Concept work of The Man/Ringmaster.
(Image quality went to dookie omgosh. I'll try and fix it later!)
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Here is a bunch of little sketches of Ringmaster, meant for both fun and some brainstorming. keep in mind that this is mostly me rambling about potential ideas!
The Man is similar to Columbina in the way that they are both spirits that are lingering with/haunting the circus. Columbina's reasons are likely out of genuine love, care, and some guilt for the troupe, which has given her a gentle, sort of hidden presence. She is quiet and sweet even in death, wanting only to linger with the group in hopes that they find joy and happiness.
The Man is the opposite. He is a manifestation of his own hatred, anger, pain, and greed. His form is unrelenting, hidden only when he chooses to be, and is driven by his thirst for revenge and power. In death, he is just as imbedded in the groups lives as he was in life. The only difference is that they can't always see him. Though if the living cannot always see a spirit, surely another spirit would be constantly aware of him, right?
In a way, yes. Columbina is very aware of The Man's appearance, she just can't do much about it. She is weak and fueled by her unending gentleness and fire, granting her little power over the burning, blinding rage that consumed the Ringmaster. Though, in contrast, the Ringmaster has far greater control over her than she has over him.
He can't necessarily hurt Columbina, not physically, but he can use her, influence her. Columbina might not recognize that the burning, destructive feeling in her heart is hatred, but he surely does. He can torment her with sick words, have her watch helplessly while he strings MC along to his game, and he'll enjoy every second of it. Columbina? While she may be loving, love can only go so far when you see the people you care for the most being hurt by someone you hate. The hatred could possibly twist her spirit, in only temporarily, and The Man can use that to his advantage.
Even if she refused to let her hatred and anger boil over, he could still use her likeness to play with the group. Her old ribbon showing up in Jester's drawer, her teeth seeming to appear in Harlequin's food, an unmistakable horn replacing the pin in Ticket Taker's jabot... Oh, the fear and sickening confusion in their eyes make the Ringmaster so happy.
While I don't think that this version will be seen much, it is surprisingly fun to draw. This is more or less the design of how I think The Man looked when he was alive. In the game he is a simple blue puppet with a mask, so I had to be rather creative about it, hehe.
Assuming that Harlequin had a specific reason to make his puppet a light blue, I figured that it had to be somewhat prominent with Ringmaster when he was alive. Maybe he often wore blue clothes or a suit while performing as the Ringmaster, or maybe he had the blue eyes of a dead fish, lol. Sure, I could've given him bright baby blues, but the grey-blue looks better, I think, and gives him a sort of uneasy feel.
(Side note, grey/grey-blue eyes are so so soooo pretty)
I didn't necessarily mean to make him look attractive, but I figured he could have some prettiness. Makes it that much more infuriating because you hate him. Oh, I also (tried) to give him a Roman nose! No reason besides I think they are so pretty.
As mentioned before, The Man doesn't care about the pain he brought the circus members. Does he understand what he did and that it was wrong? Maybe, probably, but who cares? He doesn't. Maybe at first he had intentions to help the monsters that were at least somewhat good natured, but the money he earned and could earn blinded him. These monsters were little more than animals to him after a while, just simple animals that happened to be able to talk and think. They were less than humans, and humans are at the top of it all, meaning that it didn't matter what he or other did to them. So long as they were alive, they were his to use and keep.
They were nothing but entertainment, both to the audience and himself.
Also, you may be asking, "Why does the Ringmaster when he was alive look similar to Ticket Taker when we see him in the cafe?" To that I say, I dunno. I don't have a particular reason behind this design, but if I had to make a connection... maybe Ticket Taker needed a face that he knew very well? >:)
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While practicing and planning for a potential animatic for this fella, I am remembering just how difficult it is to animate x_x. Either way, I really enjoy this AU of mine! As much as I adore Pierrot and the others and want them all happy and loved and safe, I can't deny it is so much fun to put them through this pain, hehehehe. It's out of love, I promise.
