It's been a really long time since I've been able to ink and color, so I felt like I had to remind myself on how I do things LMFAO. Just focusing on skin tones primarily. Adding Kiran to the mix, too! You get to see how I blend my pencils, here. It might be subtle, but I like the results of it!

Lif... You are so much fun to just do bullshit to. One day I'll figure out how to make him candy flavored AND Scary As Fuck. The green shading is extremely fun though, it's my favorite part!

And! Establishing how I might like to color Anna. Since she shares the red hair and lighter tone w Moe, I really wanted to make a point to differentiate the two. I'm still figuring out her shapes, as well -- going for curlier hair than wavy (on Alfonse), a distinct nose shape that doesn't overlap with anyone (comparisons not pictured here -- again I was just focusing on skin tones for the characters I draw more often). I think there's definitely things I could practice more to capture better, but! I think it's a decent start!

As a little bonus, some notes from, well! My notes. Again I have some concepts I'm not exactly capturing perfectly, here. Those bottom ones are portrait redraws, if I remember correctly (old ass notes...). I do think the hair texture is closer to what I want, here, though... 🤔

After a looot of revisions, I finally settled on an updated ref/guide specifically showcasing how Moe's layering works! With guidelines so you can see what's going on under all those layers, as well. Which I find to be essential in understanding Where everything fucking Is on that thang.

Breaking it down!

> The biggest change is the 0.5 layer! Gone are the days of tights. Leather gear is IN. It wears a jockstrap o-ring harness to pack in, snap on codpiece and all. It probably arrived in Askr with that. The leg armor is an addition since its time in Askr. So hopefully it dies less on the field of battle 😁👍. The leg armor snaps on, too! And, ofc, has tabi feets... for its hooves...... you bitch......

> Layer 1 is the first legitimate layer of undergarments. Vs just gear. Something like a camisole it may also sleep in, and some honest to god underwear. Different than the pj bloomers it sleeps in! Bloomers under bloomers sounds uncomfortable, if not just unnecessarily bulky. Something with the fit/feel of boxer briefs it is. (For reference -- it is just solid white. Could pass as shorts, too. The outlines you see there is where the harness sits underneath the shorts/underwear!)

> Layer 2.5 is a demonstration of how its over shirt looks, now. The shape is more of a waistcoat (vs the very initial dress-like concept). It's still loose fit and flowy when untucked like this though, I imagine. Another note is that the ruffles are on the shoulders only -- I have drawn ruffles down the v shape, but I'm officially amending this! It's cute when layered, but too busy to have both.

> Layer 2 is what you'd see in a typical dressed down Moe look! The drop crotch bloomer pants that give an animal hind legs w fur silhouette, the overshirt w the angel wing frills at the shoulders. The only minor change is paying more attention to the tie-on tail's shape -- again giving it the shape of an angel wing, while being a beast tail. My goat... 🐐 (literally. Metaphorically? Furrily...)

> Layer 3 is the final one! A cute little porcelain angel shape... the robe itself, maintaining the pseudo dress-like shape. Bloomers poking out underneath. Some creative liberties that the tail sits flat under there. I'm very proud of how I've managed to give Moe's Summoner robe such a simple design. You also see its hoof heels, here. Styled like tabi! And once more, I've outlined where everything actually Is under there. From its shorts to its it. So baggy...

After a looot of revisions, I finally settled on an updated ref/guide specifically showcasing how Moe's layering works! With guidelines so you can see what's going on under all those layers, as well. Which I find to be essential in understanding Where everything fucking Is on that thang.

Breaking it down!

> The biggest change is the 0.5 layer! Gone are the days of tights. Leather gear is IN. It wears a jockstrap o-ring harness to pack in, snap on codpiece and all. It probably arrived in Askr with that. The leg armor is an addition since its time in Askr. So hopefully it dies less on the field of battle 😁👍. The leg armor snaps on, too! And, ofc, has tabi feets... for its hooves...... you bitch......

