The Usual

(All art on this page was done by me. It is mine.)

Name: Darren Wesley Rhodes
Nickname: None
Age: 23
Birthday: January 7th
Sign: Capricorn
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 150 lbs
Orientation: Straight
Occupation: Art Student
-Part-time thrift store employee
Gender: Male
Residence: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Eyes: Green
Hair: Shorter (down to jaw line), light brown
Skin: Pale from being inside working on art
Voice: Soft and calm, very cool

The Details

His name is Darren Rhodes. He doesn't like nicknames very much and insists that you never call him by his middle name. He's a twenty-three year old college student in an art school located in Edmonton, Alberta. He grew up in Calgary, but knew that there were no good school there that met his needs. He's in his final year of school and hopes to make it big in the world of fine art.
Darren is quite concerned with his looks. When he was in high school, he didn't much care for style. It wasn't until he started college that he has been more fashion aware, noticing how everyone looked better than him. He found that Bohemian and Beatnik clothing was particularly interesting. He loves to where sweaters/turtlenecks/long-sleeved shirts. He always wears a black Fatigue hat and typically wears khaki's and boots. He has to wear glasses and has been wearing them since he was thirteen. He's gone through style after style but has finally settled on round spectacles. Judging him solely on his way of dressing, people usually ask to read his poetry. He doesn't write any; he hates that stuff.
With all his effort put into his clothes, of course he tries as hard with his body. He likes to go for a long jog on his days off from work and even manages to fit in some crunches after work. His face is quite oval shaped and he's very proud of the fact that it hasn't become a circle. He has lovely green eyes (in his own opinion) and he keeps his hair well-kept. He only needs to put a brush through it once or twice. Being an artist, he finds it natural to want to incorporate painting into some physical trait of his. So, he puts black streaks in his hair, making sure they don't fade.

The Good

Darren is an overall cheerful person. He enjoys the company of others when he's up for it and likes going out when he can. He doesn't like being alone unless he's drawing/working on school assignments (more on that later).
He's quite an empathetic person. He hates it when he tells someone about his problems and they don't seem to care. He makes an effort to listen to what his friends are saying and responding appropriately.
Darren's also a very hard worker. Loving what he does so much, he makes sure to have his assignments done on time and started as soon as he gets them. He puts as much effort and love into each piece of art.
He looks on the bright side of life. It's more colourful there. He believes that he'll excel and that most things will work out in his favour. Except when it comes to girls.
Which leads to the next point; he's a gentleman towards the ladies. Darren has always had an easy time making male friends and he thinks that he now has enough of them. Some girls dig the sensitive art student over the jock, which he always hopes for when he meets a pretty girl.
Darren is a morning person and proud of it. Even after a long night of working, he still manages to get out of bed at six every day that he needs to. Most people are shocked that a guy his age isn't out partying every night and sleeping in until some unbelievably late hour. He doesn't like the life of a night owl so much.

The Bad

Darren has a very big ego. Sometimes he can be overly confident in his work or opinions. When he is given a good critique he usually responds with a 'I thought so too'. Teachers love him and only make his head swell more. When given a poor critique, though, he'll mull over it in the privacy of his apartment and say dirty things about whoever bad-mouthed his work. Especially when he's very fond of it.
Darren is extremely critical of the works of others. He knows who's better and worse than him at school. If he loves or hates someone's work, he'll let them know. With full force. But when it comes to dealing with better students, he's immediately jealous. Darren seems like a very kind person outwardly, but inside he can hold a strong grudge. He'd never sabotage art, but he'll make brutal comments on it. Sometimes he has to have after-class chats with teachers about his attitude.
Another thing...Darren likes debate. He has been known to get into full-on verbal fights, usually using his large vocabulary to his advantage. Though, he's lost a fair number of these fights. He claims most losses were due to teacher interference, but he has a hard time accepting loses. He insists his taste in music is far above most, abstract lines aren't fine art and survivor is a terrible show.
Finally, he gets cranky when he's working on his art. He's a very career oriented person and when he's in the zone, he'd prefer you weren't there with him. He can be snippy and moody when someone decides they need to talk to him at these times, but he feels badly for it later. He tries to make up for it with coffee later on.

And the Darren

Darren enjoys peace and quiet. He is more likely to steer away from hyperactive, peppy people, but that doesn't mean he won't tolerate them if need be. He's completely obsessed with art and moving forward with his career, his ambition being a master of the Fine Arts.
There are only a few things he needs to have on hand at all times: a pen, pencil and his cell phone. The pen and pencil are obvious. Though, he never carries paper with him. He mostly just tends to forget it when running out the door. But his cell phone isn't for idle chat. He's just so worried about not being able to get hold of friends or family at important times and he's even more terrified that he'll miss some life-changing call.
As a big art fan, it's natural that he'd like photography too. It's just too bad that he isn't very good at it. He enjoys taking amateurish photos of his friends and sometimes likes to take a ride into Banff and photograph the mountains. He usually ends up bunking with a friend after those days, leaving the next day.

