Style
My goal for At Sea is to be as good as I can make it, without having to rely on AI image generation. I have been experimenting with different image styles, and have settled on a look that, I believe, is superior to what I've been doing up to now, which has been more in keeping with traditional "cartoons": draw everything in outline, then color it in, much like "paint by numbers." This is easily done on a computer using simple drawing software.
But the software I'm using offers many options beyond simply drawing an outline and filling it in; using a contour shading tool, I can achieve (nearly) the look of 3-D computer animation, although its about as far from CGI as a bicycle is from a jet plane. Ultimately, it's just a different look, hopefully more polished. The only downside is that the effort required is significantly greater, making the animation more time-consuming.
Here's a before-and-after example of character rendering. On the left is how I used to do virtually everything. And on the right is my new shading-based style. (Damn. Got lazy and forgot to update the boots...)
For a program that relies on the viewer making an empathic connection with a character, be it human or, in this case, a human hybrid of some sort, the face must be engaging. Personally, I find Felini to be quite attractive (sexy, even), which will hopefully make up for many things I cannot do, simply because they are impractical. The simple tools I already have are all I will ever own. So my silly animations will remain simplistic out of necessity.
Incidentally, one might be tempted to ask, why no whiskers? Many reasons, actually. For one, I kind of thought they'd be too "obvious," almost like a cliché. For another, I felt they were something of a distraction, drawing attention away from the all-important eyes. For another, I ran some tests, and they proved to be a mini-nightmare to animate, especially when lip-syncing. I felt the "freckles" were enough to suggest whiskers without having to be literal. I also imagined that Cataliens might have evolved past the need for them, with the freckles being the whiskers' "remnants," if you will. I leave it up to the viewer to decide whether they are imaginary, or really not there. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't make any difference; to me, she looks just fine without them, and that's all that matters.