#rolos

now dot to dots are generally pre-printed out designs for someone to do (akin to colouring sheets, wordsearches and crosswords). now making a character is easy on paper, most dot-to-dots are already of a character. but how that character would move is a bit of a tough question.

and yet, this ad somehow answers that in a way that makes it so cool. for you see, in the commercial, dotty can only move the limbs that have been lined.

for example, when he is tickled by the eraser, only his left arm and head move. these bits have been lined. yet the area where he feels the tickle, his right arm, stays completely still. so judging from this, dotty can feel stuff in all of his body, but can only move it once lined.

another example is when we get the only shot of his glorious (sue me) full body. every other part of the body moves, except for his left leg, which is currently being lined. again, repeating the idea that they can only move when lined.

now this singular trait can lead to a multitude of possibilities. depending on the character and their properties, maybe a dot-to-dot character can erase the lines from a certain area of their body, and use it for mobility (like an octopus swinging around). it can give them an anchor point, to which all sorts of shenanigans can occur.

due to lineless dots being completely unable to move, a protagonist may use this as a strength. for example, if the writer wants, lineless areas could stay in place or maybe drop down (i imagine it gaining weight and is noticeably heavier to the rest of the character). so a character could use it for fun attacks. a swinging kick using a lineless arm in the air or a stronger drop kick with a lineless foot.

however, this linelessness could be a weakness. the pros are all assuming that the character themselves has control over what is lined. like i imagine a protagonist with a pencil (those ones with an eraser on the end) and they use the pencil on themselves. but if they can't control it, what power do they have.

for example, using linelessness = drop down, the lineless area could be a weight to make movement sluggish. a lineless leg could mean having to crawl. or using linelessness = stay in place, it could be a way to torture someone. like the villain has captured the protagonist and their hands and feet are lineless and in the air, leaving them stuck in position.

if we want to be darker, we could think about how a lineless head (or just area where face is) could be.

now the ad takes it in a lighter direction. dotty starts blinking before the head is complete. meaning he can move his face even if lineless. but if we were to be evil, a lineless face could mean no movement at all. so a character could still be moving but without any of our 6 senses (apart from touch) or they go lifeless. the head is anchored in place while the limbs go floppy, or the head crashes to the ground and the limbs follow. (damn i really am evil).

now this doesnt mean they die (this means they were lifeless before being lined), but if you want to add in breathing to things they need to do, then yeah sure, if they are lineless for too long. think about it in a similar sense teri from tawog. if she has no face drawn, she cant breathe. if there are no lines, they cant move.

back to the idea of the character wielding a pencil. they could have a flaw where they are only proficient in one hand (left-handed or right-handed). so if their good hand is lineless/unable to move, they could struggle using their pencil, and this could have a scene where the character is struggling to line their hand or needs someone to help. and we could also think about how the lines are drawn. we have seen that dots are the main base for the body, and lines only make it move. straight lines could be the ideal standard, as that's how the dot-to-dot is meant to be filled out. but messier lines could negatively affect the character. like a pain that makes the limb worse to move, the messier the line.

or lines could be used to show emotions. and the character will still keep their general shape, as the dots are what make the character. for instance, harsh zig-zags could be a sign of anger. or lines with soft curves could be a state of bliss or relaxing. and the larger the gaps in the line, the more extreme the emotion. or lines could droop down to show fatigue or weakness (like a character is so tired, they collapse into a mess).