Rough Colour Redesign from June 7th, 2024
I was reminded of this character concept I had from 10 years ago and felt like redrawing it. Originally he was an idea I had for a Spyro villain, but then a friend suggested I use the character for my college portfolio applications at the time. I don't remember why I never ended up using him for that, he was probably one of my better character design ideas given my limited skill as a designer back then, but even the unfinished rotation and expression stuff I did still hit me for a bit of nostalgia.
Sheep are the most iconic fodder from the Spyro games, and even Reignited went so far as animating the sheep losing their wool when flamed, so maybe one got tired of being torched and decided to get revenge one day. Revisiting the idea again though, the sceptre makes him feel too much like a Ripto clone (the Sorceress had one too) so for this redraw I leaned more into the fire idea, turning his crown into more of a torch and giving him fire magic, as if he was transformed from getting singed instead. The butterfly pattern on his cloak is a callback to the fodder thing, so maybe he's a "fight fire with fire" kind of guy, thinking he can out-flame a dragon.
I still consider this a rough concept (the original was too), but I'm glad I powered through my fatigue today to do the colour at least, I think that came out really well. I wish I had the energy to draw the idea I have for his stage 2 boss form though, his crown would transform into big ram horns on his head and his fire would turn blue. Maybe if he was a mid-game boss fight, defeating him could give Spyro's fire breath a power upgrade as a result. Or maybe he releases a special butterfly that gives you an extra hit point or something, idk
Not sure if I'll do anything with him, though I could very easily just say he's a past version of Aries in Starglass Zodiac and call it a day, haha. I already know I've improved a lot in 10 years, but it's nice to see a more tangible comparison like this from time to time as a reminder.
