WWP-rough look at Sykes Shepherd

Before anyone asks, no I not really back in business. I have some way to get back on the net now, but I still don't have a scanner to work with, so out of frustration I stooped to using the webcam on my computer to snap up a few images from my sketchbook.

I will announce it in my DA journal when I'm officially able to start submitting better quality artwork.

Anywho, here's another WWP OC.
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Full Name: Sykes November Shepherd

Nickname(s): Psycho, Nerd, Nerd-Boy (last two are terms of endearment used only by Sable)

Race: Counting Sheep

Ethnicity: Caucasian (English and Scotch-Irish Heritage)

D.O.B: November 21

Age: 17

Height: 6’02

Grade: 10th

Family: parents are Wooly Shepherd & Lacey Brennan (divorced), stepmother Dolores, stepsister Bo Peep (12th grade), twin sister Sable the Black Sheep (10th grade), & younger sister Paisley the little lamb girl (8th grade). He also has a large extended family on his Dad’s side and an aunt and uncle on his Mom’s side.

Orientation: Heterosexual

Distinguishing Traits/Feature(s): Has birthmarks shaped like the number 9 on his back and upper arms.

Fashion: Corporate Goth

Friend(s): Gavin Hyde the teenage mad scientist, Schae the witch, Flint Bridges the 2nd Billy Goat Gruff, ?, ?, and ?

Crush/Significant other: He’s happily dating the girl of his dreams, Sammi Van Winkle the Sand Girl

Favorite Class(es): English, American History, Philosophy, Chemistry, and Shop

Favorite Teacher(s): Mr. Wollstonecraft, Mr. Lucifer, Ms. Black, and Mr. Griffin (and also Mr. Tenbrook, despite not being in art class)

Least Favorite Class(es): Calculus

Extracurricular Activities: Shop, AV Club, Anime Club, and writer/photographer for the WWH newspaper

Hobbies: writing, reading books/graphic novels, photography/videography, watching movies, listening to music, RPG/MMORPG video games, practicing martial arts, rollerblading, bike riding, teaching Groucho new tricks, and hanging out at the Arcadian Way Café

Likes: spending time with Sammi, his dog Groucho the Border Collie, caffeine, getting souvenirs from his mom, Sci-fi movies, joking around with Sable and their friends, animals, quiet places where he can relax, and visiting new and interesting places.

Dislikes: The Vice Gang, people that are fake/meddling/obnoxious, guys that mistreat girls(especially his sisters and/or girlfriend), gossip columns, bad movies, nearly all reality TV shows, being called a yuppie, and sappy self-help books.

Themes: Psycho by Puddle of Mudd & Closing Time by Semisonic

Personality/Background: While both of the Shepherd twins have parallel qualities and interests, Sykes, the eldest of the two, is mature, slow to anger (except when he’s sticking up for others), and very down-to-earth, making him the more even-tempered twin. Sykes has a close-knit bond with his twin sister Sable and is usually the one who is most effective at keeping her out of trouble.

One of the most interesting things about Sykes is that he’s even more intelligent than his B+ to A- average suggests. Despite his IQ of 195, Sykes will only do enough of his regular schoolwork to fall short of being on the honor roll. His reason for doing so is to avoid the trouble that comes with being labeled a genius, saying other students would resent him and that there would be too much pressure to use his high intellect. About the only classes that he doesn’t let himself fall back on are his favorites, particularly English, Philosophy, and Shop. Sykes has an inherited learning ability called Hypnopedia, or “Sleep-Learning“, which gives him the enviable skill to absorb any information that he hears in his sleep (just imagine: you can doze in class without having to worry about missing out on the lesson).

A thoughtful young man with a dry wit, Sykes is quite popular with the girls (especially among the shy, quiet ones) because of his brains, decent good looks, and tall, well-built physique. Sadly for them, he is very committed to his girlfriend Sammi, who has been a friend of the Shepherd twins ever since they were little. Sykes realized that he liked Sammi when they were in junior high, and back in the 9th grade when it came time for the high school prom, he finally plucked up the nerve to confess his feelings to her. Since then the two have formed a steady relationship and remain very much in like with each other.

Ruling out the camaraderie between him and Sable, Sykes’ best friend would be Gavin Hyde. After Gavin had a lab mishap that caused the teen scientist to develop a lovesick parasite named Lulu on his neck, Sykes helps out by giving him as much advice and support he can offer (though he still has no earthly idea how Gavin & Lulu will be able to pull off the separate class schedule thing XD).

Although rational and viewed as a peacekeeper by his friends, Sykes’ personality can take on a calculating (and slightly meaner) aspect when someone hurts the people who matter to him.
One perfect example of this is when he happened to catch Sable’s last boyfriend on a date with another girl. He casually phoned his sister to the scene, then stood by and watched as Sable chewed her boyfriend out before using her martial arts training to fling the two-timer in a nearby garbage can.
He’s not as impulsive as Sable, but Sykes does share her impish sense of humor, and is certainly not above taking part in the occasional act of mischief.

