RHAMIEL
Age: n/a
Story: Angel Reincarnate
Rhamiel, previously known as the angel of Empathy, has always been fond of humans. He fell in love with Nathaniel in [the past-- date undecided], a crime for which he was punished with an eternity of confinement, which he managed to bargain down to banishment to Earth as a human. He is still in love with Nate's modern reincarnation even though the modern Nate is rather more.. bitter and unpleasant. As an angel, he indulged himself in feeling some human emotions, but was never able to feel them in a totally human way until... well... becoming human. This makes his experience on Earth as a human, initially, quite confusing and unpleasant. But soon he learns to sort through them, and becomes more comfortable. He is free of the worldly concerns which are bred into Nate. He is quite alright just bumming around the city and enjoying the little things in life. Even though he is no longer an embodiment of empathy, he is still pretty representative of it. So people (including Nate) are often taken aback or a little put off with how open and... aggressively friendly he is. But he’s not easy to discourage, so that’s ok.
When he first finds Nate, he is overwhelmed with joy and rather tactlessly announces his reason for being there right off the bat. Nate proceeds to label him a crazy person and not believe anything he says. The difference between the Nathaniel he knew and the modern one are so vast that he despairs for a bit, but of course, soon recovers. He starts to get to know this new Nate, and as he does they grow closer.
He can keep himself occupied for days with almost anything; he meets people, walks and explores the city, climbs trees, and other general things you wouldn’t think of doing to entertain yourself unless you had all the time in the world and the patience of a buddhist monk.
Also, he really enjoys thrift stores.
I'm jealous of Rhamiel. FREE TIME
ReplyDeleteoh my god I love this character. he's so fun! also has lovely hair, hahah.
ReplyDeleteLol I followed your DeviantArt here >3
ReplyDeleteAnyway. This character is amazing, and I love his eyes~! <3
oh his hair is so beautiful. you have such unique characters and you have so many! i really admire you!
ReplyDeleteYou may disregard this comment if you'd like, because the following is just going to be a lot of opinion and rambling and really nothing else. But it's been bugging me for a very long time, and I just have to get this off my chest.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really like your artwork. It's very nice to look at. You have a great grasp on anatomy and you are capable of great things. I especially like that one circus story you have and those characters are all interesting to look at. It seems to be like a BL version of Spirited Away, but I'll disregard that and get on with the comment.
While I do like your artwork, it all seems a bit... empty to me. And it's not that it's devoid of, say, effort, because obviously you put a lot of effort into a lot of the things you do. But when I look at many of your doodles--and many of your finished pieces, for that matter--I do not feel that your artwork has anything that will pull people back to it.
I say this because I recall you saying something about wanting to be one of those "distinct" artists on DA. I've seen some other people's artwork that looks pretty much exactly like yours, except they have fandoms that you don't and that's pretty much the only way I can tell it apart. Oh, and the fact that you give EVERYONE super-long, alien-ish torsos. What's the deal with that? I KNOW you're capable of making distinct characters (again, I cite the circus story), yet you give everyone--EVERYONE--the same long, freakish torso. And it bothers me, and I know it's stupid to have that bother me, but like I said, I just HAD to get this off my chest.
Anyway, back to the "emptiness." There is not a lot of, you know, life in your artwork. This is not because of your anime style--I love manga and anime, and I find that many of my favorite manga artists are capable of at least halfway convincing me that this or that fictional character has a little spark of life in them. You know, that they could ACTUALLY be a living, breathing person, if not for the fact that they technically aren't. Also, I don't get the feeling that your characters actually have much personality beyond "this guy's always happy," or vice versa. Your character chibi page exemplifies this; maybe I'm missing something, but I really didn't get the feeling that every single person on that page was as distinct as some other people seemed to think they were. Granted, there is only so much you can express in artwork, but after seeing the same dopey smiling guy about twenty times I decided that you're just not very good at anything but drawing rather idealistic, unrealistic gay relationships.
Your art, while technically sound, is almost TOO technical. Not one pose feels genuine, not one interaction between characters feels real.
I don't see chemistry when I look at them, I see the same deep and loving looks that every one of your main pairings seems to swap betwixt themselves. So while your little OC bios here tell a different story, your art just does not. It tells the same story over and over and over again, and because people lap it up, you think you're being creative and original and you just recycle it over and over again. What.
(continued from above)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I know you enjoy drawing BL, and that's fine. It really, really is. But it's all the same. Every one of your BL relationships is exactly alike. I know that that's really more due to the prevalent "gender" roles already so thoroughly rooted into the genre, but God almighty, will you just think about it and mix it up a little? It's a good way to get some watchers, definitely, but they're not there for your art. They don't care about your talents or your abilities; in fact, the fact that you're a decent artist just means that what they're looking at is prettier than whoever else's generic BL. They're there for the boys making out, or the boys doling out fanservice by the bucket (I'm sure you realize that, though). I recall you posted somewhere that you like your characters to be "characters first and eye-candy second" or something like that, but the way you present it makes absolutely no sense. What is your deal. It's obviously the reverse, yet you beg to differ for some reason.
Now, I'm not telling you all this to put you down, I'm telling you this so that maybe you'll take it into account and try to push your limits as both an artist and as a storyteller. There is nothing wrong with not doing so and to stick to a formula, but you're not selling anything at the moment, so what's the point? And isn't it just kind of boring to draw the same thing over and over again?
One thing before I end this: I've been writing since I was about eleven years old, and for awhile now I've tried to write stories with weird twists on things. Not groundbreaking twists, for certain, but just things that I consider that might make my stories "different" somehow. I mean, there's nothing wrong with cliches (why would they still be around if people didn't love 'em, right?), but as someone who writes A LOT, I do get annoyed by people who think they're being original when they're really just retelling the same story I've heard a billion times, and then they get fans who tell them how "original" and "unique" their characters are. Like Stephenie Meyer, for instance.
