Casper Pham
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The Luminary Lark-Mirror: Notes on Character Design
🕑 Added 2025-09-09 06:44:56 +0000 UTCHi all,
Just wanted to compile some of the art exploration and thoughts that lead up to the final designs of the key characters in The Luminary Lark-Mirror (my soon-to-be-released comic, coming this October). Madge was the only design I felt I nailed on my first try, the others flipped-flopped relentlessly in my mind until the very last moment they had to go on the page (poor Frank, he probably lost the most weight in the process).
Madge
Our tight-lipped, ever-scowling protagonist. Her hair is a harsh, geometric updo stylized in such a way that resembled a slide-puzzle or chessboard. She has lived her entire life stuck in her head, a pent-up game-master, unable to connect to others outside of her life’s work and passion: pinball.
Inspired by: My grandmother, wooden puzzle boxes, a North American horned lark
Frank “the Hammer” Frissel
Originally penned as a disembodied voice at the other end of Madge’s phone, a shadowy figure shrouded by smoke in a dark office. Madge would like to think that he’s exceedingly simple rather than admitting she was making games that no one wanted to play anymore. As a father he rewards the children that exhibit the most traditionally masculine qualities, his three daughters, with what little attention he can afford them. The surname “Frissel” was originally “Frizzen”, after a particular piece of metal that gets struck by the flint in a flintlock rifle. I changed it because I thought it sounded better, at the loss of a bit of imagery.
Inspired by: My grandfather, generals in WW2 propaganda cartoons, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, this one old illustration of a fat impresario I saw one time (IDK), flintlock hunting rifles
Louisa, Dolley, and Jane Frissel
The pedant, the tramp, the brute. The daughters of three different failed marriages, who worship their father and all yearn to one day take his place. Each embody a quality that they think makes them the perfect child- discipline, charisma, and strength - but they take it a little too far in the end. I loved drawing them the most, and portraying that particular savagery of teenage girls so eager to please. A note on the “uniform” of this made-up police force in a made-up suburb of New Jersey - I originally went with a clown-inspired theming but weather-inappropriate hoods, coats, and pom-poms, but only the stupid huge hat remained. Hats, I believe, are a greatly under-utilized element of character design in this modern age and I’m a great believer of their use in pushing a powerful, memorable silhouette. I was also obsessed with the pageantry of the military and of the oppressive/fascist regimes of old. Fun fact: the girls are named after US First Ladies, a purposefully creepy touch on my part.
Inspired by: The Girls of St. Trinian’s (Ron Searle), Boggis, Bunce, and Bean (Fantastic Mr. Fox), the Kanker Sisters (Ed, Edd, and Eddy), various hunting dogs
Junior Frissel
The awkward, gangly black sheep of the family, hardly remembered. Since the story is very much centered around the performance of masculinity in women to appeal to patriarchal standards, I thought it would a really great counterpoint that Frank’s only son be young man very much disregarded for his lack of masculine traits. He’s just a poor lad, caught up in series of events he hardly understands, but will likely remember forever.
Inspired by: a guy I had a crush on in high school (sorry dude), a beagle
MISC. Characters
If you remember seeing a previous post from years back about this project, you’d know I trimmed away a lot of minor characters that were original concieved to be a part of Madge’s gambling crew (named after US presidential pets). Some can be visible on the 2nd page as a cameo, some are only mentioned by name, some appear as taxidermied animals in Frank’s office. I even planned to include an extra page at the end displaying their mugshots, but thought it would be too confusing of an inclusion. The last slide above is that extra page.
That’s all for now! See y’all in October,
Casper
