Usually, when designing a character, I start off by deciding the character's personality traits, and then giving them an appearance that suits those traits. "This character will be obsessed with researching the occult, will be a social outcast, and will have a shy, timid, gloomy personality. So, she will have messy black hair, and have dark circles under her eyes!"
However, the cast of 1980s Mode was designed completely in reverse. First, I asked my lead artist to illustrate 100 different hairstyles. Then, I picked the 10 hairstyles that I liked the best, and chose personality traits to go along with them. "Wow, this hairstyle looks kind of like an explosion coming right out of the character's forehead. I think they're going to be a tomboy with a firey personality, and also be a secret pyromaniac!"
In the end, I think that this was a mistake; I wish I had not done things "backwards." I think that it's better to come up with an interesting and intriguing personality/identity for a character first, and use that personality as inspiration for a great appearance. When you work backwards, it's much harder to create a memorable or unique character.
But, even though I wish I had done things differently, I still think that the dozens of illustrations created during the pre-production stage of 1980s Mode are well-made and very fun to look through...so, I've included them here! I hope that you enjoy looking through them!
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