The evolution of Desi

When I posted a recent commission that included the "classic" character design for Desi, I received this question from a longtime backer:

Seeing how she used to look, would you mind if I asked what caused Desi to turn into a devil girl?

That's a question with a rather long answer!

Desi actually started as a T-shirt design — one that I thought was hi-LAR-ious. (But one that never sold very well.)

It's still available on Redbubble...

I liked the idea so much, I decided that I should introduce a "VILF" character. So, on Oct. 15, 2007...

Desi would replace Lightning Lady as Evil Aton's personal assistant. (Lightning Lady would move to Customer Support.)

About a year later, Ed Ryzowski started coloring Evil Inc. It was my practice (and still is) to send minimal notes to the colorist working on my stuff. I want them to have as much creative input as possible. And it was shortly thereafter that I discovered that Desi had green hair — a fact that I found downright delightful.

The new look for Desi came down to two things: The reboot and my failure as an artist.

THE REBOOT

When I reimagined Evil Inc in 2016, Evil Inc After Dark was already in full swing (having launched in April the previous year), and I was looking to tweak Desi's character. I wanted her to be more... well... devilish. And, looking at the many "devil girl" concepts that were floating around, I couldn't deny that the black-and-red color scheme had a distinctly sultry look to it. And that was a big reason for the shift. It also fit the personality tweak that I had in mind for her as well. I wanted her to be equal parts silly and edgy. And red-and-black made her look a little dangerous.

MY FAILURE AS AN ARTIST

It seemed that every time I would draw the "old" Desi, I would get a message from one of my readers telling me that I had forgotten to draw the oversized amulet that hung around her neck. It was a constant reminder of how bad I was at drawing. So, as long as I was making changes, I decided to jettison the amulet. As a matter of fact, when I drew her for the strip-poker commission at the very top of this post, you'll notice that it's on the table — not around her neck — and it's obscured by a drink. I actively avoid drawing the amulet as much as possible. I kinda hate the amulet. Every time it failed to appear around her neck, it hung like an albatross around mine.

While I was at it, I realized that losing the cape meant I could accentuate her figure — and that fit into my EiAD plans nicely. So the cape was deep-sixed. I loved that curved collar on the Vision, but it never worked on Desi. 

And that's how we arrived at the Desi that strolls the halls of the Fairmount branch of Evil Inc!

Now, all I have to do is remember to draw her tail. And I do.

Most of the time.