Hey, my Squids!
Dropping by with some more work in progress of Leira’s old band, Cryptid à Carnivale, in a diner out in Diadem after a show! Got color and texture done today. Also added a little girl peeking over the divider with a keen interest in the conversation the band is having.
I wanted to talk a little about how I design my characters and what I consider when picking their outfits. Previous drawings of these characters feature some of them in different outfits and, while I won’t always keep people in the exact same outfit, I do tend to try to keep them consist in some way or another. For main characters, like Leira, Micah, Xolani, and <redacted>, the colors I’ve chosen are so no matter what or who is in the panel alongside them, you can still tell who they are based on colors alone. I’ve talked about it before but Taliah began with Micah and Xolani and their colors were pink and black and white and yellow, respectively, at the time. When I introduced Leira, I thought it would be better to shift my color palettes to midtones, so I had her in maroon and gray. A subtle green and yellow were chosen for <redacted>. It was also around this time that I moved Micah to the blue, purple, and pink tones they’ve had for several years.
As time went on and I grew into my style, I realized that I really liked the more vibrant hues that I had started drawing when I got back into art. I made the decision to give Leira red and black as her base while also shifting Xolani to navy blue and gold. It would make Leira easier to see in my panels and Xolani’s personal lighting easier to control in brighter environments. Not to mention, Leira’s new color scheme could retroactively work for what she wore when she was in her old band and I could fill in the gaps with other hair colors and styles she experimented with throughout her life.
All of that brings us back to this scene. This drawing isn’t an actual panel from the one shot but shows what happens during this scene. While Leira’s outfits will change here and there (and she will wear other colors from time to time), the red, black, and white will usually be what she dresses in. I left Arlynn and Sadie in the outfits I’ve drawn them in before just for the sake of outfit consistency. Ina is our fashionista. In the one shot, you’ll get to see a number of different outfits she has. Sudesh is the more subdued of the band, so she tends (at least in youth) to wear more midtones. I do draw her in dresses more often than not but, for this pose, I chose to put her in pants.
Anyhow, lighting and shadows are next! Take care.