OC Project: Redesigns Part 2 + New Years WIP (Patreon)

So here's a little something I've been working on over the holidays: Some redesigns of my OC Kihrae and her girlfriend Catalyna. I first teased these redesigns way back in April of this year with an exploration of Kihrae's new face and hair. And it was time I tackle the rest of her look, as well as Catalyna. I also wanted to do a little something with them to ring in the new year. I don't plan to make it as polished as my usual work, but you can expect to see a more finished version of the above sketch on New Years Day. Once I finish that up, I'll be hopping onto the next page of Korra Sandwich to kick off the year, and after that I'll finally begin the CaitVi SFW comic you guys voted for.

I actually came up with the above first version of Kihrae's new design this past summer, but, while I liked the direction I had taken it in, I wasn't totally satisfied with it. I didn't really like the drab brownish coloring, and I felt her personality didn't really shine through overall. Her coat was also a little too form-fitting. Kihrae isn't exactly a bulky person, but she likes to hide things in her coat (like her pistols, stuff she's stolen, etc.). Her old design just didn't really look like that was the case. That bullet bandolier also would have been a pain in the ass to draw over-and-over in an actual comic, so it had to go (even though I still think the idea is cool).

Over the last half-year I've been taking little notes and exploring ideas for changes I wanted to make, and finally took the time to put it all together this past week. I'm really happy where her look is at now. She looks like a proper pirate and should still be pretty easy to draw consistently. The green is a lot nicer looking than the bland brown from before, and I love how it makes the red parts of her outfit pop. I also thought it'd be kinda fun to have her wear suspenders.

Catalyna's design has been the trickier of the two to nail down. Even though she's now a Sky Pirate and Kihrae's right hand woman, she's of noble birth and used to be a knight-turned-city guard before joining Kih's crew. While she has her wild side, she still has a certain elegance and refined air about her, and is generally the voice of reason to Kihrae's leap-without-looking personality. Trying to find a proper balance between these elements of her character has been pretty difficult. I'm essentially trying to design a Pirate Knight, which isn't the most obvious thing in the world. In the end I tried to make her look like she'd kept her old city guard armor but made some adjustments she'd always wanted to make to it but couldn't due to annoying regulations. This "new" outfit works better with her personal fighting style, granting her more freedom of movement.

While my comic won't really be an action-focused comic, I still put a lot of thought into the kind of weapon I wanted Catalyna to have. I tried giving her a lot of different weapons: a greatsword, a longsword and shield, a greataxe... hell she even had a kind of shotgun/blunderbuss at one point. Eventually I settled on a halberd as her main weapon, and a short sword as a backup weapon for fighting in tight quarters. I think her swinging a halberd around will look awesome and make for a pretty good hint at her former life.

While trying to come up with a hairstyle, I took a little inspiration from some North American First Nations, and started playing with the idea that Cat's race (bunny people) could view hair as sacred and have a tradition of maintaining long and flowing hair. I think shaving your hair could be considered a taboo to her people, so having a side cut wouldn't just look badass, but also be a good way to hint at her backstory and rebellious nature while still holding onto that refined beauty I want her to have.

I feel Cat's look could still maybe do with a bit of tweaking, but overall I quite like the direction she's going in.