It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but here’s (Polaroid) paranoid!
As usual, some design notes!
He’s loosely based off of the belted kingfisher, as they are one of the most skittish birds and a have a very spikey Mohawk, which felt very fitting for this lad, and that’s also why his general shape language is more sharp. I wanted to also give him very large wings so he would be able to hide in them or be able to flee from any situation would he want to. (However, due to his tendency to pluck out his feathers, he’s not a very stable flyer.)
Speaking of his feathers, I thought it would be good to mimic actual bird habits in his design, hence why his upper half is completely bare, mimicking the way actual birds will forcefully molt and pluck out their own feathers when stressed.
For his arm markings that I give all the voices, he has veins! Pretty obvious there lol.
Now to explain the Polaroids photos. To me, something that comes to mind when I think of paranoia is conspiracy theory’s and the obsession that comes with things similar to those stringed boards. While it may also fit into skepticism, I feel like it better reflects paranoids more frantic and even manic nature then skeptic’s more morbid search for knowledge. With the string, I also wanted it to mimic the IV tubes or organ monitors that I’ve seen people used, as well as the fact that it reflects the Circulatory System/Nervous system. While it’s much more of my own interpretation of her, it also reflects the marionette part of nightmare with the string. The puppet and the puppeteer and you can’t tell which is which.
Also, while it’s not pictured, the photos would “light up” with the image of whatever organ he’s talking about when he does his whole lungs heart liver nerves thing, and when he gets startled by the princess, they would reflect one of their symbols in a sense. (I.e. eyes for nightmare, chains for cage, roots for wild, etc.)
Pretty fun I think!
