Line #44 Main/ReusedCharacterDesign


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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oyaji1_1004.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:Hmmmmm... Sensing a trend here, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_(company) August]]. [[labelnote:From L-R]]Oyaji from ''Binary Pot''; Howard Harvest from ''Princess Holiday: Korogaru Ringo Tei Sen'ya Ichiya''; Genzou Shibugaki from ''Tsuki wa Higashi ni, Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary''[[/labelnote]]]]
6
7	->''"Big Bad Pete, Pete Pan, Small Pete, Petetronic. This place has got lotsa me!"''
8	-->-- '''Big Bad {{WesternAnimation/Pete}}''', ''VideoGame/EpicMickey''
9
10	Sometimes, comic artists are famous (or, more likely, infamous) for having [[OnlySixFaces very little differentiation among their characters]].
11
12	Excellent artists, though, [[CastOfSnowflakes can create a vast array of physiques and faces for characters]], thus making them easily distinguishable from each other; these artists are masters of character design, or so it seems...
13
14	It's only until you get to the artist's collected works that you realize that he is halfway cheating -- using some of the same characters over and over again, in different works, as though they were "actors" playing "roles."
15
16	This doesn't always detract from an artist's work, however, as this is often done purposefully when one character in a story plays a similar role as they did in an earlier one; in fact, knowing that this is the artist's style can greatly help the audience identify TheHero, The BigBad, and everyone in-between by their "actor." It also offers the potential to have an "actor" [[PlayingAgainstType Play Against Type]].
17
18	Such troupes are what are known as "Star Systems": a collection of AnimatedActors who play different "roles" in different "productions," just as RealLife actors would. In fact, this [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood used to be the way it worked in Hollywood]]; actors would be signed to a studio, not a production, and would appear in production after production with the studio's other stars. Taken far enough, this might be a VirtualCelebrity.
19
20	Note that this trope falls much more towards the CastOfSnowflakes end of the character design spectrum, trying to shy away from OnlySixFaces. While a body of works of a particular artist may have reused designs over the course of several works, each individual work tends to be a CastOfSnowflakes; conversely, multiple works of an artist featuring characters who all look alike simply reinforces the notion of OnlySixFaces.
21
22	Compare UniversalAdaptorCast, which is much more explicit that these are the same characters in a different setting.
23
24	----
25
26	!!Examples:
27	[[index]]
28	* ReusedCharacterDesign/AnimeAndManga
29	* ReusedCharacterDesign/VideoGames
30	* ReusedCharacterDesign/WesternAnimation
31	[[/index]]
32	[[foldercontrol]]
33
34	[[folder:Advertising]]
35	* One of the Advertising/{{Protegent}} commercials features Proto mentioning the Protegent software's data recovery features to a man whose computer has crashed. The latter character uses the exact same design as the former, but with a mustache and an orange-colored work suit.
36	** Proto himself is rather infamous for having the exact same design as Whyatt from ''WesternAnimation/SuperWhy'', but with an orange outfit and slightly lighter skin. [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/282/627/7fa.png See for yourself.]]
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Arts]]
40	* ''Art/HylasAndTheNymphs'': All of the naiads have near-identical facial structures. Art scholars have surmised that they all share the same model(s).
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Comic Books]]
44	* Tony Harris. The problem arises when you realize [[ComicBook/ExMachina Mitchell Hundred]] looks kinda like ComicBook/{{Starman}}...
45	* Robert Crumb does this a lot, openly and without irony. Sometimes this is highlighted on the opening page of a strip, with names and thumbnail portraits of the characters appearing. It can be a little jarring when more "cartoony" characters (e.g., dots for eyes, CheekyMouth) appear in their original styles alongside more "realistic" ones.
46	* ''ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse'':
47	** European WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse comics do this in-Universe. Several comics are about WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} telling Mickey about his draft for his new novel (Goofy is an amateur writer in those comics), in which the main character [[AuthorAvatar always looks like Goofy]], his sidekick or occasional DecoyProtagonist always looks like Mickey, and if there is going to be a villain, he will look like {{WesternAnimation/Pete}}.
48	** They also play this trope straight, using the same method the old cartoon shorts do of putting Mickey, Donald, and Goofy (and their supporting casts) in different roles. Some of these roles are recurring, resulting in multiple comic universes, where Mickey might play a wizard in a fantasy world, a hard-boiled noir detective, or a ComicBook/{{Tintin}}-like modern day adventurer.
49	** Lampshaded in the detective stories, which sometimes began with Mickey sitting down in a movie theater to watch himself play a private eye.
