vÉfa's design is much more "outward", with many pointing spikes, the tendrils behind her, her hair and flowing dress. it's meant to give an impression of this imposing, reaching, immeasurable figure that takes over the attention when it's on her and the story. almost infectious in a way? her figure is massive and is meant to swamp any other character in her vicinity. with the crown and veil, vefa is also meant to evoke the look of a "tortured queen", or at the very least some high royalty. the way she's covered head to toe is also intentional, both to add to her air of mystery and to hide the sigils she's enscribed into her own body. magical girls are so often sold to the public eye as commodities with their flashy outfits and some older girls in more sexualized and suggestive ways, vefa being the character who goes against magic in it's entirety and being covered head to toe just fits for me.
stelara is much more guarded and curled inwards. her wings are pointing down and curve towards herself, and with her long dress as well it all curves down to give a closed off feeling. she has just as much presence as vefa, but the way her design doesn't fight to take over the screen in front of you hints to her nature and her security in her power: she knows she's in control and doesn't need to show off or fight for it. (also ironic cuz... she kinda doesn't have it all under control but her design is definitely meant to make the VIEWERS feel that she isš)
the stars above her head are just a nice extra detail when u consider the full meaning and contexts behind stars in this story. stars obviously have their religious symbolism here, showing her dedication to her god, but the fact they're hanging over her head likens to how she's in control of so many lives, with so much pressure put on her. the stars are literally weighing over her head. and! the stars hanging double as a sort of halo, all adding to her forced position as a saviour and guardian. plus, there's her combined knight and angel imagery with her wings... knight that couldn't save her queen.... the guardian angel of every magical girl in the world. the angel that fails every girl alive and the knight that couldn't protect anyone. stelara ily
their colour palettes are also opposites: stelara has lots of white and pastels, adding to her angelic image, while vefa almost exclusively has dark and desaturated colours. for stelara, the pastel purple on the inner details of her design and in the stars above her head show her devotion to vefa and how she can't let go of her after all these years. vefa's colours are more subtle, but visible through how her purple shifts to magenta; like a mix of her original deep purple and stelara's pink. also, the brightest part of her entire design are her vivid magenta pupils, showing her single-minded focus on stelara. and I thought that part just looked freaky as hell behind the veil I liked it a lot
of course. I'm making these characters in gacha life 2 so I have no idea if these ideas actually translate half as well as I hope. typing this in the middle of designing stelara and lemme tell u she's giving me a fucking run for my money broššš
These are WONDERFUL design notes, machete. Very descriptive; I can tell that you thought very deeply about everything. Honestly I would probably geek out about their designs if I saw them in print or on television.
However!! I do have one āļø idea (that you may have been trying to convey and I just..didnāt catch. š§)āVÉfa and Stelaraās primary colors being complimentary/opposite colors to symbolize their opposing ideals, but them also having a color that they both share (like that purple you were talking about) to ābindā the two together. A symbol of their shared past and/or a signifier that they still think of or care about the other in some way.
