To the left is the very first character I ever painted, almost 3 years ago! I remember slaving over that thing for hours, trying to get it done for my storyboarding class, trying to be the very best. To the right is the 1-hour doodle I did today to take a break from a piece that I was having a lot of trouble with. I recommend everyone doing this exercise to gauge their progress!
PS. I kept the design aesthetic of the new one consistent with how I designed back then. Although to be honest, nonsensical Final Fantasy-ish designs are a guilty pleasure of mine.
PPS. In this class, I had to storyboard a fight between my character and

's character. He posted his up, check it out!!
[link]1 hr. Photoshop CS3, Bamboo Fun.