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The masks:

I want to talk a little bit about the masks the main character, Alma, uses throughout the story to create her magic. This was a concept that was there right from the beginning of the project as soon as I had a more sophisticated idea of what the journey was going to be for the main character. I was in love with the ritualistic masks of ancient tribes, but also with the more subjective meaning attached to the act of wearing a mask. I wanted to use both the magical, sacred wisdom of wearing a ritualistic mask, as well as the idea of the main character using different aspects her personality while building up her knowledge throughout the story. I believe this is a good metaphor for how we have to test out faces and personalities many times in our lives. I don't mean to make this an allegory. However, I think it is important to give the audience good and interesting visual clues about the story you're trying to tell. As I said previously, Animus is about growing up and having to craft your own personality. That being said, it felt just right that Alma would have to literally craft multiple aspects of herself in order to face the challenges of life. Plus, this way I would have a lot of fun designing cool masks. I won't lie, I love that!

Another key aspect I really wanted to portray is that the masks are made of bones, but not simply because I wanted it them to look cool. They do look cool though...but that's not the point! In ancient cultures, bones are believed to be a representation of the soul, the pure white and everlasting essence of any human being. Those masks represent the various aspects of Alma’s personality. We all wear masks on a daily basis. I truly believe it is nice to have a story that can openly talk about it, and I kind of hope that Animus can be one of those stories.

These images bellow are some really old first drafts of the masks. it is quite fun to think of how it all started, and also about the entire road that I have ahead...

#creature #ritual masks #fantasy #magic #comic #graphic novel #character #character design #concept #making comics #creature concept #concept art #animusworldbuilding

Animus, Wild Essence

#art #fantasy #fantasystory #comic #graphicnovel #magic #digitalart #promovideo #animus #wildessence #wild #animusworldbuilding #animustrailer

Alma, the weaver: Part 1

OK. This time I want to talk a little about the main character, our heroine Alma. It is quite funny to think about how she does not look at all like she did when I first started. Characters change during the process of creating a story, especially the heroine of a long-term narrative. When I started the process, Alma had almost none of the physical characteristics that she has today. Beyond that, many of her emotional characteristics and personality traits were very different as well.

There were certain characteristics which I had right at the beginning of her creation as a character that remain until today. For example, the idea of some sort of scarf and the use of flowers were present from the beginning, but many of the characteristics that I consider to be crucial today came later. But not only Alma has changed as a character since the beginning. The story itself also developed into different directions.

I think it’s very important to keep in mind that a good character and a good story are generally not separate from each other. In fact, I don’t think that there could be such a thing as a good character without a good story or vice versa. That is to say, both character and story must be on the same page. (Got it? Eh, eh?) The story is about the character facing problems that will be deeply related to the story, and the story in return should be connected to those struggles that the characters hold in their hearts. When I first started, Alma was not the weaver she is today. I did not previously pay that much attention to her profession and its relation to the story. Later on I realized that those two things were actually connected, or that they could be, and I was losing an opportunity to connect and highlight the theme of the story. I was neglecting an interesting aspect I could be using to my benefit! That had to change! But how did Alma became who she is today? We’ll talk about it on the next post…