Anyway, sorry that was so long, but again, I've been thinking about this for awhile. And again, I do like your artwork, so keep up the good work! :-)
I totally see what you're saying and I actually agree with you on most counts. It kinda irks me that you're sending this to me here anonymously instead of contacting me on Deviantart (unless you don't have an account or something). Since you know who I am but I don't know who you are, I feel put-off becausewe should be on equal ground discussing something like this. But ah well. I hope you'll come back to see this reply, at least.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as I was saying. I do agree with a lot of the things you've said. It's true that I like to draw the same things over and over and I do end up lazily recycling poses and facial expressions. Furthermore, I rarely sit down to draw seriously and I don't have any ambition driving me. When it comes down to it, I guess I only draw because it's what I've always done. It's fun for me because I don't have to worry about screwing up as much as I do with things I haven't been doing for as long.
Like those stories, for instance. I have all these stories and all that crap and it all stays right in my head and I'll never get it out because I'm scared of falling short of my own overblown expectations. That was my main reason for making these OC Bios: to at least get SOMETHING out there, cause I've always strongly doubted that I'm ever going to get any farther than that. I personally don't think my characters are totally generic, but I'll never know because I'm the only one who actually knows what I'm thinking about.
I repeat poses and all that for the same reason. The majority of my drawing is done during class; it's not really a place that'd breed masterpieces. I just want to draw for fun and to keep my hands moving. As a result, I draw stuff that tickles my own fancy. It's totally self-centered, but I'm not gonna lie about it. I draw for myself, not for watchers or popularity (even though you have the impression I do).
That being said, how is this a problem for you? So what if I'm a confused, self-contradictory girl who can't keep her thoughts together long enough to put real effort into anything? Is it because people are responding to my stuff in a greater number than you think I deserve? If it makes you feel any better, I constantly keep myself in check and I rarely take their compliments deeply to heart. I'm actually, more often than not, baffled that I get any attention at all. If everyone were you, then I'd be in a much different place now, wouldn't I? Would that be what I deserve? Is my presence on the internet some kind of injustice?
I can't be the only person who draws stiffly and repetitively, so why choose me? I'm not trying to come off as defensive or evasive, I'm just sort of confused about your motivation. Why did you feel the need to confront me about this? (Or rather, since you're remaining anonymous, I guess I can't call it "confronting")
Is it really any of your business?
I guess I'll finish by saying that if you really feel I'm not living up to something, or that the world needs some enrichment that I'm not providing, then maybe instead of expressing this concern to me, you could instead focus on filling that requirement yourself. Best of luck in your future creative endeavors.
Hello, same anonymouse here. If you want, I can contact you on DeviantArt because I do indeed have an account. Sorry for not going that route. Don't know why I didn't, actually.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for replying! Before I reply again, I'd like to reiterate that that "different" pretentiousness that I have does tend to make me a little biased and I tend to judge things based on my own expectations of myself, so I'm very sorry for that. I don't think I should have said you were being unoriginal. Again, I'm sorry.
Being a casual artist myself, I can't say that I've done any masterpieces, either, though I'm not an art student and bettering myself only comes off as a small personal satisfaction (and even then, I think my art is a bunch of crap). I understand that none of the stuff you have in your sketch dumps is supposed to be serious, and I'm sure you're busy enough as it is, so no, I don't expect masterpieces from you. Ever.
Do I think you deserve your fans? Well, sure. If they like your work, they like your work. You're definitely more deserving than some of the really popular artists on DA, anyway.
You're not really an outlet for my frustrations about DA or anything, I just chose to rant at you because I really do think you can do better, that's all. I know that seems a bit stupid, but seriously. That's how I feel.
I actually don't think your characters are all that generic, and I admire you for putting this OC thing up in the first place. It's just, I don't know, you do have creativity, but I think it might do you more good to actually write snippets of these stories and post them on DA instead of just hinting at them in a bunch of character bios. Again, I know that you're probably too busy for it, but it's just an idea.
Well, that's really all I can think to say. Again, keep up the good work, and sorry to have come off as kind of a jerk before. I had the same kind of rant thrown at me years ago when I wrote fanfiction, and that was when I decided to improve for real. So, uh, again, you can disregard all this, or whatever. Sorry.
Barging in the conversation here:
ReplyDeleteI don't think Anonymous was attacking you. I think she honestly believes that you're a great artist with a lot of potential, and she's trying to nudge you into that.
I don't know why I'm commenting by the way. I think I just wanted you to now an outsiders perspective, as I felt that you feel you are being attacked.
Pardon my intrusion and feel free to disregard and completely ignore everything I just said.
@Anon: I appreciate your concern of course. Your message just took me by surprise and I couldn't actually see what you were trying to accomplish by posting it, lol.
ReplyDeleteAll the things you criticized are fair game of course, but not once have I professed to be a master in anything. I am still a student, after all, and improving in those fields is what I'm in school to work on. However, I'm improving them on my own terms and to my own expectations.
I guess another thing to think about is that when I say "writing" and "stories", I'm saying that in reference to making manga/graphic novels, which is a very different process than writing prose. They do both involve constructing a plot and character development and whatnot, but with different approaches. Since I'm not a prose writer, I'd actually need to script out some pages and draw them to get any snippets of my story ideas out (... which I seem to be terrified of doing lol orz). Most of the stuff I actually draw is designs, which is another reason why everyone always appears stiff and standing straight up...
Well anyway, again thanks for showing your concern.
@whiteasylum: No, I didn't get the feeling they were attacking me at all. ^^