> Layer 1 is the first legitimate layer of undergarments. Vs just gear. Something like a camisole it may also sleep in, and some honest to god underwear. Different than the pj bloomers it sleeps in! Bloomers under bloomers sounds uncomfortable, if not just unnecessarily bulky. Something with the fit/feel of boxer briefs it is. (For reference -- it is just solid white. Could pass as shorts, too. The outlines you see there is where the harness sits underneath the shorts/underwear!)

> Layer 2.5 is a demonstration of how its over shirt looks, now. The shape is more of a waistcoat (vs the very initial dress-like concept). It's still loose fit and flowy when untucked like this though, I imagine. Another note is that the ruffles are on the shoulders only -- I have drawn ruffles down the v shape, but I'm officially amending this! It's cute when layered, but too busy to have both.

> Layer 2 is what you'd see in a typical dressed down Moe look! The drop crotch bloomer pants that give an animal hind legs w fur silhouette, the overshirt w the angel wing frills at the shoulders. The only minor change is paying more attention to the tie-on tail's shape -- again giving it the shape of an angel wing, while being a beast tail. My goat... 🐐 (literally. Metaphorically? Furrily...)

> Layer 3 is the final one! A cute little porcelain angel shape... the robe itself, maintaining the pseudo dress-like shape. Bloomers poking out underneath. Some creative liberties that the tail sits flat under there. I'm very proud of how I've managed to give Moe's Summoner robe such a simple design. You also see its hoof heels, here. Styled like tabi! And once more, I've outlined where everything actually Is under there. From its shorts to its it. So baggy...

PIERCINGS. AS STORYTELLING DEVICES. GO!!!!

Okay! So what the hell are we looking at and what exactly am I trying to determine, here? Well!!! There's a few different facets to this.

FIRST OF ALL. REALLY REALLY CUTE AND ALWAYS SO FUN TO ME

One, two, three!!! They're a set of three, and they're marked as such by how many sets of piercings they have in their ears. It's such a small detail that happened more by coincidence than intent, but it makes drawing all three of them together feel coherent and again, fun! I also really like the storytelling/contrast of the Askr siblings having golden jewerly, while Moe's is in silver (it does mix silver and gold more broadly -- but I'm talking just the face/ears here!). You get the sense (... in addition to Moe's more scruffy appearance in general), that one is from a more "common" background.

Okay, but what's all that text? STORYTELLING.... 2

Piercings, as a way to indicate connections to other characters, and to imply background information.

First example, it's noted that Bruno has had his in for a long time (... kind of regretting the specificness of "as a kid". That's supposed to have implications, but tbh it may be more fitting for Bruno as a whole to simply have said, "A Long Time"). He wears something modest, maybe a common stone, but still eye-catching. I like to think Alfonse became enamored with it (guys can also do this???), same way he was completely smitten by all of Zacharias. One extremely questionable piercing job courtesy of Zacharias himself and egged on by Sharena (who made a generous donation and/or sacrifice from her own jewelry box) later, it's a miracle he managed to heal them. Equally impressive is how long he managed to hide them as a teenager.

Meanwhile, you see Sharena's example is pretty straightforward! Assigned ear-stabbing at birth. It worked out well, though! Aside from that one time where her piercings mysteriously closed up and they had to be re-done, when she was little. Which could mean nothing. Alls well that ends well! In fact, she liked the look so much she decided to get another set done! Which may or may not come back later...

I will admit, the saddle plugs on Bruno were an impulse decision I made drawing this out (so not a super strong design headcanon, and maybe I could draw it better w more practice tbh, test run ect ect), BUT. MORE IMPORTANTLY. That idea, AND NEXT UP: STORYTELLING... 3.

