Character Intro #2: Behind the Scenes
Kierstin Kilbourne was my attempt at designing the ultimate dream girl. She is smart, beautiful and compassionate despite all that she's been through. It's her resiliency and her ability to remain such a positive force even after having endured so much personal tragedy that defines her for me.
When I first conceived of these characters and their personal histories, I decided to couple them with some of the friends that I had made at a week long summer workshop (a workshop I often affectionately referred to as "brain camp") that I attended at BGSU. Kierstin's first name was originally Teresa, named for Teresa Hoying, a girl that I had a tremendous crush on that week. However, for some reason, the name just didn't seem to fit the character, so it ultimately was changed. However, there are qualities that i found attractive in Teresa that remain inherent in the character despite the name change. The name Kierstin came about from a secondary character on the TV series Party Of Five . I really liked the sound of that name, although I may have changed the ending sound from an "en" to an "in", but that's beside the point.
Visually speaking, I immediately conjured up an image of the actress Marta Kristen. Growing up, I would watch old reruns of Lost in Space and she was the epitome of blonde beauty to me. As Judy Robinson, she really didn't provide much to the series except window dressing, but somehow, in my eyes, her beauty managed to elevate her above the campiness that the once promising series had sunken to.
Kilbourne came from an actress named Wendy Kilbourne. She was never really a prolific actress, but she was blonde and beautiful and I really liked her last name. Kierstin Kilbourne sang to me instantly and I knew right then that I need look no further for the right name.
As far as her character's role in the overall story, Kierstin will eventually emerge as a very pivotal character in the grand scheme of things. Not only will she play a crucial role in protecting many of the other characters from an as yet unintroduced antagonist, but she will find that she holds a key to unlocking great potential (sorry, but I can't go into further detail about that at this time); a key that the aforementioned protagonist will stop at nothing to possess, should they ever realize such a thing exists and she has it.
As for my comic book background, this character was fashioned after a character from DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes named Saturn Girl (yeah, I know, lame name, but the character was originally conceived in 1958, so...) Saturn Girl was one of the most powerful members of the Legion, having extensive mental abilities, was a founding character as well as a leader. I took from her the very best characteristics and gave them to Kierstin; her intelligence, leadership, and mental strength.
With only one character to focus on this time, there really wasn't too much to delve into, but that's pretty much it in a nutshell, for now anyway.
When I first conceived of these characters and their personal histories, I decided to couple them with some of the friends that I had made at a week long summer workshop (a workshop I often affectionately referred to as "brain camp") that I attended at BGSU. Kierstin's first name was originally Teresa, named for Teresa Hoying, a girl that I had a tremendous crush on that week. However, for some reason, the name just didn't seem to fit the character, so it ultimately was changed. However, there are qualities that i found attractive in Teresa that remain inherent in the character despite the name change. The name Kierstin came about from a secondary character on the TV series Party Of Five . I really liked the sound of that name, although I may have changed the ending sound from an "en" to an "in", but that's beside the point.
Visually speaking, I immediately conjured up an image of the actress Marta Kristen. Growing up, I would watch old reruns of Lost in Space and she was the epitome of blonde beauty to me. As Judy Robinson, she really didn't provide much to the series except window dressing, but somehow, in my eyes, her beauty managed to elevate her above the campiness that the once promising series had sunken to.
Kilbourne came from an actress named Wendy Kilbourne. She was never really a prolific actress, but she was blonde and beautiful and I really liked her last name. Kierstin Kilbourne sang to me instantly and I knew right then that I need look no further for the right name.
As far as her character's role in the overall story, Kierstin will eventually emerge as a very pivotal character in the grand scheme of things. Not only will she play a crucial role in protecting many of the other characters from an as yet unintroduced antagonist, but she will find that she holds a key to unlocking great potential (sorry, but I can't go into further detail about that at this time); a key that the aforementioned protagonist will stop at nothing to possess, should they ever realize such a thing exists and she has it.
As for my comic book background, this character was fashioned after a character from DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes named Saturn Girl (yeah, I know, lame name, but the character was originally conceived in 1958, so...) Saturn Girl was one of the most powerful members of the Legion, having extensive mental abilities, was a founding character as well as a leader. I took from her the very best characteristics and gave them to Kierstin; her intelligence, leadership, and mental strength.
With only one character to focus on this time, there really wasn't too much to delve into, but that's pretty much it in a nutshell, for now anyway.
posted by Chris at 5:26 PM
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