50	* Creator/JasonShiga has a handful of different characters that appear across his various works. For a particularly odd example, the main character and his love interest in ''ComicBook/EmpireState'' appear in his most recent work, ''Demon'' [[CastIncest as a father and daughter]] (sort of. [[MindScrew It's complicated]]).
51	* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Disney Villains: Hades]]'' features a version of the Argonaut Jason that is essentially [[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove Kronk]] with a soul patch.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
55	* Gary Larson did this in ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''. Lampshaded in one comic, where he goes over all of his "actors", including the cow, the nerdy kid, and the woman with glasses and a beehive hairdo. Note that while they all appear in a single work, they're usually seen in different roles.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Eastern Animation]]
59	* Gustav (or Gustavus) from [[Animation/{{Gustavus}} the series of the same name]] reappears as Uncle Oscar in the Hungarian cartoon ''Animation/MezgaCsalad'' in brief speaking roles, voiced by the same actor who had supplied his grunts in the original shorts. The only differences between them apart from the names are Oscar's bushy beard and upbeat demeanor.
60	* Attila Dargay from Creator/PannoniaFilmStudio reused some of his character designs for ''Animation/LudasMatyi'' in his later movies. Jónás, the protagonist of ''Animation/TreasureOfSwampCastle'' looks like a twin of Matyi himself, whereas the geese in ''Animation/VukTheLittleFox'' look nearly identical to Matyi's goose sidekick.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
64	* Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon
65	** Some of the earlier Disney films were pretty guilty of this, particularly the use of WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'s mother in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'', ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book\|1967}}'', ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''.
66	** In ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book\|1967}}'', the Jungle Patrol elephants are based on the elephants from the animated short ''WesternAnimation/GoliathII''. The elephant Colonel Hathi is based on the elephant Goliath I.
67	** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Robin Hood\|1973}}'', Sir Hiss resembles Kaa in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book\|1967}}''. Prince John resembles King Leonidas in ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks''. The most blatant example is Little John, basically Baloo from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book\|1967}}'' with clothes, different fur color and hands instead of paws.
68	** In ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'', Basil resembles Water Rat of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad''.
69	** Some Disney movies and shows do this intentionally as {{Shout Out}}s to earlier films, such as Gopher from ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' resembling a beaver in ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'', as well as the Old Lady Squirrel in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'', and a gopher appearing in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop''. The design of the Little Girl Squirrel in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'' resembles ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale''. A fairy resembling Tinkerbell appears among the Fair Folk in ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''.
70	** The Weasels in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'', ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} How to Be a Detective]]'', ''WesternAnimation/MickeysChristmasCarol'', ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceAndThePauper'', ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'', ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' are similar to the Toon Patrol in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''
71	** Anna and Elsa from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'' have similarities to Rapunzel of ''{{WesternAnimation/Tangled}}'', however just how similar is [[BrokenBase a point of contention]] with fans.
72	** A toddler seen in ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'' bears heavy resemblance to baby {{WesternAnimation/Moana}}. The fact her name is "Mo" is [[LampshadeHanging Disney acknowledging this.]]
73	** Gaston in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' is Brom Bones from ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad''.
74	* ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' was touted as a step forward in animation in that they could take the near photo-realistic character models and reuse them in future films, particular was the main character Aki Ross, taking AnimatedActors to the real world. The underwhelming performance of the film nixed the idea.
75	* For ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', artists borrowed the model of Massimo’s cat Machiavelli from ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'' to create the temple cats that frequent the Lee family temple. The fur is a little longer and the coloring is different to distinguish the difference, but if you look closely you can see the resemblance.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
79	* ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans\|1981}}'': The StopMotion Kraken looks a lot like the Ymir from a previous film of Creator/RayHarryhausen, ''Film/TwentyMillionMilesToEarth'', just ''way'' bigger and with four arms.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Literature]]
83	* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid: The Deep End'': Doo-Doo, one of the kids at Campers' Eden, is identical to "Stinky Williams" (a precursor to Fregley) in the webcomic.
84	* Creator/TerryPratchett tends to use his ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' version of [[TheGrimReaper Death]] in his other books; there's subtle variations depending on the culture being represented, but Death will always have [[AC:his characteristic accent.]]
85	* In ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'''s sequel ''Literature/ThroughTheLookingGlass'', Lewis Carroll included the characters Hatta and Haigha, who acted a lot like the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. The Tenniel illustrations are very much the Hatter and the Hare in new costumes; Hatta is even wearing the Hatter's topper with its advertising card.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
89	* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'':
90	** The Balrong living underneath Moria, is nigh identical to the Balrog (known by the epithet of "Durin's Bane") seen in the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Peter Jackson film trilogy]] (specifically, in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' and ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]''), which is not set in the same continuity. The end of "The Eye" reveals this Balrog to be the same one that will eventually attack the Fellowship in Moria thousands of years later.
