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Description
I wanted to do this when I was done with everything but I thought it would be so fun to give a kind of insight to my creative process. Obviously, we're gonna start with our main protagonist Theo. He has been my favorite character to write for this web comic and I couldn't be more than happy with his story and road map. I want to make each character as 'Marvel focused' as possible meaning I wanted to put as much thought into it as I could before even writing the story and the scripts. Theo is no exception to this rule I made lol.

From the start, Theo has always been a dark and complex character. I wanted to make the heroes of my story as different possible from anime and cartoons and live action tv and Theo is probably one of the most that strays away from some normal hero-esque tropes and storylines. Sure he still has a "destiny" like most main characters do (which will be revealed throughout the story) but he also has some very noticeable flaws and made a lot of awful mistakes from the moment of his birth. Seeing this little evolution comparison, I can see my character growing into fitting that exact role. Each reiteration of him gets slightly darker and darker until you get to his current design which I'm so immensely proud of.

When I was first thinking of Theo's look, he was originally name "Tempor" - short for the word Temporal - and I wanted his whole story to be a huge mystery so I doused him in bright and pale blues, gave him dyed-hair streaks, and made him look slightly rugged-ish. Then I hated the idea immediately and began reworking the characters, Theo especially. I gave him a cowlick because I like cowlicks. I think the issue with the first design was that I was more focused on hiding his darkness and making him look edgy than an actual good and appealing design. When I got to the second design, I wanted to make him look a little more regal. I mean, he is the heir to his father's company along with his twin sister and one of the best-selling music artists on his planet. Dude lives in a huge ass mansion.

I always loved the idea of the black tights and exposed midriff so I kept those and told myself "no matter what, these choices stay." I added a cute little transparent see-through pleated skirt for no particular reason other than I've seen a lot of pop-stars with this kinda of thing and thought it'd look cool (which it does lol). Kept the hair streaks even though I still didn't really like them and added a ton of silver because silver makes me think rich people (he's "dripped tf out" as the kids would say, idk). The hair was meant to be a clock face when it's midnight. I also gave him thigh-high power boots!!... which didn't last long... clearly. I still kinda love this design but it still wasn't what I was going for truly. I might utilize it again at some point but for right now, it is but a memory.

Next is attempt number 3 which was closer but still lacking something. I brought back the cowlick, added dangling rubies to his skirt when the concept of "Ornaments" and "Essence" was still a thing, got rid of the belt, added a silver chain across his chest and mesh cutouts on his tights (which I made just a super dark blue). I also gave him a spiky hair-tie this time around instead and black gloves. It seemed it was finally coming together but still very lacking somehow. I added curls too. I sat on this design as the final one for about a year until I finally was like "It's too bright", "too cartoony", "I don't even like the idea of ornament anymore" and scrapped the design but not entirely as it would become the blueprint (no pun intended) for the current.

For the final design, I wanted to keep it relatively the same but just making some minor changes. For instance, the chain is slight smaller and lowered on the chest, the collar isn't as pronounced, I got rid of the skirt gems and I added a lil ribcage armor guard. I liked that the earlier design had paler eyes so I tried to add that here as well. The most notable difference is that I changed his color scheme to be much darker. Theo is the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He shows his emotions and isn't afraid to hide them which is both good and bad and he still holds back from time to time - mainly because he wants to but also because he has too. The darker color scheme represent that darkness he caries with him and haunts him wherever he goes. I also kept his look to resemble a regal pop-star because I like the aesthetic. I also got rid of the cowlick and the curls mainly because drawing them is hell and I already have to do the for another character so...

When it comes to his design allusion, I kept it similar to Weiss but as not to copy her design entirely. I love the Vol. 7 resigns and also her outfit when she goes to Argus. I wanted to kind of combine the 2 while still keeping true to Theo's character. Another noticeable change and something I kept struggling with was Theo's body. He started off as skinny and scrawny as hell and honestly very awkward looking. Attempt 2, I made him more muscular but I didn't quite vibe with it personally and it just looked weird overall. Attempt 3, I made him look more femboy-ish and soft. He got thick thighs to ends and save lives and a snatched waist but the more I looked at his body, the more I felt "this doesn't feel like a champion", it feels like a gay character in tv shows they kept for 'comic relief'. In the current design, I think I fixed that issue. I kept the thighs, his waist is still skinny but he gained abs, a chiseled face, slightly thicker arms, and a tig 'ol bitties. He still keeps his feminine body but it's much more akin to a great fighter. Also, I added a badge to his outfit like I did all teammates. I know I'm probably gonna get shit on for my proportions lol but tbh that's 1. my art style and 2. the world of Arethea. Body types and proportions don't really matter since everyone's physiology varies.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with this new redesign and I can't wait for you all to him in action later this year. Love you all and have a day

Description
I wanted to do this when I was done with everything but I thought it would be so fun to give a kind of insight to my creative process. Obviously, we're gonna start with our main protagonist Theo. He has been my favorite character to write for this web comic and I couldn't be more than happy with his story and road map. I want to make each character as 'Marvel focused' as possible meaning I wanted to put as much thought into it as I could before even writing the story and the scripts. Theo is no exception to this rule I made lol.

