HOME | DD

RTNightmare — Rachel Terrora, Queen of Halloween Town

#before #character #christmas #nightmare #original #pumpkin #queen #rachel #terrora
Published: 2014-09-20 20:37:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 1295; Favourites: 29; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description I did the best I could with this. Some things may be off, but I tried. It took several hours to complete. I even completely redid the line art AND coloring/shading, making it take longer to finish. I'm trying different techniques, so bare with me.

I am very satisfied that she is NOT a Mary Sue. And screw you if you think she is. Look at the Mary Sue Tests I posted for proof that she is not one. (Link annoyingly unavailable.)

Anyways, this is the new and improved version of my character/persona. Her back story is interesting, and even though it's not yet complete, I'll tell you a bit about it:
She was a childhood friend of Jack Skellington, and his brother, Gregory (Greg) Skellington. While Greg became the Grim Reaper and Jack the King of Halloween, Rachel pursued a career in the Government of the Dead. (This government handles everything having to do with the dead, undead, and afterlife.) Eventually, after about 150 years, she learns about Jack's Christmas Shenanigans and then offers to investigate when a new issue comes up. Together, with her current boyfriend, who just so happens to be Greg, who had gotten a distress call from Jack anyway, they journey to Halloween Town to find out what's going on. And that's where a new adventure begins that I've been working on for a few years now...the War of the Holidays.

After the war, she ends her employment at the Gov of the Dead to be with Jack and soon becomes the Queen of Halloween.

Fun Facts:
She is modeled after myself. Almost everything but a bit of the hair and the height are the same as what I am like/what I look like.
She is a little over a head shorter than Jack, but is exactly Greg's height.
Rachel's necklace is identical to a necklace Jack received when he was reborn into Halloween Town. (The necklace represents their bond. They are soul mates.)
Rachel originally was a Elemental Sorceress (or I called her an Enchantress) - a hybrid; half elemental, half sorceress - but now she is a Mage who, through extremely swift incantations, can summon magic or control different materials. At this point, she is still mastering certain spells.
After the battle/war is over, she starts dating and eventually gets married to Jack due to finding out they are soul mates.
She coaxes and somewhat helps Jack find his true powers - abilities that weren't seen in the movie or Oogie's Revenge game.
(That's all I'll reveal for now.)

Rachel Terrora (c) Me RTNightmare
Greg Skellington (c) Me RTNightmare and Rose BriarRoseDoucette
Jack Skellington (c) Tim Burton, Disney
Related content
Comments: 18

GladeFaun [2016-04-30 21:25:21 +0000 UTC]

I owe RTNightmare  a huge apology for how late this prize critique is. She requested a critique on this piece as part of her prize for participating in the DDSuggestionDrive  and it's my pleasure to oblige. 

You asked for feedback under the following headings, so here goes:

Comment...
This is a character piece - one of my favourite things to draw myself as a matter a fact - depicting your heroine Rachel. You've surrounded her with elements that depicted her abilities/powers I'm assuming? Hence the presence of the elements (fire, water etc) and the presence of the stars rising from her left hand that I took to be manifestations of her magic? 
Her lover Jack also features here (I do like the little heart balloon that affirms their relationship for the viewer).

Compliment...
There are a number of elements I love about this picture. First and foremost is the sense of personality you've imbued in your creation - from her pose and facial expression (both excellently rendered) you get a real sense of who this girl is. I was pleased to find that reading your description of her back story only bore out for me the sense of what type of person she is - strong willed, emotionally involved with perhaps a touch of ambition? (Apologies if I've mis-read anything here - please do correct!)
I also love the colour palette you've chosen to work with. The shades of purples and blues really suit the subject. You can see her stalking the streets of Halloween town And the fire and earth provide the needed contrast without ruining the overall feel of the piece.
Finally - I really like your style of drawing people. You've a very definite take on how you want your people to look (certainly judging from this piece) and you've obviously put some work into making that happen. This piece is proof that work has paid off!

Critique...
I'm not a digital artist, so can't really comment on your process from that point of view - I've played around a little with Muro but need to invest some serious effort into any sort of foray into that field before I'll be happy to call myself any sort of digital artist. What you've produced here is light years ahead of anything I could manage.

So rather than looking at your art from that point of view, let me offer a few ideas from one visual artist to another:
Framing - You've done precisely what I tend to do most of the time here with your character and placed her at the center of the page. A sensible decision in terms of giving your audience the clearest view of her. Something I'm starting to experiment with more these days though is presenting subjects at an unexpected moment. By that I mean show them doing something other than simply posing for the camera (so to speak). You can use this to add more depth to the individual depicted by saying something about them with what you show them doing. I'm finding it a useful challenge to improve my skills as an artist as it forces you to think outside your comfort zone, to produce something that stretches your skills. You clearly have the talent, so it shouldn't be too much of a stretch...
Background - the only other thing I can see to pick holes in concerns background. To an extent for a piece like this a background is unnecessary and I rarely produce one because I'm rubbish at them But when I do put the effort in and manage to pull it off they can lend a lot to a piece. Even if it's something as simply as a cloudy sky I do tend to feel that a background of sorts lends a little something to a piece, taking the individual depicted out of isolation. Where they are does, after all, tell you a little bit about who they are.

So I think that's it from me. Once again a massive apology that you've had to wait so long for this, and I hope what I've said is of some use. If you've further questions at all do give me a shout - I'm always happy to chat to people.

Congratulations once again on your DDSuggestion Drive prize and best of luck for the future.

Paul

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ToXicWildcat [2016-01-20 18:02:48 +0000 UTC]

*Studies carefully
You are good at drawing humans  , me on the other hand...not so much  

Best I ever did was a wobbly stick man holding an ice cream 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to ToXicWildcat [2016-01-20 18:07:48 +0000 UTC]

lawl, thanks! You are too kind!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

MeruSketches [2015-11-20 20:15:48 +0000 UTC]

Is AMAZING!! <3 :33

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to MeruSketches [2015-11-20 21:12:32 +0000 UTC]

Heh, thanks! :3

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

MeruSketches In reply to RTNightmare [2015-11-20 21:15:41 +0000 UTC]

Hehe, no problem!!~ (^_^)

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Ktone-art [2015-05-17 00:15:47 +0000 UTC]

Awesome

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to Ktone-art [2015-05-17 00:22:19 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Ktone-art In reply to RTNightmare [2015-05-17 00:25:13 +0000 UTC]

Welcome. ....kinda looms like jack skeleton off to the side that's cool it's one of my favorite movies when I was younger lol

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to Ktone-art [2015-05-17 02:04:18 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, he's her hubby and soul mate, so she's making the cloud look like him!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Ktone-art In reply to RTNightmare [2015-05-17 02:50:13 +0000 UTC]

thats a cool idea..... kinda like  he  is there even  when he cant be seen always watching over her cause their soul mates n stuff 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to Ktone-art [2015-05-18 19:11:04 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, that's a good thought!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

fradarlin [2014-09-21 01:58:26 +0000 UTC]

Cool!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to fradarlin [2014-09-21 14:34:40 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

FanDusk64 [2014-09-20 20:41:49 +0000 UTC]

Rachel looks better than ever! Like always, an awesome looking TNBC OC!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to FanDusk64 [2014-09-20 20:42:59 +0000 UTC]

I really tried to make her a good character and not at all Mary Sue-ish.

Thanks for the compliment!  

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

FanDusk64 In reply to RTNightmare [2014-09-20 20:45:41 +0000 UTC]

Okay.

You're welcome.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

RTNightmare In reply to FanDusk64 [2014-09-20 20:49:44 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 0