Creation and Conception
When developing the original Naruto manga, Masashi Kishimoto had not initially intended to create Sasuke. After speaking with his editor about the future of the series, he was advised to create a rival character for the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, which resulted in Sasuke's creation. To learn more about creating an effective rivalry, Kishimoto read a variety of manga to gather ideas on what constituted such a rivalry, and he coalesced these ideal elements into one relationship. Because Sasuke is intended to be Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto is always careful to make sure Sasuke is never too emotional. With Sasuke's character being that of a "cool genius", Kishimoto feels he has created the ideal rivalry.
Sasuke's design gave Kishimoto a number of problems, making him the most difficult character he has had to create. Because he lacked a proper idea of what Sasuke's face should look like, initial drafts of Sasuke appeared too old or mature for a character the same age as Naruto. Once settling on a proper face, Kishimoto began to work on Sasuke's attire. Original designs of Sasuke had a number of necklaces and ties around his arms and legs, a result of Kishimoto's habit of giving characters as much ornamentation as possible. Realising he could not draw such a complex character on a weekly basis, Kishimoto simplified the design to a basic contrast of Naruto's costume.
For Kishimoto, Sasuke remains the most difficult character for him to draw. While drawing, errors and mishaps commonly result in Sasuke's youthful appearance being lost, a result of Kishimoto's inexperience in drawing characters mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally kept short to save Kishimoto time, has slowly got longer as the series has progressed, resulting in the amount of time needed to draw Sasuke increasing as well. Sasuke received a new costume during the final portion of the Chūnin Exam Arc, which featured a number of belts strapped around his arms and legs. Due to the time needed to draw a costume of this design, Kishimoto returned Sasuke to his original costume in the following arc. Despite the time and energy Kishimoto spends drawing Sasuke, Sasuke has become his favourite character to draw.
