Character 11

Character 10

Character 9

Quite a basic design for this character - just in basic British fatigues, like in the photo.

But I thought I'd give him an American belt-kit, that maybe he's pilfered off a G.I.

He's a plucky, sparky Lieutenant.Another fella who loves what he's doing - he's a thrill seeker, loves adrenaline, speed and gunfire. If he was played by an actor, he'd be played by Steve McQueen. (Except he's an English Steve McQueen!) Keen on fast vehicles & guns etc. A bit of a man's man, but never in a way that he needs to 'prove' himself. Seemingly very chilled and relaxed in all that he does, even if he is a ball of adrenaline. Often un-hitches one of the dispatch motorcyles, and heads off into the dunes on a recce.

Character 8

I'm pleased that I got the look of this character straight away. Basically, he's a mixture of a young Fidel Castro, and other sources - ammo bandolier, and US web pouches, and a British Army woolen jumper.

I need to sort his eyes out a bit though. I wanted them to gently arc towards the centre of his face, rather than lying flat, but this presents problems when he's looking to the side!I also need to practice drawing his hat from straight-on.

This character is another Captain. He's a bit of an idealist. He gets quite upset by the poverty of the locals - not the conditions that they're used to living in, but the extra effects brought about by the years of fighting in the area. He spends a fair amount of his ill-gotten gains on the poorer locals, but never gets preachy about it. When the group's not on the move, he often goes off on his own exploration of the desert, or to visit the locals. He loves where he is & what he's doing. Thinks that maybe when he's got the loot he wants, he'll settle down in North Africa.

Character 7

I decided this guy would be a bit more prim & proper.Based on this chap, even though the photo is from the First World War.

He'd be prim & proper to a fault. Can't really understand why he's doing this, but always remembers when money is mentioned. I suppose he must be a bit of a cad, really. But not a caricature of Terry Thomas. He hates the sand, hates the heat, hates the locals, hates fighting, hates the Germans, hates the food, the dirtiness, the squalor, the petrol fumes, the smell of cordite, hates cleaning his rifle. He would really rather be in Cairo, thank you very much, in the mess with a cold Pink Gin and a copy of the Times. But, he's been cut out of Papa's Will, and needs to get a little Nazi loot to see him through for a little while. Despite all this, for all his primness and pomposity, he can act with the air of a fiery Brigadier when he needs to blag equipment petrol and ammo from wherever the group needs it.

Character 6

I thought I'd better put a lady in for good measure, although I didn't want any kind of notion of love-interests here. Because it's a 'Boy's Own Adventure'! Can't be doing with all that girly nonsense, old chap. Fair enough, she is the 'token female' in the piece, but I wanted a girl in the story in a sensible, non-condescending way, just like Sister Diana Murdoch in 'Ice Cold In Alex' - a character in her own right, but also someone who can press the characteristics of the others involved. I thought that she should be terribly English, especially when I found these 1930's photos of girls having fun in aircraft and fast cars, but upon finding the Amelia Earhart photos, I thought that that would be an interesting character to include - a thrill seeker, and risk taker. I thought that fit in much more neatly with the idea of deserting from the army.



But I've got to learn how to draw women. All the women I draw turn out looking rather manly, with big manly hands, big chunky shoulders, and all in all, totally the wrong shape - like a Renaissance painter trying to paint the baby Jesus, and actually painting a short fat man. (Take a look at Renaissance paintings, and you'll see that, in many cases, I'm right!)

Character 5

I saw this photo of an archaeologist, and was caught between the ideas of "what a ponce", and "what a wicked look he has there". I couldn't leave him there digging in the sands, so thought he should join the group. But I wanted to harden him up a little (just a little), and make a soldier of him.First thing that had to go was the pith helmet, because at such a rakish angle, it really does take the pith (hardy har har). Then I found this aviator, also with his hat at a jaunty angle, and decided to combine them.Here's the result!I carried on trawling through old photos, until I came across this one. I decided to maybe give the character a pipe (which is how I found this picture), but what struck me most was this guy's privately purchased shoulder-holster. I thought it would go well with the character's double-collars. I also decided to beardify him, not just because of the whole deserty thing, but because beards and pipes just seem like a good combination.Here's how he would have looked before deserting. A young Captain, with an interest in history and archaeology. A pipe smoker. He's a bit dapper, and rather well-off, but not precious about it. He enjoys his luxuries, but thinks it's jolly spiffing to be out in the desert all the same don't you think old chap? He reads a lot, and writes a bit too. Very friendly, and very very English. A bit of a dreamer really, reminiscing about cricket on the village green, strawberries at Wimbledon, and quieter, more civillised times. A dab-hand with a rifle, however. Bayonets fixed and all that.
He'd probably have his own privately-purchased rifle though... It's somewhere amongst his little collection of artifacts and books and watercolours that he refuses to jettison

