Today's October the 14th which means ... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! Okay, so not mine yet. It's Madeline's birthday! To celebrate, here are some things about Madeline that may be interesting to you!
From Dumb Blonde to Heroine Detective
The first ever concept for Madeline was created on October 14th, 2015 (first drawing I ever made of the character is in a sketchbook) - but it wasn't until the following year that I had a idea of her personality and a plan for what to do with her character.
Maddie and Jules: The Not So Dynamic Duo was the first appearance Madeline ever made in anything outside of a few pages in my sketchbook. If you haven't read those... two pages of story I made for that - you can read it here!
It wasn't until later on that the idea for Heroine Rises came upon me and I reworked the character and turned her from a naive 'dumb-blonde' type into the detective-adventurer young woman we know today.
During 2017 I worked on what was called Harbour - a novel meant to chronicle the adventures of Madeline Lindsay Harbour (Madeline finally got a middle and last name by this point) and her friends as they hunted for the thief that stole Ada Lima's Ruby Ring!
Unfortunately, this never got beyond a second draft and I felt that the novel idea was not really what I wanted to do.
In 2018, I took Madeline and the old art concepts I had for her and decided to try to make the comics I always have wanted to make.
Thus, Heroine Rises was born!
Madeline's Design - Fun Facts
It's now been four years since that first (awful) drawing of Madeline came into existence and I think it's pretty remarkable that I finally am doing something that I've always wanted to do with this character. I am very happy.
Now for some little facts about Madeline's character design:
-Madeline wears lots of orange, brown, and yellow. Why? Since Madeline was born during the fall and her mother Clarissa loves the idea of themes - Clarissa would always dress her in the colors of 'fall and pumpkins'. As Madeline grew older and was able to make her own fashion choices, she stuck with the color scheme her mother made for her and has made it her own. Madeline's favorite color is a bright yellow-orange.
-I read somewhere that characters should have something 'distinct' to make them stick out. For Madeline, this was the hair clip that is on the right side of her hair. In every re-draw of the character, this little clip has stayed even as other accessories (earrings, piercings, jewelry) came and went. Madeline supposedly has a collection of different colored clips that she matches to whatever outfit she is wearing.
-Madeline, being a rich girl, was meant to be dressy and elegant. She was supposed to wear gloves, veils, fancy hats, and frilly dresses that showed off her wealth. While Madeline wears 'expensive' clothes, Madeline does not dress as extravagantly as I originally planned ... mostly because I felt it was too much work to draw all those bells and whistles for every outfit. I toned it down and I think I've hit a sweet spot that has an 'upscale look' without excessive details that would take me forever to draw.
-Madeline's hair was initally shoulder length... you can see that in Chapter 1 of Heroine Rises and in Maddie and Jules! - but I've unconciously been lengthening her hair in each chapter. Madeline's hair now reaches about halfway down her back. This was not by intention and there's no 'in-comic' reason as to why Madeline's hair has grown by almost a foot in two-ish weeks beyond 'the creator didn't stay consistent'. Oh well. Madeline's hair is now permanentley longer than ever.
I'll release a collection of Heroine Rises concepts, but that'll be later on in the year. Right now, I need to start working on Chapter 10 of Heroine Rises! Stay tuned for an update in two weeks and most importantly:
Happy Birthday Madeline!