#ciaoluca

[discobiscotto]

He’s singing along to a Pavarotti record, making homemade zuppa di tortellini, sharing with his boyfriend‘s pet, and boiling pasta without breaking it.

Somebody find me a fainting couch so that I may safely faint.

[deushy]

I'M REALLY IMPRESSED!!!

I forgot to upload this here... in my Instagram I did it before, I'm sorry!😭✨🌷

[discobiscotto]

Just some Ciao Luca things I genuinely like looking at

[discobiscotto]

Surprised I never posted this lil disco doodle?

Ugh it’s Zio Luberto again, avert your eyes /j

[discobiscotto]

Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate! I definitely did proudly celebrate being a mum today, I have zero complaints ❤️

In light of today, since I still have zilch for art, I figured I’d share this little headcanon I shared on twitter a couple years ago about Alberto’s mum👆🏻 plus where he briefly mentions her in CL 👇🏻

[discobiscotto]

I honestly like the roughs of Ciao Luca as much as I like the finished product.

[discobiscotto]

“Signor Marcovaldo is my father, call me Alberto, Alby…or Maestro 😏”

If we’re talking predictability in design, adult Alberto was NOT easy. I had literally nothing to work from. No (living?) family to compare to, no hints at what kindof quirks he may develop. I had nothing!

All I had was that (assumed) deep-seated desire to be accepted, useful/helpful, and not left behind…..that, and yanno, that Charisma In Excess (as a KID no less, dude calm that shxt down or you’re grounded lol)

Alot of pawing around in the dark and just going with what felt right to me.

I took some cues here and there. Some pretty forward and commonly accepted (“You, the big strong one.” etc), others subtle and unassuming but I ran like the wind with it?

Anyway, here we go. What’s the deal with this walking bowl of spaghetti anyhow?

This will be a two parter. His seamonster form requires a separate post.

Alberto as I said is a bit of a wild card. He doesn’t have as much of an obvious blueprint compared to Luca or Giulia.

His physical appearance for his human form was based solely on environmental influence.

Physically I imagined him to be a bit rough around the edges. Kindof gaunt but not so much that he looks sick or weak. He’s pretty much just one big muscle. Not an ounce of fat on him. Nothing but sinew. Very toned and muscular but certainly not huge. He’s just solid and FIT.

He’s a guy from the docks. He’s a fisherman. He’s salty and peppered in scars. Heavy calloused hands. He picked up smoking at a young age. He spends endless hours in the sun, thus he’s still very freckly as an adult. His impulsive ass got a tooth busted out in a fist-fight. Five o clock shadow and untidy sandy facial hair. I imagined his hair growing more “out and up” than down. Tight coils suggest he’d likely have a ‘fro or pomp, so I combined the two, keeping that old Alberto “top heavy” hairdo lol.

Profoundly Italian, so he’s pretty furry everywhere. Being a hard worker for years, excessive sun exposure, substance use, he looks alittle “older” than he actually is. (Pushing 34 ish).

I made him very tall, 6’4” ish. I admit, I love a good “Tall Man x Small Man” dynamic, so that’s definitely a shameless “luberto-centric” choice lol But I also considered a funny “goldfish” concept where just like a goldfish only gets bigger when his bowl is bigger…perhaps nature was trying to make him “compete” and measure up or even end up bigger than Massimo. 😆

If there’s one thing I learned from “Ciao Alberto” it’s that Alberto has a deep desire to be useful and accepted. He tries through the entire film to impress Massimo and in turn hope Massimo accepts him and sees Alberto can be just as good at his knife-wielding barrel heaving badassery as he is.

Alberto ultimately ending up as a fisherman by trade was an easy choice. Not only do I write what I know (being a Mainer in the coast with a deep affinity with fishermen and shipbuilders) but it is the ultimate way to show his love for Massimo. To help carry on the legacy.

Alberto has mastered some unlikely skills as well. Not as unlikely as you’d expect though considering his desire to impress Massimo.

So consider this:

-Alright, Massimo is great at cooking. Alberto sucks EPICALLY at first but over time, his motivation to measure up to his hero and dad-figure makes him an amazing cook? Check.

-Massimo likes to sing. Alberto picks it up and finds he’s an Unreasonably Excellent Singer and prodigious musician who plays by ear? DOUBLE CHECK.

(Note: The lore and reasons behind this and Alberto’s mandolin will be a blogpost on its own eventually)

-Alberto being a competent and prolific/productive fisherman resulting in the family biz growing and delivering outside of Portorosso? Definitely a proud moment for Massimo.

So to me it all checks out, and drives home Alberto’s strong gumption and the next generation being better than the generation before. As a parent, I subscribe to this goal. I want my boys to be the “Big Strong Ones.”

There’s also the bit that Alberto is a bit of a lush and a party animal. Charismatic, has a bit of a Casanova complex. Charm pouring out of his ears. Why? Well, dang, I really don’t know. I guess bringing it back to that “Charisma In Excess” statement at the beginning of this, it just felt right somehow. I had it so that he really wasn’t all that conventionally attractive but had a level of animal magnetism that’s hard to resist.

There’s lore behind that too…but will be reserved for his “Fish Form” post.

I dunno, it’s probably cus he’s Italian. It could be that simple. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[discobiscotto]

One thing you gotta know about me, I take character design to a borderline obsessive level!! Every design choice I make is deliberate. I’m autistically thorough (genuine). I’m also a major biology nut and love to watch genetics and nature do its thing and make Stuff happen.

That being said, I’ll be sharing some design notes every so often that people may find interesting? Maybe? I like rambling about this stuff honestly, so you’re mostly here to witness me talking to myself.

Yikes, Smells Like Teen Spirit™️ in here

Starting off with this lil factoid. (This may come off as controversial only because of the name lol)

For Luca and Alberto’s older teen designs, their seamonster forms may occasionally present these little white dots on their face. These are called “breeding stars” which signify exactly what you think they do in some male fish. Yes this is a real thing in nature. Common in goldfish for example.

In this case, they’re used to visually represent puberty in place of acne or blemishes (a common design trope in awkward teen designs). They come and go as hormones fluctuate.