The Life Then

Darren Wesley Rhodes was born in Calgary on January 7th, 1984. He was the second and last child of Joseph and Michelle Rhodes. He grew up with one brother, Jeffrey (Jeff) and three dogs; Blake, the German Shepard, Bliz, the Siberian Husky and Zo, the Golden Retriever. There was also a white Persian, Nox. His parents were loving and careful with their children, only having one scary incident involving the kiddie pool in the backyard. Jeff had decided to hold his breath underwater while their mother went to get them towels. He held it for too long and wouldn't come up for air. Luckily, his mother came back in time to pull him up and not have to go to the hospital. He was 4, Darren was 3. That explains his dislike of pools.
He knows that in the third grade the teacher had asked the class to drawn themselves. Darren's was the best in the class and ever since then he knew he could draw. His parents aren't even sure where the talent came from.
When he was in the seventh grade, he tried out for the school musical. The teachers gave him a minor role, encouraging him that if he tried a little harder, he could have a bigger role. But once rehearsals started he realized plays just weren't his thing. He never quit, of course, but he never went into another play.
In the ninth grade, Darren had his first 'girlyfriend'. It really didn't count at that age. The 'relationship' only lasted a month. He was just too young to handle something like that. And it wasn't until he was seventeen that he was ready to try again with the girls. This time it lasted a whole year. He ended it with her. She just wasn't what he really wanted in a girl. Plus, he suspected she had cheated on him at least once.
After graduation, he took a year off to make some money. He worked two jobs, one in a grocery store, and one giving art classes. Once school was paid for he moved up to Edmonton to live on his own. He still doesn't own a car.

The Life Today

Darren lives in an apartment block not too far from school by himself. Well, not completely alone, he does have his black Persian, Jester. He's very fond of his one bedroom place and usually keeps it cluttered with paintings. He and Jester use the same bed for sleeping, since there's really no room for a proper kitty bed.
He wakes up at six everyday and heads out to school by seven, having to take two buses to get there by seven-thirty. He enjoys art history, but nothing compares to just going out and painting. Sometimes there are classes outside where they sit and draw what they want. Free Sketch Period! This doesn't happen often. When the day ends at four, and it's a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, he will go to his job at the Thrift store by the school. The pay's not great, which explains his tiny apartment, but it's relaxing and he can get clothes for cheap. His shift ends at eight and he heads home. It takes him just as long to get home as it does getting to school. He wishes there were inexpensive places that were even closer to the college.
Darren has being trying to get a new girlyfriend for a while now. He's sick of just barely making rent and only having his cat around. There have been some girls lately that have caught his eye, but they just don't seem interested.

The Family

Mom and Dad
Joseph and Shelly Rhodes dated for three years before marrying at ages twenty-five (Joe) and twenty-four (Shelly). They waited four years to actually have kids and finally had their first, Jeffrey Terence Rhodes, who came only a year before Darren. Joe works for a small business downtown (no one's really sure what he really does) which involved him sitting in an office all day and Shelly quit her job as a museum tour guide to become a stay-at-home mom. They're still happily married.

Jeffrey Rhodes

Jeff is Darren's older brother, though, he's only a year older. They share similar traits, but Jeff looks more like his dad, while Darren looks like his mom. As boys, the two got along fairly well. They were very close and Jeff had no problem standing up for his little brother. As they got older, though, their personalities started to really develop and they began to separate for the first time. Jeff was fifteen when he brought a girl home for dinner with the family. Since then he's been through relation after relation. He stands out more than Darren, being considered more handsome and taller. Darren never really liked this about his beloved brother. A girl-hopping pretty boy? But, now that the two are in their twenties, they've matured a little. Jeff's been in a steady relationship for about a year and a half and he's studying to be a carpenter in college. He and Darren are closer these days.

The Habits

Darren likes to chew things. When he's nervous or just needs to fiddle, he'll chew on his bottom lip. He's given himself some cuts and he's scratched up his lip a bit, but he doesn't seem to care anymore. And of course he chews on his pencils. People don't like to borrow from him anymore.

He also stares. He calls it observing, but really, he's staring. If he thinks a girl's pretty or interesting to look at, he's not afraid to go beyond glancing. He once tripped on the stairs leading up to his apartment block entrance because a cute girl walked by. What a creep.

It's become a morning ritual to get up and go find his precious cat, Jester. When he does, he takes a full minute to snuggle him and show him love before he goes out for the whole day.

The Art

Slash the Guitarist

Hwang from Soul Calibur belongs to Namco

Misc Portrait

Credits

This pet page was made by superflyest. To get your own click here.