Author: Micey

Gallena! The runaway Fae-Dragon to Fantasy Iceland!

Her inspiration was the Golden Siren from the Jibaro episode of Love, Death, and Robots. I saw it, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wanted to create someone that was inspired by but not copying the siren. I think I did well.

I tried to distance myself from the LDR design by upping the space motifs. She’s from the same space court that Lias is from. I plan to give that court a 60s vibe because that was the space race era. I gave her a sheath dress made of small layered satellite panels, because many satellites are covered in gold sheets for solar protection.

The hair and horns were a challenge to. The LDR siren had a 20s bob cut, and I envisioned Gallena with one for a long time. She’s supposed to have short hair to contrast with Balder’s locks. I settled on getting rid of the bangs, making it wavy, and sweeping it to the side. The horns had many concepts, as shown on the page. She was intended to have a continuous crown growing in a circle from her head. I realized it was a hassle to draw and plan, so I broke the crown into segments instead. I like the decision; she looks much more punk and spiky.

It’s tough designing armor. At least with fantasy armor, I can stylize it. Balder gets armor later on in the story. I imagine it’s super sleek, silver, and silent despite all the moving parts. That is easier to imagine than draw.

I first based his armor on Alice’s from the 2010 Alice in Wonderland story. I referenced quite a bit from fantasy women armors, because grace and prettiness more of a design priority there, for better or worse. No boob armor though.

A challenge was deciding how the shoulder armor should look. Too much sticking out could look clunky. I settled on the bottom designs, with the jewelry. I like how restrained Balder looks with the shoulders.

Another important reference was this design.

The gold’s a reference to Gallena, Balder’s Fae-Dragon girlfriend, who should get a post soon. Their story’s a tragedy. I laugh every time I think about it.

Short haired Simon strikes again! He looks good in short hair; I considered making his short hair his original hairstyle, but the ponytail won out in the end. He has a white collar peaking out of his outer jacket. All the more fun to splatter stuff on!

It was a challenge matching silhouettes with his original outfit. Yes, he’s more withdrawn here, but he’s still Simon. I gave him a fur cape to add that sense of luxury and drama.

The is Balder, he’s a prince of the Deep Roots, a place I think of as Fantasy Medieval Iceland. He meets Simon far later in his adventures, but I did really want to design him. Ended up designing a general clothing for his subjects. It’s based on Icelandic traditional outfits. Everything is black and embroidered. Balder gets jewelry because he’s a prince. Otherwise, he’s in his comfy robe and pants.

This was from when I was testing out fashion, and concepts for a short-haired simon. I like the robe and sleeveless top, but I decided it’s too impractical (both to wear and draw) and a departure from his usual silhouette.

There was a period where I wanted to make Lias fancier. As always, their markings are based on pallasite meteorites. I wanted to give them an alien vibe, because space. The center of their chest is translucent, and I hope gives off a squishy texture. Not sure how the chest meshes with the arms and shoulders. Also, I’m also testing out different hairstyles.

For the clothing tests, I’m searching for a tailored, stylish, and old-fashioned vibe. What could be more refined than a cape?