing tropes !!
Do you like danganronpa, star? Seems like it fits your descriptions. Wild lineart, mistery drama, etc
You should really watch Unicorn Warriors Eternal for the face thing (and a million other reasons but still, lol). The art direction is inspired by old rubberhose style of animation, and I even saw some Belgian comic influences like the Smurfs, and Astrix and Obelix, so the designs are very charming and REALLY push every expression. There were so many times my partner and I were dying laughing cause they struck just the right look for a visual joke.
Omg if you love the secret identity trope and you haven’t watched, watch Adventures of Merlin (or Merlin) you would loooove it!! It’s one of my favorites since it came out in 2008 lol, and it holds up so well
"Shameless Himbo enjoyer" Make Himbos to get star's vote? YES SIR!
I have three main tropes I love: Kento Nanami, Iron Giant, and Luffy
- Serious person who’s major character moments are them being tender or loving
- a robot/non-sentient character breaking from their intended purpose (bonus points for if they die and they say something the lines of “I’m glad I was able to actually live”)
- emotionally driven dummy who is kinda chilled out until they aren’t. Biggest scenes are their reactions to the events they’re experiencing
These are like the big three. Nothing else compares
Also you should really check out guilty gear. Any trope a person can like is in that game. Faust is literally me. Best album releases packages with a free game