#tzoria

Inspired by Coldplay's "Yellow". I don't consider myself that much of a music nerd (might have an auditory disorder tbh bc most songs I can't follow the lyrics to to save my life even if I really like it) But Yellow is one of those songs from childhood that I heard rarely but always fell in love with. Something about Yellow nearly makes me want to cry, and one of the few songs I can actually sing along with without effort).

As for the subject matter, I was feeling really indulgant. As time goes on I adoreboth of these character's perspectives on eachother. Mar and T'zoria love eachother with all their hearts, but that love manifests very differently between them, and their respective "worlds" eventually drive them toward the worst versions of themselves.

Mar was T'zoria's calm, and T'zoria was Mar's joy.

Nowadays, thinking of how they turn out just makes me sad, but as their characters develop they went from a coldhearted relationship held together by political benefits and sex appeal and now they're like:

"I would be besties with you but you'd bake my friends alive at the drop of a hat" and "I would be besties with you but I don't deserve to be happy and the longer im around you the more I want to marry you bone, and start a whole family and you don't want that"

Also some Yin/Yang imagery

This here was just a design exploration, going for more simple, but still lanky/heavy look that's distinct; something that doesn't make me think of other characters and isn't so reliant on a specific outfit to look like a distinct character (as opposed to a bkgd character)

The tiger tail comes from an increasing prevalence of the tiger in Mar's theme. Before she was heavily wolf themed bc of the whole "Mars" thing, so I was trying to make her look wolf-oriented-- I was having problems doing that without either making Mar's hair a different texture or pulling out Inumimi design choices that felt like it would actually mislead or distract people toward thinking she's an edgy inumimi girl) but since I've become more comfortable with the Tiger as a Yin symbol (before a tiger just didn't seem to sit right with the Yin concept), now I'm trying it out in her design, and honestly I feel it's doing wonders for her silhouette and shape language-- and now I have an excuse for her big round HUMAN ears besides "I like the way it looks".

Idk, I just feel like it's important to minimize overtly animalistic traits to avoid miscommunicating that Mar's character is animal-themed rather than the animal traits being symbolic of a different theme.

The tiger tail not only communicates her personality better but also flows better with design traits that existed long before she took on any particular themes.

Face scar may be getting a change too. Before it was a literal physical scar, but everytime I draw it it leans further and further into a supernatural mark.

CW: Spooky eye contact imagery below