STS-45: Redesigns

Through the comic, we've reached a few points where I've come to realize that a particular character design just isn't working, or needs to change to fit where the story is.

Aram got a complete redesign between issue 0 and 1.  His original costume was too garish and all over the place.  When the comic headed in a more grounded direction, he needed a more unified and realistic wardrobe.  So he went from some weird Korean/caveman combo to barefoot Frontiersman.

At the same time, Nika got tweaked a little.  Her gypsy skirts were replaced with a heavy wool skirt and thick belt, her ballet-inspired slippers became baggy boots, we cut off her long ponytail to give her a rough charm (and to remove the genie semblance), and added a long necklace to give back some girliness. 

Seren went from long hair to short at the same time, and upgraded her knives.  But her haircut was not a redesign.  It was something she did herself, off camera, probably with one of her daggers.  In a perfect world, all the other character changes would not have needed to happen, and Seren's own subtle change would be more unique.

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Lately, Marguerite's design just hasn't been working for me.  She seems out of place, even for a mystical creature.  My main concern was to make her look more resilient.  While I loved her original design, I felt she needed more coverage up top, and more weight in her outfit below to balance the design and allow the loose fabric of her dress to really pop.  And real shoes.  No one, no matter how magical, should have to trek across the countryside in dress sandals.

So from left to right: First we have Marguerite's original design, by Karen Ledford of Melfina Cosplay.  Second is our concept for her, though in the comic I never put the necklace and I pinched her waist more and lengthened the dress.  Last is the new design that will pop up next issue. (hah!  And I didn't notice until now that I put her in the same pose as Karen did!)

It was a challenge to stay true to the silhouette and colors balance of the original.  I also had to make sure I wasn't repeating design elements inherent in the other characters' outfits, so cap sleeves, loose sleeves, and longer gloves were not an option.  The boot covers are a favorite of mine that I've been itching to use, and keep the boots from being too Sailor Moon.

STS-44: Alternate Of Stars and Swords Page

Alright. Due to sickness, we had no Of Stars and Swords update this week. It's the first week we've failed to update since launching, and it bothered us both a great deal, but it was the best decision. Caroline, especially, has needed the time to recover from whatever hell we both managed to catch.

But it's Wednesday and I feel wrong not putting SOMETHING online for people to enjoy. So I've got something for you all, and I like to call it the reason why we don't let Caroline do the writing...or, alternatively, the reason why we should have her doing all the writing.

Below is the version of last week's page that Caroline gave me to letter. These days, she always does some flatting before I get the page, so color of various kinds is not out of the ordinary. But for this, she decided that she would put in her own words...



Just in case it wasn't obvious from the text and the color choices, Caroline enjoys turtles.