On top of noting significant connections and providing background information -- here, you have gaining more and/or doing different Things with your piercings, as a way to indicate the passage of time or a change of taste. Woah, that's a lot of text! That's just my autism showing, I'll do you a favor -- with Moe specifically, the biggest takeaway here is:

One, two, three. There are other iderations of Moe of course, plenty of awkward in-between stages. But as I've developed it, I've found that there's like... three really plot relevant parts of its life. One easy to forget, two OH GOD OH FUCK, three that's the guy who lives here now. AWESOME!!!!

OKAY. OKAY. PEONY she has BEEN HERE THIS WHOLE TIME. What's up with that?

So we have background implications/information, we have connections to other characters, and NOW. WE HAVE. Paths that diverge. Sharena, 2. Peony, 1. Plus, a little bit of shape language with those tear drop earrings... on Sharena specifically...... ohghhghhf........

I've always been really indecisive with my Peony designs (for some reason it has been SUCH A STRUGGLE FOR ME), but I do like the simplicity of this one actually. The "Princess Peach core" note about Sharena is more about her color palette, but after writing that I went You know what. Fuck it *gives Peony Princess Peach earrings*. This does feel subject to change, but the idea they could be like water droplets is so cutes... I have really wanted to give Peony earrings with a blue gem though, BECAUSE...

The blue and silver are a nod to this reoccurring detail on Peony! So not only does it tie back to Sharena (IMPORTANT), it also (theoretically.) ties together nicely overall!!

Okay. So. Where does this leave me. Why did I draw all this out? All these little details that exist in my mind, why did I go out of my way to create this elaborate in-depth demonstration? Remember when I said I was gonna outsource some shit?

PROBLEM: I NEVER. EVER. EVEEEERRRRRR KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH LIF'S EARRINGS‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ AND THE LACK OF DIRECTION IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE GLARING EVERY FUCKING TIME I DRAW HIM‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

And what prompted all of this. What REALLY made me Think About This. I did another "ehhh Fuck It" with Lif's piercings, where he's sharing a panel with Moe, and

Ooughgughfhghhh...... them having the same earring arrangement.

But then. Then. I got autism brained about it. I can see Bruno having fuck all time to stretch his ears while on some gayass journey (... the. Timelines. Time in between Events. Maybe he wouldn't have full big stretched ears in Book 1. HOWEVER). Inconvenient, maybe, but if he's dedicated to the grind. He can do it. And I mean, have you seen his muscles? Dude CARES about his appearance. Meanwhile Moe ABSOLUTELY had fuck all time to stretch its ears before arriving in Askr. Then I'm thinking about Alfonse. NEVERMIND how much time it takes to stretch your ears, I'm thinking about the Number Rules. I'm thinking about how he's One, the first guy of a set of Three. I'm thinking about the Number Rule, to indicate Time. Why WOULD he have Three? The Number Rule, as Paths Diverging. There's Two of him, not Three. ALSO ASKING MYSELF "Would Alfonse get more piercings???" LIKE NO. BECAUSE. THE. THE RULE OF THREE. THE ONE TWO THREE. WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😫😫😫😫😫

Had. An extremely funny vision to revamp Moe's staff.

The design isn't super final, I can never really decide how I want the accents to look... trying to keep them in line with how the Askr trio's weapons look. Especially the signature color magic glow that's present in their special arts!!!

Anna has it too!!!!! You just don't see it bc her art gets cut off in game. Also, additional image bc you don't see the handle v well in her special.

Which is why, here, the green gem is most prominent on Moe's weapon.... geen....... idk if I'm keeping the other ones that look like the summoning circle orbs. It was just something I wanted to try out!

The Solution:

This.

It's actually super cute LMFAO????? And gives me a MUCH better idea of what I'm working with, here... made with whatever fuck shit I had laying around, gutting a mechanical pencil, pipe cleaners, juuust a bit of jewerly wire, ect ect. I'm esp happy w those little yarn feathers, they're SO cutes... and surprisingly move v close to the exact way I imagined them? I think real feathers would be more flittery, but. It's super cool I managed to get a similar effect here!!