Villains In Vogue

Jealous of Lacie’s new look, Drop and Katje put their differences aside and hit up Torrid Topic—the underworld’s most popular fashion boutique.

Unlike her usual attire, Katje’s fuzzy sweater caused her to sweat uncontrollably and might be responsible for a very cute cat-shaped rash on her belly.

Drop on the other hand is more accustomed to the underworld’s colder biomes. Not used to showing off this much snow-white skin, she often finds herself frozen in place out of sheer embarrassment.

Not the ideal situation to be in when going toe-to-toe with Lacie and her (much more fashionable) friends.

2023 – Clip Studio 2.0 / Adobe Photoshop CC – Huion Kamvas 13

New Drip

Not long after Lacie and friends fine-tuned their sense of fashion, disaster struck.

Well, disaster for the gang’s entire wardrobe, but just another day of setting things ablaze for Lacie.

It just so happens that Peppermint’s abundance of materials from making (way too many) bunny suits were spared from the hellfire. Now, the gang can once again travel the world without fear of being arrested for public indecency.

❖ Lacie Liquorice

  • Lacie’s new parker is not only flame resistant, but represents everything she is (unfortunately) known for; being a little bit devilish and blowing things up.
  • She now has two pairs of knee-high tights, but always seems to mix them up (or is just too lazy to check)
  • Even bigger sneakers so she can run away from Candy even faster (she never learns)

❖ Peppermint Prototype

  • Peppermint outfitted her head with some shiny new screws!
  • She also optimised her arms and legs, ever so slightly increasing her height.
  • Despite this, the gang keeps giving her daily headpats.

❖ Candy Canis

  • Candy once again finds herself with short hair, knowing full well it will just grow back in a week or so.
  • Her oversized Beastly Bracers were upgraded to a softer version to give her wrists more movement during combat.
  • Because of this, Candy’s punches and kicks now deal much more damage than they used to (according to a bed-ridden Lacie)

❖ Shelbie Sherbet

  • As Simpkin’s corruptive magic still flows throughout her body, Shelbie lost her angelic wings and gained an imp-like fang or two.
  • As it turns out, she had a pair of back-up wings attached to her head all along. I guess she just mistook them for twintails all this time.
  • Luckily her bandaged limbs have nothing to do with the corruption. She is still the same old clumsy seraph.
  • To give Lacie a break from Shelbie’s ravenous love, Peppermint also put together a pea-sized plushie of the aforementioned imp.
  • As far as decoys go, it does a pretty good job (though it needs to be cleaned almost daily)

2023 – Clip Studio 2.0 / Adobe Photoshop CC – Huion Kamvas 13

Hard Boiled Hare

This Easter, Peppermint mixed things up a bit by introducing Candy to a new type of confectionery – Bunbons!

Similar to other sweets, one bite of these carrot-flavoured chocolates transformed Candy into something much more fluffier than usual, making her the perfect mannequin to don Peppermint’s latest bunny suit.

If she can contain her rage, that is.

2023 – Clip Studio 2.0 / Adobe Photoshop CC – Huion Kamvas 13

Crazy Chronicle IV

Happy second birthday, Crazy Sunshine!

While not as productive as last year, I feel like my art is slowly improving thanks to the barrage of incredible influences I subject myself to on social media. Speaking of which, I have a new Twitter account! It’s much more focused on art this time. All of my MMO-related tweets can be found on my sub account. Both of these hobbies mean a lot to me, but attract vastly different followers.

Recently, a lot of my drawings rarely make it past the sketching stage and as such aren’t shared online. While I’d prefer to keep this site as a portfolio of finished pieces, posting sketches might help me get over my perfectionist attitude towards art while allowing others to see the process that goes into creating it.

Last week I redesigned a handful of original characters, but was on the fence about sharing them until they were “finished”. Because these designs differ so much from their two year old incarnations, I was interested in any form of feedback before taking them further. So, I shared the designs with some friends, the studio, and eventually online.

Despite being nothing but a bunch of crude doodles I whipped up at 3am, people seemed to really like them. Much like my professional work, getting feedback early on was essential and made me realise that hey, posting sketches online isn’t so bad after all.

A lot of my original characters have been around for over a decade. They’ve gone through countless redesigns not only on the outside but on the inside too. They are my muses and my models, reflecting my growth as an artist while embodying everything that influences me. I love watching characters and concepts change over time while still retaining the spark that makes them, well, them. One of my biggest influences are the cast of Gorillaz, whose visual style changes almost every year but are still so instantly recognisable.

Lacie Liquorice’s evolution over the years

While I don’t think I will stop tweaking the designs of my original characters completely, I believe changing them too much might be detrimental in the long run (even hardcore Gorillaz fans still yearn for the old 2001 style!) Once these recent designs are set in stone, I think the best way to break the cycle is to start developing brand new characters instead of redesigning old ones. This time, I might even throw in some work in progress sketches too.

As always, thanks for letting me ramble and for supporting me over the last two years!

Splatfest: Team Aliens

The first Splatfest of Splatoon 3’s Fresh Season pitted denizens of Splatsville against each other to determine which of the following is real: Nessie, Aliens or Bigfoot.

Upon being sucked up by a strange tractor beam during one of her Turf War matches, Scampi and Smallfry discover that aliens are more than just just oversized Slammin’ Lids.

2023 – Clip Studio 2.0, Adobe Photoshop CC – Huion Kamvas 13

Drop Liquorice (Concept #3)

Drop’s vulgar vocabulary is enhanced by her bright pink Impicite, a layer of soft crystals that cover her tongue. These crystals allow her to manipulate gravity and—even worse—amplify her voice to levels that would make anyone’s head explode.

Now, before you go about your day imagining the rest of the cast as headless zombies (even though it would cut drawing time in half), take comfort in the fact that Drop has one glaring weakness; she refuses to speak with her mouth full. As long as Lacie and friends can find a way to keep Drop’s gob shut, their heads should stay firmly attached to their bodies.

Until then, Drop will stop at nothing to fulfil Lady Liquorice’s mission of capturing Lacie, even if it means turning the entire world above upside-down.

2023 – Adobe Photoshop CC – Huion Kamvas 13

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