91	** Sauron's armour shown in the pilot, is almost the same he wears in the movies, if reworked and modernized. Than again, John Howe created both designs.
92	* In the first episode of ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', a bit-part alien "poet" was represented by a CGI alien design that had previously been used for the VillainOfTheWeek in the ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' episode "Greeks Bearing Gifts". Presumably this was a less criminal member of the species.
93	* Shows featuring Muppets tend to reuse puppets from previous shows a lot. Since shows like ''Series/SesameStreet'', productions starring ''Franchise/TheMuppets'', ''The Animal Show'', and ''Series/MopatopsShop'' require an awful lot of one-shot characters, it's usually much easier to just recycle a puppet from another production than build a new one. [[https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Recycled_puppets Here]] is a list of all of the puppets that have been recycled.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Music]]
97	* ''BLACK ROSE'', the second "season" of ''Kotonoha Project'', reuses all of the designs from the first season and puts them into a western Victorian mystery setting instead of the UrbanFantasy they were in before.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
101	* Ride/DisneyThemeParks:
102	** The costume design for Mr. & Mrs. Easter Bunny is the same one that was used for [[WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland the White Rabbit]], prior to being redesigned in 1995 to better reflect his film counterpart.
103	** The cat jazz band from ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' had a case of this. The head sculpts for Scat Cat and Italian Cat were nearly identical, with only minor differences in fur placement; English Cat, meanwhile, reutilized [[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} Gideon]]'s head sculpt.
104	** To promote the release of ''[[Film/TheShaggyDog The Shaggy D.A.]]'', Disney created a Shaggy Dog costume that had its head sculpt lifted from [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh Tigger]].
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Webcomics]]
108	* Creator/DavidGonterman has a few he loves to recycle... most, scratch that, all of them are some form of self insert.
109	** Scarlet Foxfire - The sentient alien/biomechanical fursuit.
110	** Jim Goodlow - Appears as a cartoonist once, the other time as a StraightGay cop. He's the guy in Scarlet.
111	** Adam Packbell - A magical boy, teen or young man whose powers either come from TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering-esque spells, or being a [[Literature/PeterPan Lost Boy]]. He usually has a coffee addiction and a fetish for robot girls.
112	** Pippikin - A bunny fursuit much like Scarlet. He typically appears as a villain who takes over the minds of his hosts and engages in sexual debauchery, but has one incarnation where he's good.
113	** Davey/Eric/Etc Crockett - The standard self-insert of infamy. Typically ends up thrown into another world, and becomes MightyWhitey or a furry or both.
114	** There's also an android SexBot that he reuses with a variety of names.
115	* Some of the main characters of ''Webcomic/CuantaVida'' will have small parts in the author's next comic, ''Webcomic/ThisIsTheWorstIdeaYouveEverHad!'', which, in turn, has revamped characters from her first ([[OrphanedSeries abandoned]]) comic, ''The Rift''.
116	** Most of them are also focus characters for ''Sin Pararse''.
117	* Characters in [[Website/KiwisByBeat Ryan Armand's]] various comics tend to look very much alike, possibly due to GenericCuteness.
118	* Some of the demons' designs in ''Webcomic/MyBestFriendMarneao'' were previously used in Creator/SeaSnailStudio's other work, ''Salvatore''. According to [[WordOfGod El Autor]] in his twitter, they are actors, similar to [[Creator/OsamuTezuka Tezuka's]] famous star system.
119	* In ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', several character designs are recycled from the artist's earlier fanfiction comics. The Arthurian power trio are based on the power trio from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Arthur is Kirk with a beard and without a toupee, Lancelot is Spock as a human, and while Guinevere doesn't look much like [=McCoy=] her father does. Merlin is [[Series/DoctorWho the First Doctor]] with a WizardBeard. Galahad is Franchise/{{Superman}}. The irreverent Sir Dinadan is based on [[Series/{{MASH}} Hawkeye Pierce]]. And Aihok and Effex, Morgan's fey allies, are the aliens from his high school and college comics (and appear as such in Merlin and Arthur's webcomics in the contemporary arc).
120	* ''Webcomic/MyMammaIsInBurnedIsOut'': The six science lovers who show up to give arguments are nearly identical to the one who proposes "Burned", only the former wear shirts with "I [realistic heart] SCIENCE" and the latter has "I [heart on fire] ARSON".
121	[[/folder]]
122

Context Main / ReusedCharacterDesign