#nettlecore

I haven't had the pleasure of subjecting tumblr to my rambles on the concept of "nettlecore", so please allow me to stand on my little soapbox here.

If you're not familiar with this concept, I have been documenting and studying my personal aesthetic in characters, such that I can understand a bit more about myself and have a bit more measured approach to designing characters. This is also more important recently, as I've been designing a vtuber model who so far greatly reflects this aesthetic! So let's talk a little bit about what exactly this image is. It's essentially a collage (a moodboard, of which I make many when designing specific characters) that in this case just collects lots of video game and anime designs that my brain just goes "yeah that's my aesthetic". There's a bit of variety here, with some popular characters, some obscure, some colorful, some more realistic. Taking any two characters at random may not necessarily give you a great idea of "nettlecore" at its essence, but that's kind of the point - I didn't design these characters, they are just ones from media (or vtubing) that greatly resonated with me. For many of these designs, I'm intimately familiar with the character's backstory and lore, deeply appreciating them as part of a written work. But for some...I only have passing knowledge of them as a character, enough to understand their function (I don't really play gacha games, so these kinds of characters are more the visual aesthetic appeal).

Which, on that note, I should mention that while "nettlecore" is heavily visual, there are multiple elements to characters in this collage that may have placed them here. You'll notice there are lots of combative, fighting types...and also lots of dresses. This is something about myself that I always have trouble putting into words, but doing exercises like this helps me understand myself! I am a very tomboyish girl. I have been since I was very young, and I still am. I'm not butch, but I've always felt uncomfortable from early on about appearing "girly". It took me a long time to come to terms with my balance of feminine things with my interests that were typically classed as "tomboyish" or "something boys do". There's some deep, internalized misogyny in how people treated me when I was growing up (maybe the 90s were a different time? But yeah like, let people enjoy their damn interests and be who they wanna be!!) but I definitely feel like I've been more understanding of who I am. I won't dive further into this for now, because I'm losing the plot a bit here, but I hope you get the idea! The way I typically try to boil it down into a single, more accessible phrase is Tomboy Elegance.

Anywho, to focus back on the visual, there's a few conjoining elements you might notice within this collage. Here's a bit of a peek into my notes: "I dont think hair style is necessarily important, but having a good silhouette is critical. Twinbuns are a win, but any good implication of depth to the hair is important. Also pairs of things - buns, twintails, earrings, tassels, ribbons, etc. Hair that implies it has interaction. Clothing that's loose at the top but tighter below, with some elegance and flair to the bottom. Tomboyish confidence that has some girlish charm without diving headlong into feminine staples. Essentially, a tomboy at heart (maybe not fully outwardly) that could kill in a pretty gown, but still retains their aggression, their power." I think Scarlet El Vandimion, the lead from the recent anime "May I Ask For One Final Thing?", is one of the most on-the-nose examples that has made explaining "nettlecore" easier. She's a brawler. She's cocky, confident, powerful. She still maintains an elegant air and navigates the court while also getting her hands dirty on the battlefield. In contrast, one character I always feel weird not including is Yor from "Spy x Family". I think a lot of it is her general naivety that prevents such a great character from being "nettlecore". I do adore Yor very much and love her as a character, but I don't think she fits my aesthetic from a personality standpoint. It's again very difficult to put into words, so I appreciate you taking the time to read (or at least skim) this long ramble!

I'd love to hear what you think of this, and if you also relate to or adore any of the characters in this collage! It's a fun exercise and I highly recommend it for character design and just for learning a bit about yourself! Also, if you have characters you think I should consider but haven't please feel free to suggest some! I'm always looking to increase my sample size. It also gives me an easy pool to pick from when I need a character to draw!