Today, we'll be talking about the second of the main characters for Dreamwalkers, and one of those that really gets Rem involved in the story, the mysterious Somnus!
Now, Somnus is fairly difficult to talk about in comparison to Rem, mainly because a lot of information about him would spoil some of the story, but Somnus is the leader of an organization known as S.O.S, sort for Somnus Oneirology Specialists. Unlike Rem, who is the normal character with whom e see through his eyes and learn as he does, Somnus is rather the mentor character who helps to guide Rem until he is ready to stand on his own two feet. He also is the calm to Rem's irritable sarcasm, acting as something of a foil for Rem, despite the mentor-student relationship.
Much like Rem, Somnus was created around the same time as the original concept, though unlike Rem, his name was set almost from the get go. As with Rem and Dreamwalkers in general, Somnus also had some inspiration from songs to help me to create his character. Along with Byssan Lull, the song I mentioned in the last Character Talk, Somnus was also inspired by Prelude 12/21 by AFI, which, if you haven't heard it before, is linked below:
With Somnus' design, I wanted to create a character that seems to stand out, even in more ordinary settings and to give off a feeling of either oddness or other-worldliness. After all, this is the character who, I suppose you could say, is the equivalent of Alice's White Rabbit or Neo's Morpheus, taking Rem out of his ordinary life and into something out of his comprehension. So I looked for colours that weren't as natural as Rem's, going for purples, greys and blacks as his colour schemes, along with a out-of-the-ordinary outfit, with slight differences in features to give reason for Rem to be initially uneasy, or at the very least pay attention to him because of his differences.
Personality wise, I wanted him to give off the feeling he knows more that he seems, to be the kind of character you can't be truly sure you can entirely trust or his motives, yet still seem wise enough to act as both mentor and leader, even if you're not sure who, or what Somnus really is.
He is fun to draw, though, if only because he seems so smug about everything. At least early on. It should be interesting to truly explore the depths of his personality and expressions, however.
Comic wise, I am almost at the amount of work that I will be handing in to be marked, though the story is by no means finished. This means I have 16 pages in line art, all of which are flat coloured. 13 of the 16 are finished with just the word balloons and sound effects to be added, with three to be toned and have sound added. I also have two extra pages done for later on in the comic, with sound effects to be added.
I feel rather proud of myself!
I also have other things to mention. Or rather a couple of people to thank.
I would like to thank both Jade Sarson from Tea Hermit Comics, and Jon Lock from Big Punch Studios. Both of them have helped me a lot with information on business start ups within the comic industry, which will be a big help for Nadia and I in the formation of Tanra Studios. So thank you so much! You guys are awesome!
Also, though my hand in for my work is next Friday, I am going to be continuing to work on Dreamwalkers and continue to aid Nadia with Pandora, as well as hopefully start to create an online portfolio as well, so I hope you continue to to join me over Christmas and into the new year.
Hope to see you then!
Until next time!
Tara
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