Actually, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.

That description of a soldier doesn't sound like an appealing character OR design, to me.

Forgive me, but it sounds like a Marty Stu being described in a mediocre-at-best fanfiction. It sounds like Stephanie Meyer describing Edward. (Oh wait, I already mentioned mediocre-at-best fanfiction...)

I'm not of the "bare minimum" school of thought you mentioned, not at all. But there's a point where detail is detail, and there's a point where detail is clutter. Maybe a real guy might have scars everywhere like that, etc etc. Hell, we have a zillion and one imperfections in our eyes alone-- but if you seriously, unironically try to sit down and catalogue every single one, that shit is going to bore people to tears and completely, immediately lose sight of what's important in the scheme of things.

Humans are literally only capable of processing and caring about so many things. The first rule of design, therefore, is to communicate effectively. If you're trying to get the audience to connect to your character-- or get them to understand an aspect of their being simply by looking at their appearance-- then no. The answer is NOT to cram an "entire life story" into every square inch of their design. That just creates a hot mess no one wants to look at, and no artist wants to draw consistently for thousands of panels.

Effective-- note the subtle difference between the word "effective" and the word "efficient" you chose-- design means showing exactly what needs to be shown and nothing more. This applies to literally every creative medium beyond character design- it is, for example, an absolute staple of the film industry.

Failing to show only what needs to be shown-- failing to reveal only what needs to be revealed-- failing to communicate effectively, in both story AND character design, is, in my opinion, the number one problem keeping aspiring artists from actually being able to manage, create, and publish their ideas.

Why? Well, when an idea for a story sits too long in an artist's mind and becomes far too large to actually tell an effective story with, it becomes what I affectionately refer to as a "mindbaby." Having mindbabies is not a crime. Pretty much everyone has had at least one. If you are very skilled and very careful, sometimes mindbabies can still be salvaged and turned into a real story. But ONLY if you cut out everything the audience doesn't need to know and focus in on one character's tiny piece of that larger picture only you, the creator, will ever know.

Think of it like an iceberg, with so much more under the surface, unseen. Every video game series has a "bible" detailing the larger scope of canon that most players will never see. J.K. Rowling has a massive knowledge of canon that is not revealed in the books, some of which is begin explored in Pottermore. Stories need things that are left unsaid, or else people simply do not find them that appealing. Characters are no different.

I suspect you suffer from this very common lack of foresight that plagues very many of us. It's not a sin; you're okay. But it's something to think about.

And, Jak-- on a slightly more personal note, I hope you'll forgive me if I'm overstepping myself here, but--

If Slim's talk-- which no, wasn't exactly about "making things look good rather than look right," that's an oversimplification-- really did hit you on a positive note, then why on earth did it prompt a 1,600 word essay that, for much of it's length, turns into one giant patting-yourself-on-the-back session?

There's no wrong way to draw. My drawing style is simple as fuck, but I still envy the sheer freedom and life and /artful mess/ that sketchy artists can sometimes achieve with deceptive ease. I'm not attacking the fact that you personally prefer detailed, sketchy, and moderately semi-realistic works. I'm not attacking the fact that you draw differently from Slim. I know you're not trying to dispute anything or be antagonizing.

Rather, I'm expressing my discomfort with the reasons behind this particular post at this particular time. Subliminally, your post feels like you're trying very, very hard to seem as though you're /not/, in actuality, getting defensive and entering some kind of completely unnecessary pissing contest to make yourself feel better, after seeing a friend embrace-- and ONLY embrace, not TOUT AS THE ONE TRUE WAY-- simplicity and stylization in art.

In short, and with the kindest possible intentions I can offer, I recommend you stop now before you make even more of an ass of yourself.

If you have an opinion on design principles, discuss it. If you want to talk about your methods and the way art makes you feel, by all means, do that too. But don't ever, ever try to pass off a post as either when in reality, you're doing it as a way of seeking justification because you're feeling insecure.