From the start, Theo has always been a dark and complex character. I wanted to make the heroes of my story as different possible from anime and cartoons and live action tv and Theo is probably one of the most that strays away from some normal hero-esque tropes and storylines. Sure he still has a "destiny" like most main characters do (which will be revealed throughout the story) but he also has some very noticeable flaws and made a lot of awful mistakes from the moment of his birth. Seeing this little evolution comparison, I can see my character growing into fitting that exact role. Each reiteration of him gets slightly darker and darker until you get to his current design which I'm so immensely proud of.

When I was first thinking of Theo's look, he was originally name "Tempor" - short for the word Temporal - and I wanted his whole story to be a huge mystery so I doused him in bright and pale blues, gave him dyed-hair streaks, and made him look slightly rugged-ish. Then I hated the idea immediately and began reworking the characters, Theo especially. I gave him a cowlick because I like cowlicks. I think the issue with the first design was that I was more focused on hiding his darkness and making him look edgy than an actual good and appealing design. When I got to the second design, I wanted to make him look a little more regal. I mean, he is the heir to his father's company along with his twin sister and one of the best-selling music artists on his planet. Dude lives in a huge ass mansion.

I always loved the idea of the black tights and exposed midriff so I kept those and told myself "no matter what, these choices stay." I added a cute little transparent see-through pleated skirt for no particular reason other than I've seen a lot of pop-stars with this kinda of thing and thought it'd look cool (which it does lol). Kept the hair streaks even though I still didn't really like them and added a ton of silver because silver makes me think rich people (he's "dripped tf out" as the kids would say, idk). The hair was meant to be a clock face when it's midnight. I also gave him thigh-high power boots!!... which didn't last long... clearly. I still kinda love this design but it still wasn't what I was going for truly. I might utilize it again at some point but for right now, it is but a memory.

Next is attempt number 3 which was closer but still lacking something. I brought back the cowlick, added dangling rubies to his skirt when the concept of "Ornaments" and "Essence" was still a thing, got rid of the belt, added a silver chain across his chest and mesh cutouts on his tights (which I made just a super dark blue). I also gave him a spiky hair-tie this time around instead and black gloves. It seemed it was finally coming together but still very lacking somehow. I added curls too. I sat on this design as the final one for about a year until I finally was like "It's too bright", "too cartoony", "I don't even like the idea of ornament anymore" and scrapped the design but not entirely as it would become the blueprint (no pun intended) for the current.

For the final design, I wanted to keep it relatively the same but just making some minor changes. For instance, the chain is slight smaller and lowered on the chest, the collar isn't as pronounced, I got rid of the skirt gems and I added a lil ribcage armor guard. I liked that the earlier design had paler eyes so I tried to add that here as well. The most notable difference is that I changed his color scheme to be much darker. Theo is the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He shows his emotions and isn't afraid to hide them which is both good and bad and he still holds back from time to time - mainly because he wants to but also because he has too. The darker color scheme represent that darkness he caries with him and haunts him wherever he goes. I also kept his look to resemble a regal pop-star because I like the aesthetic. I also got rid of the cowlick and the curls mainly because drawing them is hell and I already have to do the for another character so...

When it comes to his design allusion, I kept it similar to Weiss but as not to copy her design entirely. I love the Vol. 7 resigns and also her outfit when she goes to Argus. I wanted to kind of combine the 2 while still keeping true to Theo's character. Another noticeable change and something I kept struggling with was Theo's body. He started off as skinny and scrawny as hell and honestly very awkward looking. Attempt 2, I made him more muscular but I didn't quite vibe with it personally and it just looked weird overall. Attempt 3, I made him look more femboy-ish and soft. He got thick thighs to ends and save lives and a snatched waist but the more I looked at his body, the more I felt "this doesn't feel like a champion", it feels like a gay character in tv shows they kept for 'comic relief'. In the current design, I think I fixed that issue. I kept the thighs, his waist is still skinny but he gained abs, a chiseled face, slightly thicker arms, and a tig 'ol bitties. He still keeps his feminine body but it's much more akin to a great fighter. Also, I added a badge to his outfit like I did all teammates. I know I'm probably gonna get shit on for my proportions lol but tbh that's 1. my art style and 2. the world of Arethea. Body types and proportions don't really matter since everyone's physiology varies.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with this new redesign and I can't wait for you all to him in action later this year. Love you all and have a day