Developing Character(s)

I've never developed a character in a hurry... most of them have come to me in a crude doodle, unannounced. Then over time, they keep reappearing, more sure of themselves than the time before.



Balloon~Twist, above, is a good example of this. I first started drawing him over ten years ago, to keep from falling asleep while stuck on the phone during one of many forays in the glamorous world of telemarketing. He began as a typical senior citizen, but his senility quickly became the driving force behind his character. Never get in a car, eat a meal cooked by, go skinny dipping with, rock climb, or take a Sunday drive with Balloon~Twist! You'll wind up dead, and he'll live on and make everything look like it was all your fault!

The look and even tone of "Balloon~Twist and Rufus" owes much to the great work of both Cliff Sterrett, who drew "Polly and her Pals", and Elzie Segar, the creator of "Popeye".

Balloon~Twist is the legal guardian of a sensitive and contemplative twelve-year-old boy named Rufus (not pictured), who likes to read alone in his room
(also not pictured).

(Thanks to Mayang's Free Textures for the cool background)