HEART OF THE CITY - This is a thread on my thought process behind the new character designs for the series! I'll be adding to it throughout the day while I work!

So, first things first I had to redesign Heart. I didn't know if I wanted to stick a bit closer to Mark Tatulli's style or work with my own. I eventually got there, but here's what she looked like as a child and then tween by Tatulli, and some of my first ideas.

So I was getting closer to figuring out how I wanted to draw Heart then my editor was like draw in your style. This comic is yours now!

And thus Heart Lamarr Steenz version was born! The more i drew her in the comic strips the more I started to feel more comfortable with who she was, how she moves and what her clothes look like. I also think I got better at drawing in like 4 months time??

Character wise, Heart is uh.. precocious. Lol. Her focus is on popularity, fame, and theatre. She loves chips and has her heart in the right place when it comes to social interactions. But she CAN come off as a brat. But she is learning! She's only 11, yanno!!

Next up was Dean! I had the similar issue come up about style with him as well. So the first few rounds he definitely looks more like the Tatulli style. But afterwards he came to life! He's a big ol nerd, but instead of committing to drawing graphic tees, I stuck with his hoodie.

I ended up giving him a rounded face since I feel like he should have some baby fat that he'll shed when he goes through puberty in a few years. He's a good kid! Always has pop culture in the brain which is probably why he and Heart have been close friends for so long.

Okay, finished work! So I can go into my process for Kat! After reading like 3/4 years with of Heart I realized that Kat was very much a soundboard and I wanted to make her feel more realized. Originally I gave her a ponytail like Heart! But the silhouette was too similar.

So then I have her pigtails and it felt stronger. I also gave her some strong features like a longer nose, thicker brows, and a stronger jaw. Not all kids are cherub faced and I wanted to show that in Kat.

I noticed pretty early on that there was a very clear lack of POC in the comic so of course I had to add a new character. Enter Charlotte! At first she was gonna be a gothy mysterious girl, but then I decided she should just be a full on weird kid. Black kids can be weird too!

And last but not least Addy! Hearts mom! While this is a comic about middle schoolers and their adventures, I didn't want to shy away from using her mom in the strips. Mostly because Heart is 11. There's not a ton she can do without parental guidance or approval.

When I think of Addy I think she's just TIRED lol. Hence the bags under her eyes. Being a single mom is hard enough, but Heart is a handful! I gave her the same face shape, but different nose and hair.

And that's all I got for ya! I hope this whets your appetite for more and you read Heart Of The City by me starting Monday April 27! Free daily comics?! In this economy? You bet.