the mind is a fickle thing

A character design sheet of the lovely innkeeper. although I made this thinking I was done I feel like it’s still at work in progress. I only thought of the mechanics and I never properly thought out the storytelling aspect.

For example, there’s so many sharp lines in his main public fit and it feels a little bit too dangerous. I think it would be more fitting for his cloak outfit with the domino mask. i’m

For now, it’ll work for the comic idea I have, but I would like to rework it eventually.

Some notes on clothes and accessories.

I was recently inspired to design my dear, lovely Natalie. And her design is a nightmare. Canonically, she carries:

A bow and quiver

Two hand axes

A belt-knife and pouch (technically not canon, but she seems the type to be prepared)

A fuckass skull

I wanted to take a more “medieval realist“ approach. Since loose fabric interferes with drawing the bow, the sleeves and waist are fitted or cinched. She wears a three finger shooting glove and a leather bracer to handle the draw and vibration of her bow string.

I’d appreciate feedback in regards to:

Skull placement and harness. I placed at her sternum and the harness weaves through the cheekbones. Does it seem too unrealistic or out of place? (why does she even have a whole ass skull. a hand would be way more convenient—a hand necklace would be sick! and she could place it over her heart for symbolism…)

Visual language. I tried to give her a gaunt/macabre expression. I wonder if I should make her experience more stern to sell in to that intimidating vibe or brighter to contrast her survivalist attitude and gap mor.

Any other thoughts you have

I also included some notes on the mechanics of her gear below in case anyone is interested. There is so much to armor and gear that you wouldn’t expect!

Btw, if you’re ever interested in character design I recommend looking into the occupation of the character. Searching questions like “What’s the life of a medieval hunter like?” helped me get a grasp on Natalie’s past life and personality

It also puts into perspective how important her husband must’ve been to her? Processing a kill takes about 4 hours to do solo, but with a partner it takes 40 minutes.

And bows are seriously heavy, so archers burn lots of calories. This leads to wiry physiques because wild game are typically lean, so she doesn’t get enough fat. There’s even something called rabbit starvation which can cause death despite someone having a full stomach. Although I’m not sure how this would translate to the fantasy setting…

Sadly, I’ll have to go on a tangent on how much I wish Molasses elaborated on the fantasy system in another post.

"On Stage"

This is a chiaroscuro study of Isaac! I've been wanting to make a proper one with color for a while now and I got the opportunity to do while trying out Krita.

(I highly recommend trying it out to any artists with a PC or laptop: it's free and has zero ads. Although, it's a good idea to buy a drawing tablet for usability's sake, so there is an extra purchase).

Here's the typed out version of the writing for readability's sake. But before that, those orange marks are NOT food stains, but some orange pen ink bleeding through from the other side. Just felt the need to clarify that:

Labels

Mail Collar

Protects the neck

Hood/Scarf

Hides identity

Leather Cuirass

Protects torso

I imagine that this cuirass covers his front and back due to his cautious personality--he doesn't seem like the type to leave his back uncovered

Detachable Sleeves

Adaptability to weather

Improved mobility

Gambeson

Lightweight protection

Vanbrace

Protects forearm

Belts

Keeps gambeson and cuirass in place

Lower Half (not drawn or labelled, but I'm adding this anyways)

Leather pants for lightweight mobility

Greaves to guard shins

Boots with reinforced toes for protection and durability (and combat)

Footnotes

Face/Head

From my memory, it was mentioned somewhere during his intro that he has long, blong hair, but the texture was never confirmed

Fit

He has a cautious personality, but he's also a nimble spearsman and a scout, so he would likely wear armor, just not enough to limit mobility

The leather cuirass is short because... it looks better than a longer one imo

Yap-Off (Expanded)

I don't have much else to say about design but I've got a lot to say about Raul

When he is first introduced, Raul is simply a pathetic, clever, emotional, self-oriented, character-- actually, I take it back, he was never simple

Despite his strange quirks, he provides something new nad refreshing: the perspective of an outsider

And not just any outsider: an emotional one. His reactions to the MCs strange situation and sketchy actions are completely normal.

Without him, I don't think I would've ever truly noted that Isaac isn't all there. For one, Isaac is from our time period, so he naturally seems more reasonable-- and two, the only adult character to compare his mindset is Leo well... he's the main character, and those are never quite right in the head,

Although he introduces this insightful perspective, I'd also like to comment on how ironic that he's the one always crapping on Isaac for being a masochist, considering his own streak of schadenfreude (ahem ahem Lord Lopez interrogation ahem ahem)

Notes

I integrated lots of sharp shapes (zigzags, diamonds, triangles) to reflect his volatile personality

The use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition (got that one from wikipedia)

Not leo, nor leovald, but leonardo ertinez. A character who remains mysterious even when his secrets are revealed. One of my favorites if I do sat so myself.

Despite the bland mouthful of a title, this series is surpasses its name in more ways than you can think of.

But since this post is just a few of my own takes on the main character’s designs, I’ll spare the book analysis for another time. All that needs to be said is that this novel is a masterpiece.

Minor Spoilers: Ch 140+

hype arc, hype moments, hype suffering, and hype doodles

Before continuing, you should know this post contains minor spoilers on an arc in the latter half of Part 1, so continue with caution.

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What if Braun is one of Cheerful Research Institute's products? Emojis are a huge motif of the CRI, proven by the original Wish Potion machine that Kim Soleum found in the lab.

As for Braun, he shows emotions through emojis on his screen.

I was scrolling YT when I found this and the second I saw the blond jumping around my mind immediately went to Sung Hyunjae dancing like this.