How characters in WYGN are done (basic)
These are really old so uses older ver of our sona(s) , but still holds up
(we actually made post like this before but just wanted to ramble lot more)
This here illustrates how designed are done in Wish You Goodnight , and how a normal character would be interpreted into WYGN
(note , these personal rules and guide for world , if making oc feel free completely ignore)
(extra word note: in this world , word "fauna" replaces the word for animal/person , it used to mean both single person , group of , or all people . word "animal/people" arent used in story . this of course not how word fauna used irl)
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must be colors directly from WYGN set palette
cannot add new shade , must also match time of day set (though default is noon , N)
note: due to story reasons , pure black is Not part of palette , however for ease of speaking , the darkest purple shade (N0 /M0) will be referred to as black
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Only unique color is in their eyes , which is same color as their soul
the unique color that is eye colors + soul colors are more complex
basically having heterochromia does exist however it means have more than one soul ,
this doesnt always mean plurality as a soul is basically like a heart organ , but it could sometimes happen in some cases
theres no limit on how much can have (thus colors in eyes) but its just rare . the main rule is that its just eyes and soulcast (magic) that has the unique color
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Different shaped eyes , only normal animal eyes
however , a unique eye shape that exists are Star Eyes , called Star-Eyed Fauna . theyre very very rare , can be any species , and is often written about as "hero of legends" or "great figures"
What majority have in common is not great eyesight , live for long time , two different colored eyes
because of this aspect of world , characters do not have stylized eyes that involve special shapes (like heart eyes , triangle , etc)
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2. simplified and clear shape
important or intricate details are done with black / lineart color .
Idea here is that this made as comic first and foremost , thus important details of characters should be able depicted from lineart alone
so it done in lineart color , or is in lineart color then recolored later (alpha locked , colored in on same layer)
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3. Must include a butterfly / X like shape somewhere on design
this can be in direct pattern or in a body shape (on Mekh Khiew , see back fluff ending in X , and Popok Mah how face fluff + coloring resembles X)
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4. Shading , this stylistic choice but important visual identity of WYGN , shading is done with lineart color and then doing an extra line next to it (see their necks)
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5. For name , if character is part of the Astral Gazing Guild (main guild of story) majority take on names that describes the color they are (example: Citrine Gem , Green Apple , Ocean Blue) as its part of their collective goal to record and pass down idea of colors
To fauna , these are all optional names that are chosen or given to them , some fauna (especially those outside guild) may have a different name and a color name given by the guild
to those outside of Astral Gazing , its seen more as a special occasion and exciting to visit and see what their color is related to
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basically , color name is optional , main story guild has color names that choose have , other guilds may have different naming schemes
names are ultimately chosen by the fauna themselves , given birth names are often temporary
its common to go through different names through life or use completely different names in different scenarios
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word "ms. mr. mx. , etc is Not used in this world , at least around Astral Gazing area , the word "The" is used
example: The Azure Sun , The Viridian Leaves , The Scarlet Star
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Another thing forgot add , if making color based name and you are of language besides english , it encouraged to make character names in that language !
like how our sona is named ពពកមាស់ popok mah , gold cloud , ពពក popok being cloud and មាស់ mah being gold
part of idea of sharing and teaching as the guild is :]
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(note : theres no electric technology in world , there high tech AAC here just cuz it a sona)
6. Soulcast
Soulcast is the only magic in this world currently , however some like Bliss considers it "not actual magic"
Rules for Soulcast:
-Cannot change , destroy , heal , harm , cannot do anything to the physical world or boost anything
-The casted result is temporary , whether lasts for few seconds or months , in other words , whats created will disappear
-Based around arts and craft , idea of fun . this very loosely described
-Have ability from birth , is often just single ability (can be played around with if multi souled) , it could change completely due to life events or growing
-Ultimately , Soulcasts are "useless" but bring joy and expression
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Examples of soulcasts:
-Sun paints , lasts for a month , -Star use claw like a pen , lasts for a minute or so -Citrine displays notes when sings
art above is our sona making a puddle . Because its a soulcast , if you were to splash in it , you can actually splash in it and feel it , however you will not feel a temperature or get wet or slip .
Soulcasts are not (or not always) holograms , they can be intractable
The main idea is joy , fun , and art . And what would be that for that fauna
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Soulcast form:
When using soulcast , characters change into their soulcast form
Their whole palette becomes pure black and white , and markings change to large clear markings of a butterfly .
(Note , if two soulcasts overlap , itll become white , not mix colors)
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To go with more design variations:
to clarify 1st point of colors , character designs also change depending on time of day
"morning": simple , practically just dark grey and white , the shadows may reveal extra white markings (see Star's ears)
"mid day": normal , this seen as "default" or main look
"night": large clear markings , makes a new silhouette of character , these designs are more work in progress
(note , times of day in this world is strange , each time of day takes 16 hours and is considered a "day" , its also a sharp change like turning on and off a light switch)
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Edit , forgot include:
7. Need to be easy to imagine or almost resemble a human
This little hard to explain , but because nature of WYGN , the fauna are made more so like "human mind , animal body" , they are not like animals from this world nor meant to be
To further drive this point , characters are created in way that almost Feels human without putting a human face on them , things like parts that resemble hair , clothing , or in feeling
They're meant to feel like human people while still being an animal
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And there you have it ! a WYGN character !
So ending thoughts ,
Wish You Goodnight is kind story where world informs design , cant really slap palette on existing character and say itll fit directly into world
Of course not need be followed exactly if making own oc
but reason why doing this is to give very strong identity to every character and so belong together . If look at a WYGN character or variant or WYGN-ified character , you should immediately tell it from or based on this story
