Beautiful.

Big changes, big improvements. Shes reach adorable huggable perfection.

Absolutely beautiful

Aww she's so cute :)

Very nice improvement, but you drew her nice back in the days too.

Oh how the years go by so fast.

I agree with Chucky, above, only to add you should post the present pic as a standalone-- I like it! :)

d.m.f.

Amazing

very nice, i think the biggest improvement is the eyes and muzzle

You were a kickass draftsman even back then. The old image is reminiscent of The Rescuers. Was that even an influence that shaped that character?

I still like the hands on the old one. Nothing else.

Elise has influences from several directions, including anime, Disney, and Bluth, but she is not based on any other character. The only direct influence is her Briar Rose sleeves. =)

Man, she is just so utterly adorable.

Wow, I had no idea she'd been around quite that long. That pic on the right with the fork is really adorable.

With the...? OMG, she's got a fork! ZOMG, the other one has a fork too!!

THERE'S SOMETHING THAT FEELS VAGUELY FAMILIAR ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION

Family picnic?

You are indeed a very gifted artistic talent. :)

Still has that fork. I guess it is hard to give up something that you love. I think that you have done a drawing at the drawing dresses. You can see the improvement by how you show the folds in the dress while she is seated.

If you look closely you can see that it's a different fork! ^^ Maybe she collects them?

There is one thing I'm curious about this change.
Can you say what drove the change in proportions for this character? Especially for the head and the face.

The main factor is visual appeal. Both versions are about 3 and a half heads tall, but on the original drawing the head, torso, and hips are all about the same size, which is visually uninteresting. On the current version her head is biggest, her torso is smallest, and her hips are in between. A larger head in proportion to the body is cuter and makes her seem shorter. A small torso and big hips emphasizes both that she is an adult and not a little girl, and also that she is maybe a little out of shape from a sedentary lifestyle. =)

The original head design is just incorrect. The face takes up too much of the head-- her eyes are set too high and there is not enough forehead. On the current design I have dropped the eyeline way down, which makes her muzzle smaller and cuter, and pushes her cheeks closer to her eyes, making it easier to draw expressions. Her eyes are bigger and more expressive. The forehead is larger, which makes her look younger and cuter.

I am constantly tweaking character proportions. I think that in this particular picture I pushed her face too cute. If I drew it again I'd make her eyes smaller and give her less forehead. Her ears have also been getting out of control lately. ^^;

The sculpture shows a more intermediate version, which I still like in many ways. I'm trying to work out a balance. I tend to use more stylized proportions when drawing her in the comic, because it is easier to be consistent that way.

Thank you for that well tought out and informative answer.

You're welcome, anytime!

She's all grown up. (snif)

Eyes and Ears open...the sign of solid attentiveness.

Impressive to see such a style change... While you already had quite much talent then!! Such a context is relatively rare

Was her right ear always chipped? (Can't see it on the old drawing)...

That happened in her very first adventure. She could have healed it up, but she chose to keep it. =)

An impressive advancement. Your work was good in 1996, but it's much better now.

Elise sure does emit that soothing gentle glow better in the current version but I still see it in the old one too. I don't know what is, maybe its just the character that you gave her that does it. But - geeze man. . . she's cute as a button either way.

And, it IS a different fork. . . huh, the one on the left is more structured or squared, while the one on the right is more smooth or round. Either why, I have to say I'm concerned for my safety while she's carrying a dangerous weapon like that!

Pretty cool. I wouldn't say it's an improvement but more of a shift in art style. It's a pretty cool comparison.