30 Characters Challenger: Betsy Luntao

Hey there! I’m Betsy, a twenty-something freelance artist currently living in central California.

Being raised on Disney movies, and loving to draw more than anything, I decided pretty early on I wanted to draw for a living.

Although my sights are set to work in the feature animation industry, I do have a love for the comic book storytelling medium. I’m working on an Old West set comic with my boyfriend, a Sci-Fi genre comic which takes place underwater, and have recently been recruited to work as illustrator for Children’s books.

I have a lot of projects up in the air which hasn’t left me with a lot of time to develop my Character Design portfolio. Once I heard about the 30 Characters Challenge on Facebook, I knew I wanted to participate and get that push that I’d need to get back to character design.

I’ve set up some guidelines for myself to keep me a little more on track with the challenge:

• I will be drawing 3 sets of 10 characters. Each set will be of one theme or “universe”
• Each set will include 5 males, 5 females, at least 2 seniors, at least 2 children, at least 2 turn around model sheets
• Each character will include at least one prop/weapon
• Each set will include at least 1 backdrop or environment
• Each set will include at least 1 protagonist and 1 antagonist

Unfortunately, I already have a vacation scheduled for the 13th – 17th of November and will have to either post those early or late, but otherwise I hope to keep on track with a character per day.

Other than drawing, I love training in Aikido, a non-violent martial art. Being an artist, keeping my hands in working order is a high priority, so I wasn’t about to train in anything that had me chopping, striking or punching. Aikido relies on physics and using one’s body weight and gravity to throw an attacker, so it was perfect for me. Plus I’m a gentle soul and don’t really want to beat up people.

I also looooove dancing!! I’ve recently started taking Swing Dancing lessons with my boyfriend, and it’s easily my favorite way to spend a Friday night.

My love for movement, fluidity and storytelling shows up in my art work as qualities of being gestural and filled with emotion rather than being precise and awe inspiring.

I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone’s posts for this challenge!!

Category: About, Participants