Carpe Noctem

Written and illustrated by @valerian-es. Ask box is open! Chapter 1 is currently under development.

[carpenoctemofficial]

Happy birthday to the little man going on little monster hunting adventures. Maybe I’ll get that first chapter out this year, king.

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Some quick headshot practices I did of the main two! This batch of warmup sketches included a lot of other characters who are unfortunately spoilers for now! :D

[carpenoctemofficial]

The official turnarounds for M.A.C.I.E, aka the other main character for the first chapter!

♡  Official Stats  ♡

Height: 4′8″ | 142cm Weight: 140 lbs | 64 kg   Age: ??? Birthday: August 11th Pronouns: She/They

♡The Ten of Hearts: M.A.C.I.E ♡  

Design meta under the cut:

Macie’s always been a bit of a challenge for me- she’s gone through a lot of design changes, but in the end she’s more easily compared to my original sketch of her several years ago than any of her inbetween iterations.

Macie is also in general a relatively new addition to this story and the world, while characters like Tae have basically been around since the start. I created her for a different comic entirely, and then liked the general concept enough that I adapted it! For those that are curious, here’s Macie’s original design sketch!

As you can see, the letters in her acronym have since been changed, but the spirit has not!

I think my intention with Macie’s design has been, from the start, to make her look simultaneously adorable and a tad unnerving. And I think the new design is a lot cuter than the old one, which fits her revised character more! My skills with color have also notably improved- the revised design has a much more pleasant color palette than the old one!

[carpenoctemofficial]

some extremely scuffed sketches of M.A.C.I.E, aka the android on the cover of the latest carpe noctem teaser!

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My official turnarounds for Tae, aka one of the main characters on the cover! Figuring out the references for his gear and folding bow gave me a bit of trouble, but it was fun overall! Love this man and his goth color pallet.

♡ Official Stats ♡

Height: 6'2" | 188 cm Weight: 173 lbs | 78.4 kg Age: 23 Birthday: March 5th Pronouns: He/They

♡The Ace of Hearts: Tae ♡

Design meta under the cut, since I like to ramble about why I make certain decisions:

SInce the earliest iterations of Tae’s design, a couple of things have remained- the face mask, the hair (sorta), the fact they’re an archer, and his general bodyshape. Everything else has been thrown around a lot- especially as I refined the setting, and knew that all of the outfits would need to be practical and good for the winter.

They’ve gone through several flashier designs before I cut down to the core of what I needed to communicate with the design- a militaristic refinement, an air of mystery, and the general vibes of someone competent. Similarly, Tae’s extremely socially awkward- and their dreads being in their face is usually get that across.

The main thing I want to note, is that I assign all of my main characters a color that’s sort of intrinsic to them- and Tae’s has changed from green to magenta! The magenta is only really prevalent in Tae’s weapons, to make them stand out in the stark winter and the neutral tones of his outfit.

I wanted to get across the efficiency and combat competence of a soldier, while still letting some of his eccentricities shine through with details like the hair. 

I just think it’s neat.

Also- peacoats are wonderful because they’re both stylish AND practical for the harsh cold, so I’m only winning.

[carpenoctemofficial]

Looks good so far! I like the character design! Can't wait!!

Ah, thank you so much! I’m so glad to hear it :D!