Thunder Punch Daily 114 – Emotional Honesty

Today I share some thoughts inspired by a conversation I had with Dan Mishkin about writing characters and keeping their emotional arcs “honest”. Believe it or not, I manage to tie my points into a common argument amongst cartoonists over
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Thunder Punch Daily 82 – Character Design, Pt 2

Today I follow up on the last episode with some more ways I look for surprises in my characters, this time focusing on their personalities or inner lives, including the following: Complexity via contradiction Playing to expectations with a last-minute
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Thunder Punch Daily 81 – Character Design, Pt 1

Today I share some of the means I use to look for surprises in my characters when designing them. This first part concerns itself with the visual aspect of character design, including the following: Shape Gender Clothing/Costume Subscribe through iTunes
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Thunder Punch Daily 20 – It’s Only Pretending, After All

Today I answer a question asked in the forums by Rene van Belzen: How do I know what a character thinks or feels if it hasn’t been developed yet, nor feel any compassion for it? The big secret of writing
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Thunder Punch Daily 16 – The Small Soulful One

Today I discuss what could be considered a character archetype: The Small Soulful One. Many of us think of characters like Yoda as a good representation of that type, but I explain why I think characters like Paddington Bear and
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