Revisiting the creations of my youth
I've been thinking a lot lately about characters and stories I came up with when I was a kid, and I really want to reboot some of them. The ideas were always great, but their execution was often lacking (I would say "cringey," but, like... I was a child. I need to give myself a break.) and would make much better stories if I remade them now with my current skill.
Here are some of the ones I remember most fondly:
Dabadai - an imaginary friend I had in elementary school, based on the blue aliens from the music video for "Blue" by Eiffel 65
the Katts from Planet Katt - okay, so these guys (or at least one particular individual, named James) were the main focus of a very long, complex, and constantly changing story I had going in my head for several years in middle school. Their planet was mostly jungle, so they had green hair for camoflauge and could shapeshift into felines. When I reboot them I will probably eliminate the shapeshifting bit and incorporate more feline characteristics into their humanoid design. I'm also going to need a new name for both the people and their planet.
James and his friends will make a comeback at some point in my art. I especially look forward to redesigning two friends in particular: Feather, a blind unicorn/horse hybrid; and Tabby the Immortal, an angel who spends most of her time on Earth disguised as a brown tabby cat and offers guidance and wisdom to James and his other friends.
The Underworld - a realm I would often escape to in times of emotional turmoil when I was a young teen. It was a magical and comforting place with no day/night cycle, constantly lit by the soft glow of an underground "sun." Friendly monsters inhabited the world and had parties all the time. There was a farm, run by zombies, where magical rainbow sheep were raised for their cotton candy wool. There was a forest called the Forest Of Names where the names of every person who would ever live grew on the trees, and a common fun activity was to search for your name in the forest and see how many times you could find it. When you entered the Underworld, you would transform into your true form (whatever fits your personality most, or how you would see yourself) and transform back to your human form when you leave. Basically, every comforting thought I might ever have or need was poured into this world.
Sunshine Wolves - a special breed of werewolf from the underworld. They were very rare, but the power of their love made them the strongest beings in the Underworld. (Also, this was my first fursona. I was, like, 13, please be nice.)
Mud Dogs - from the sci-fi side of my brain, these were a species of intelligent dog-like creature that lived under the surface of Mars. They had three eyes, horns, and beak-like snouts, and they lived in packs.
Mini Manson was a comic series I used to draw in middle school, back when I was obsessed with Marilyn Manson. The basic gist of the story was that I (or rather a fantasy version of myself, who was a werewolf) found out I was a distant relative of the infamous metal musician Marilyn Manson and ran away from home to go live with him, turning him into a werewolf as well so that we would never have to be alone in the world again. It was about 20% angst, 80% fluff, and so cringeworthy I'm almost ashamed to admit I regard it with such fond nostalgia. I kind of want to reuse the concept for a new series with my correct gender and not using the names and likeness of real world celebrities without their permission. x___x
I also want to redo a lot of my old drawings and poems that were Pretty Good For A Kid's Art But Not Really That Good™.
