Anime character design

[FarShot]

Say hello to Kasahara Hinome (in Japan, surnames come first), college student, swordsman, and a wielder of power (chikara no tsukaite).

Part of a fanime I'm fleshing out.  The story?  Based on string theory, certain people can alter properties of the 11 known dimensions of string to achieve telekinesis, spacial warp, time dilation, bending of light, alchemy, etc.  Hinome has been thrust in this world, and using his katana as a channel (similar to wands in Harry Potter), he grows from an initiate in the world to fighting a multi-millenia-year-old man who disabled the genes for aging long ago.

Opinions on Hinome's look?

[ACES_HIGH]

sounds interesting, but I would work on his features a bit, right now he looks like a generic manga person, like you drew him out of a "how to draw manga" book, flesh him out a little.  Try drawing a headshot so you can focus on the details.

[FarShot]

Face?  I think he's unique, the memorable parts of him are his facial expressions more than anything.  Has sort of a perma-sad-Keanu thing about him, except sad because he's an orphan and all hell's breaking lose, not because he's out of work.

[Lionus]

in that case, signs if his stressful life should show on his face as bitter streaks around mouth and eyes. eyebrows could be bit closer, in a suspicious frown. his posture doesn't look like it's ready to fight right now. in other words, he could be bit rougher around edges.

[King Class Scout]

good point about a few frown lines.  since it's been a LONG time since I've seen an Anime at all (let alone bothered with looking at Manga at the bookstore), something seems...off.  i keep waiting to see a Goofy moment, but I'm still used to a more Shojo type like they used in the 90's.

[FarShot]

Okay, so I went in and looked at some screencaps from Fullmetal Alchemist, as that by far is what I would call the best anime ever, and examined the artistry a bit, and coming back to Hinome, have started adding more details that I think bring him more to life.

EDIT:
Finished the revised Full Hinome.

[eclipse74569]

Not bad however the Katana is screaming Tensa Zangetsu at me...

Some subtle changes would be alright!

[CyAn1d3]

Some subtle changes would be alright!

add some minor detailing, freckles, scars, whatever. not to mention small details make good plot additions. other than that it looks good, i wish i had my scanner as i have a few characters myself drawn out for an RPG ive been wanting to get off the ground.

[FarShot]

Not bad however the Katana is screaming Tensa Zangetsu at me...

Some subtle changes would be alright!

I don't actually watch a whole lot of anime.  About the only ones I've seen are Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 and 2009), Shakugan no Shana, Ouran High School Host Club, and Tsubasa Chronicles.  Despite its popularity, I've only just started watching Bleach.  I would've sooner, but people told me there were lots of filler episodes, and I'm not much of a fan of filler.  But apparently Bleach's filler isn't bad.  An example of bad filler would be DBZ.  First episode of DBZ I watched was about fat Buu trying to get ice cream.  I was very disappointed.

Point of the story, I had to look up Tensa Zangetsu.  Ichigo's sword, right?  Yeah, just noticed was similar.  However, there are some details that I had planned that I didn't put into this sketch.  Looks like I'll revise it to that standard.

add some minor detailing, freckles, scars, whatever. not to mention small details make good plot additions. other than that it looks good, i wish i had my scanner as i have a few characters myself drawn out for an RPG ive been wanting to get off the ground.

Hinome's defining feature are his eyes, which are supposed to reflect the blood sacrifice his mother made to keep him alive as a kid.  (Much of the plot involves that, so I can't go into a whole lot of detail.)  I suppose I can add a scar or two he won from a car "accident" he survived.

EDIT - Here's a detail of the katana, with the added major detail, which is a blood red stripe down the blade.  He finds out after some time that his power is based on his blood.  Actually, blood plays quite a pivotal role in the plot.

[ACES_HIGH]

the katana could probably use a little more detail too.  I'm guessing that for the purposes of your anime/manga Hinome would carry a traditional samurai katana, right?  The one you drew is ok, but there are some key details that lead me to believe it that the model you drew from is a replica and not a real katana.  If you look at real katanas close up, the blade doesn't really have the western style straight lines and angles that yours has.  With western swords, they tend to sharpen the edge of the blade, giving it those classic angles, but real katanas are generally smooth on the sides of the blade.  In fact, up close they tend to have a wavy line polished into the steel, which you might be able to work into the blood stripe.

BTW, you should check out Anime Studio, you might find it useful.

[FarShot]

Actually, he lives in Canada, so it's very likely his katana is a Western katana.  And when I did the initial sketch, I wasn't looking at any references at all.  Out of all the development I've thought up into this, the visual design is actually the least fleshed out.  Obviously, I can't reveal too much of the story, but suffice it to say I've been brainstorming plenty of material with several of my friends, all of them quite avid watchers of anime and readers of manga.  My only real talent in art is that I can visualize stuff in my head pretty well, but putting it down on paper is a lot harder.  I find its much easier to draw starships than people for instance, as ships follow geometric lines and purpose more than the human body.

If this ever is turned into a manga or anime, as I really hope it does, I most definitely won't be doing the art.

As for Anime Studio, I looked into it a long time ago, and its not really an anime-type studio, despite its name.  It wouldn't be good for doing anime at all really.

EDIT - Hey Aces, if you hop onto Messenger, I can tell you some more about the concept.  I see that some time ago I added you (probably in my 9th Fleet days) so all you have to do is log on.

[ACES_HIGH]

I'm sorry if it's sounding like I'm dictating your own story to you, but there's big differences between western made replica Katanas and true Japanese ones.  For one thing, the steel is completely different.  replicas often use solid cast modern carbon-steel alloy blades.  A traditional Japanese Katana is made by folding layers of steel with different tinsel strengths to create a blade with the proper strong yet flexible characteristics, it is a physical example of the ying-yang concept, and an important part of samurai culture.  I think that if you're trying to give a katana the ability to channel chi, an American imitation just won't cut it. ;)

This does sound like an interesting story though.