Quirks/Habits/Miscellaneous Facts________
-Sykes’ vision is perfect, meaning that he only wears glasses for show.

-Sykes plans on going to college so that he can work on becoming a writer or movie director.

-He has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is now learning Kickboxing. He hopes to practice Jeet Kune Do.

-The ring tone on his cell is the opening theme of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

-The Shepherd family lives on Hawthorne Drive, the same street as the Bridges and the Opovlov-Satrapis.

-Both of the Shepherd twins have part time jobs as ushers at the movie theatre.

-He hopes to one day go on an extended tour of the United Kingdom. He also wishes to visit the Smithsonian and a few other museums in Washington, D.C.

-His favorite writers are Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, John Grisham, Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe.

-His favorite movie directors are Alfred Hitchcock, Tim Burton, Mel Brooks, Buster Keaton, William Castle, and John Woo.

-His ten most favorite movies are Psycho, Spaceballs, Sin City, The Blues Brothers, Duck Soup, Blade Runner, Enter the Dragon, V for Vendetta, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and 9.

-Sykes favorite TV shows are The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Haven, The Twilight Zone, Mysteries at the Museum, FLCL, Ghost In A Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Samurai 7, Futurama, SYFY’s Face Off, Mythbusters, and Ripley‘s Believe It Or Not!.

-He listens to classic jazz, rhythm and blues, and various types of rock music.

-Clowns creep him out (they don‘t scare him as bad as when he was a kid, but he still gets the heebie-jeebies around them).

-Once in junior high, the Shepherd twins got even with a bully by letting him swipe a bogus lunch they prepared. Unfortunately for the bully, he ended up taking a bite out of a limburger, horseradish, and jalapeno sandwich, then a swig out of a thermos full of lukewarm prune juice! The bully never messed with them again after that.

-Sykes does have some basic drawing skills, but they are mostly technical in nature, as he mainly uses them for planning out his shop class projects. Contrariwise, his sister Sable has some very creative writing skills, but is more of a ‘big picture’ thinker when it comes to some of the finer details of the story, so she feels that she does even better work when she’s collaborating with someone else.

-Sykes gets his middle name, November, from his number 9 birthmarks.

-Counting Sheep are unaffected by other supernatural creatures that induce sleepiness, therefore Sykes can’t be made sleepy by Sammi’s powers. Like us, however, they are not immune to mind-numbing boredom.

-Counting Sheep are much more effective at lulling people to sleep when they work in large groups and in progressive numbers. Example: sheep #1, sheep #2, sheep #3, sheep #4&8230;..Zzzzzzzzz.

-While all Counting Sheep have numeral birthmarks on their bodies, the general shape of the birthmark varies with each separate family.

-When a female Counting Sheep marries into another Counting Sheep family, her numeral birthmark will actually change its’ shape to conform with the rest of the family.

-Numbers in a Counting Sheep family will only repeat when a member with a specific number passes away. Example: If Sheep No. 100 hundred were to die, his relatives can expect any of the future descendents to be born with a number 100 birthmark.

-Sykes, Sable, and Paisley’s dad is a psychology professor who teaches at the local college, while their mother is busy pursuing her career as a travel writer and keeps in touch via web cam, e-mail, and regular mail. Their step-mother (Bo Peep’s mom) co-owns a local boutique with their neighbor, Mrs. Bridges.
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When I first came up with Sykes the Counting Sheep, the initial concept was that he was a mellow, shaggy-looking, and very drowsy guy who dressed in grunge clothing, like he was a beatnik or stoner.

But when I looked him over & compared him to his girlfriend Sammi and his twin Sable, I saw problems:
1) Having Sykes be a semi-narcoleptic like Sammi made their relationship boring & downright uneventful.
2) Sable can be such a mischievous rebel (both with and without her best friend Schae’s help) that she needed someone who could keep her out of serious trouble.
3) What’s more, his design echoed one of Aelous’ own SALAD DAYS OCs (Malcolm MacDonaldson the Sasquatch) a little too much for my liking.

Therefore, I cleaned up his appearance and made him into a mature, intellectual, and reasonably good-looking guy that most girls would dream about as an ideal boyfriend. To complement his and Sable’s personalities even further, I made him as talented with writing as his sister is with drawing.
I tried to give him a hairstyle that was similar to Hyde’s from That 70’s Show, but with each attempt he either turned out looking like Larry Fine of the Three Stooges or Disco Stu from the Simpsons, so I said “screw it” and gave him the do he has now.
It finally gave him that “hunky bookworm” appeal I was trying to give him :3

I made two of Tyshea’s other WWP students, Gavin the Mad Scientist and Schae the Witch, both the respective best friends of the Shepherd twins because I don’t remember if Ty had ever mentioned who they hung out with.
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art & chara (c) me
WWP, Gavin, Schae, and certain other charas (c) tyshea