Character 4

I saw this photo, and thought he looked like a real-life Indiana Jones! For some reason, I decided to combine this fella with the pilot in the photo below...
And here's the result. Although he looks more like a pilot that anything else, I liked the look.

I rather messed the face up on the second attempt though. He looks like a weasel on PCP.
Here he is again, looking much better again.Here he is in his army days. I thought I'd make him a Major, as he looks rather no-nonsense & as if he knows what he's doing. He's a good bloke, and a good soldier, although he doesn't take fools gladly, and can be a bit harsh tempered. He's second in command of the group. A good military mind, a good strategist, and close friend of the group leader.And here he is in his full kit. (Although he won't look so surprised all the time! I have to work on some character sheets.)

Character 3

With this character, I wanted to create the impression of someone a little younger & tied to the rules. Character 1 has the atmos of being a career soldier - a scavenger of equipment (if there's good stuff better than your own, and it's free, then why not?) I looked up on the Corbis site for a whole load of images of 1940s characters, and found a bunch of Second World War RAF pilots. Their 'fly-boy' hairstyles seemed rather good for this character - he's a junior officer who's making a bit of a statement, but at the same time doesn't want to stray too much from what he's learnt at Sandhurst.
I felt that a straight-on photo like this one would show a definite 'establishment' look...
Whilst the groovy hair and young looks of the character would give the feeling that he wants to look something special, and is looking to his comrades to grow up a bit, and be a little more mercenary.
He's from a silver-spoon kinda background, and wants to be a bit dangerous. But is still a little lost in his new surroundings.

But not this lost & young, however! This is my first attempt in a slightly more cartoony style, and he looks like SUCH a junior officer that he still sucks his thumb. More work needed, I think!

As a little background: he's the youngster of the group: a little lost, and only recently commissioned as a 2Lt. Makes a bit of a show of being brave, even though he's as scared as hell. Plucky, adventurous, eager to impress and eager to get stuck in. Hero-worships the group's leader, somewhat. If I was incorporating the characters into a book/film etc, possibly most of the story would be seen from this chap's perspective, as he (like the reader/viewer) is the new one to the team, and needs to get to know the rest of them pretty fast!

Character 2

I've always liked the idea of Solar Topee hats, like these here. Rather rakish & stylish. Perhaps not quite so during the 1940s, but this character has a little bit of old-school style.But he's a little rougher & readier than that - perhaps someone with initial ideas of being a bit of a colonial "Alan Quatermain" character, who has become a little more rugged and weathered.The middle-eastern Shemagh scarf seemed a good motif to use for this. From my little training with my unit in Liverpool, I found it a great way to cut out collar-burn, keep warm when cold, and obviously good for deserts, seeing as that's where they were invented...I decided to add an ammunition belt too - more for aesthetic reasons than anything else. I reckon that most of these characters would be using SMGs, like the Thompson or Sten, but ammo belts look cooler that ammo pouches. Symbollically, it also takes the characters a little further from the imagery of being soldiers. Ammo belts give more the impression of mercenaries and freelance fighters.As the ammo-belts on this Greek 1940s guerilla show...But I still have to work on the character himself - I think his equipment is pretty good...Ifelt that the character was getting a bit too far (and too rugged looking) for a chap who wears a Solar Topi, so I thought I'd make him a little younger, and a little sharper. Here he is before deserting. A young dashing Captain.I thought that this character could be the son of an Indian Army officer, and therefore he'd be a little colonial. He's not exactly racist as such (he's respectful), but he expects a certain special treatment from 'the natives'. He's used to having servants. Saying that, however, he's now an experienced campaigning soldier, and doesn't expect any luxuries (although he does long for them). He can recognise which of the locals he should afford respect, as well, and although he only has a rather tenuous grasp of the local language, he can be a good ambassador.