@bogleech IDK if you’re aware of this, but Tabaluga got a new animated movie a couple years back, and Arktos features prominently in it…. with a fucking METAL villain song segment all to himself!
Just… LOOK AT THIS shit. The dawning realization on Tabaluga’s face as he realizes “Oh shit, this is actually happening? This motherfucker’s actually doing this” going to “Oh Dragon Jesus this motherfucker’s series”. The detail on Arktos’ model, the little glimmering ice crystals along his form. His booming voice rising higher and higher as the lyrics get more and more intimidating with practically every line. The fact that his design is ever-so-slightly updated, but still fundamentally remains, well, a snowman in a top hat with zero major alterations - he looks so fucking GOOD!
And then you look up Arktos’ voice actor…
And it’s Ben Campbell, also known as the voice of King K Rool in Donkey Kong Country.
Yeah.THAT K. Rool.
I checked for this - the last voice arctor role that Campbell’s done was back in 2005′s Grossology. This man made his grand return to animation after an almost 15-year hiatus… to voice this mean snowman that sings a one-man death metal chorus about how he’s worse than Satan.
And honestly? I can’t imagine a better fit for the voice of Arktos. Just… what a fuckin’ world.
A villain (also known in film and literature as the “antagonist,” “baddie”, “bad guy”, “heavy” or “black hat”) is an “evil” character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist (though can be the protagonist), the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters. [x]
Villain: A cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; a wicked or malevolent person; the main evil character and antagonist to the hero
Obvious Villains. [If you’re having trouble with this, read the novels of Agatha Christie and other famous mystery writers to learn how to fool the readers while playing fairly. For an even better learning experience, try reading an Agatha Christie novel after finding out the identity of the killer. You’ll get great tips on how to conceal information right in front of the reader’s eyes.]
Clichéd Villains. [The conniving other woman, the evil mother-in-law, the wicked twin sister. Some villains have been used so often that they have become recognizable character types. These characters still have a lot of life left in them, but only if you flesh them out.]
Villains with Unbelievable Motivations. [Nobody wants to read an entire novel only to find out that the villain was plotting against the hero the whole time because the hero stole away his prom date 20 years ago. If your villain is scheming and planning and committing crimes, he needs a good reason to go to all this trouble.]
Unnecessary Villains. [Powerful main characters can create plenty of conflict on their own.]
Utterly Evil Villains. [Some villains are simply too evil. Not only does he make life miserable for the hero and heroine, he also beats and rapes the servants, kicks the dog, and on top of that, refuses to recycle. Not only is this unrealistic, it is often trite.]
Villains Who Talk Too Much. [This one is a classic cliché. The villain captures your main characters, but instead of getting them out of the way, he goes into a spiel about how bright he is because he outwitted them all.]
Weak Villains [Imagine this scenario. You’ve been reading an exciting, suspenseful novel, and you’re close to the end. The hero is confronting the villain. You’re expecting a big payoff. But instead, the villain turns out to be a huge wimp who caves in quickly.]
—Choose a model for your villain: an ordinary person, a celebrity, or a notorious criminal from the news; examine that person’s flaws and weaknesses. How have they wronged others? Discard their positive traits, magnify their negative traits, and write a brief character sketch. What’s the character’s name? What does he or she look like? What is going on in the character’s head that allows him or her to treat others with disregard?
—Give your villain a shady past: what terrible things has your villain done throughout his or her life? What terrible things were done to him or her? Some villains are just trouble makers; others are deranged psychopaths. How extreme is your villain?
—Identify the source: what happened to your villain to turn him or her so evil? Was your villain born that way? —The most interesting villains are not completely evil. They have a soft spot for puppies or they write cheesy love poems. Contrary personality traits add depth and realism to all characters. Describe your villain’s positive traits.
—Put your villain in a scene: make sure you include dialogue so you can work out how the character speaks. Give your villain a distinct voice. Is your villain disguised as a benevolent character? Does he or she spend every waking minute committing evil deeds?
A good villain must be ACTIVE: Writers often complain that they have trouble making the middle of their novel exciting. A villain who acts, instead of simply sitting around thinking evil thoughts, is the best possible cure for a sagging middle-book.
A good villain must be SMART. When the author has the villain do something stupid so the hero can defeat him, it not only makes the villain look stupid, it makes the hero look weak.
A good villain must be SENSIBLY MOTIVATED, AND NO WORSE THAN HE HAS TO BE TO ACHIEVE HIS GOAL. A credible villain can be motivated by anything from simple greed to self-preservation, from patriotism to revenge, from religious fervor to ambition to romantic love. In short, anything that can motivate any normal person can also motive your villain.
A great literary villain is not any one thing; some are moustache-twirlers or evil geniuses, some are darkly complex, tortured souls, while others are amoral crazies who act wholly on impulse. There are many ways to write a literary villain, but a unique characteristic often binds the truly memorable anti-heroes together: they are at least as complex as the heroes. [x]
As a massive fan of street art and horror films, my stumbling across the work of British artist JPS was a revelation, and better yet, he seems to love slasher villains as much as me!
With hints of Banksy, crisp lines and colour work, a real sense of humour, and some fantastic placement, the bold graphic pieces look incredible in situ, and one or two would scare the hell out of you on first glance if you happened to to catch them as the sun went down! I’m looking at you, Jason Vorhees, stood casually in the hallway of an abandoned building!
JPS has works around the UK (unfortunately I’ve not seen any in real life yet), and many are not horror related - check his Twitter to see some genius examples of working with the environment - but of course I had to choose the horror themed pieces with you.
