#aeshna oc

Originally he was meant as a standalone design that was just "pure embodiment of what kel finds hot in a character". So long hair, pretty face, elegant fantasy clothing, and such (this was before I realized my love for knights haha)

I remember being indecisive about what animal theme he would have at first, but once I nailed down the fox theme, colors and small details came together quicker. He was also planned from the beginning to be some sort of bounty hunter, which still is a good part of his story now haha.

His redesign was mostly removing unnecessary/cluttery details, as well as adjusting some design elements to fit better with the since established Victory Bells lore.

Coella Leverette

Now the actual main character of Victory Bells! She was largely inspired by the designs of Bravely Default, with Edea Lee in particular being a big inspo in particular, especially with the hair

Looking back at old sketches, it's clear I really liked her vest, but definitely had to make a few attempts before getting the rest of the design down

The bun in her hair was picked out though, due to it's resemblance to a rabbit tail to match with the rest of the rabbit motifs.

Her redesign was much the same as Vulpis's, removing and adjusting details, as well as incorporating the x shaped laces into more of her design.

Darner Meadowhawk and Olympia Josephina Chrysalis

Darner was technically designed before Olympia, but both were designed with the other in mind.

They drew a lot of inspiration from the song Ga1ahad and Scientific Witchery by Mili, specifically the cover by Umbratic Forest

Darner originally was going to have his crystalline limbs be more mechanical at first, with crystal decorations, as well as his body being held together by a magic circle on his back, and as such, had is back exposed so the circle could be maintained.

(no I don't know what all those old notes are saying either. Kel get better hand writing)

This however, was scrapped by the time his legacy design was created haha.

Olympia legacy design however didn't change much from her original sketch, aside from her dress straps being made to look like a butterfly

Olympia and Darner's redesigns however, did have a bit more thought put into them

The beads hanging down from Olympia's hat were changed to only 2, as to reference a butterfly's antennae, and her dress pattern was changed to better match with her inspiration, Euchloe olympia (the Olympia Marble).

She was also given burn scars in accordance with her backstory.

Darner's redesign was mostly modifying his armor to make more sense to me, as well as giving him scale mail to better reference the draconic elements of his design.

Also! Fun fact! Darner was originally going to have a butterfly tattoo

and although I decided against it at the time, I have considered bringing the idea back, but having it on his back instead (which I guess could also call back to the old magic circle idea haha)

(also, sketch is cropped bc y'all don't get the Darner 🍑)

Virgil Pavo

He was designed once I had started to put the pieces together of what kind of story I wanted Victory Bells to be, and was designed with the fact he was to be the party's healer in mind.

For an animal motif I went peafowl, specifically due to some phoenix designs in media having peafowl elements. And to achieve a less flamboyant player peafowl vibe, I went with an albino peacock motif

His redesign mostly consisted of making his design feel more priestly, changing his belt to a sash and turning his monocle into glasses. His reference posing was also changed to better express his more nervous personality.

Athene Lilith

Unfortunately, she doesn't have any traditional concept sketches, as far as I can find.

However, her armor was designed to look like the light version of Darner's, as Darner originally hailed from the same place as Athene. So the sharpness was rounded out.

Her hair tufts and large eyes are meant to look like those of a horned owl, with her colors, freckles, and the like representing the tawny feathering, and a scarf to represent wings.

Her redesign was like Darner's, ie changing her armor to make more sense to me. She was also given a brigadine with a feather pattern as to parallel Darner's scale mail.

Athene also has my favorite design of all my characters haha.

Aeshna and the Past Heroes

The past heroes were designed as to look like the most stereotypical jrpg party I could. Aeshna, the pretty boy blond bishounen paladin, Opal Luune the mysterious mage, Nathair Nimhson the northern warrior and sailor, Jemima Livia the stereotypical cleric nun girl, and Oberon Lupescu the king who the most adventure he's had is hunting in his private and maintained forest.

The animal designs weren't as critical as they were for the main party, but each was meant to draw at least some inspiration from different mythical creatures (Aeshna Dragon, Opal Unicorn, Nathair Hydra, Jemima Harpy, and Oberon Fairies).

Nathair did draw a bit from different Triangle Strategy and Octopath designs however.

The Black Witch

Unfortunately, although there are many concepts sketches for him, all of said sketches are spoilery haha (the territory that comes with being the main Antagonist I guess lol)

However, he was designed as a parallel to Aeshna. If Aeshna is meant to look like the perfect hero, the Black Witch is meant to be the perfect villain. Sharper armor, clawed gauntlets, hidden hard to read features compared to Aeshna's gentle expression.

One design thing though that I do keep in mind though is that I never draw him with more than one eye showing if he's got his hood on!

For the most part I also try to hide his eyebrows, as to make his expression harder to read.

Now, for fun random Trivia!

Although not strict, Darner tends to lean more towards carnivore meals while Olympia more vegetarian

Coella has really sharp hearing and sense of smell

Reynard is really the only one I have a solid sexuality for, being Aroace

Virgil is a big fan of gothic and macabre horror. The kind of guy to use Halloween decor year round.