[Concept Art Discussion] - Refining the Vampire Queen

[NSFW WARNING: There is some nudity present]

The previous Concept Art Discussion pertained to Elayne Beaumont's design, so tackling her villainous foe, The Vampire Queen, seems like a natural step to take. This one's going to be a bit less analytical though. I've drawn the character a few times, but I've yet to feel truly comfortable with the design, so you may have noticed some drastic design shifts across the few pieces she's included in.

So let's take a look at the design I've been using thus far...

OLD DESIGN

Blue Skin:

Her body is covered in cool hues, making her appear very ghostly. Her skin lacks any sort of warmth in it's pigmentation, even in the locations we'd often make redder. It really gives the impression that she is cold to touch. We definitely want to keep this trait.

Her lips, and even her nipples, are painted a darker blue for contrast.

Hair:

I wanted this character to have longer hair because it would distinguish her from my other characters, who typically don't have long hair. 

The vibrancy of the red really stands out against the cool blues of her skin, and perhaps it's suggestive of power, seduction, or violence. It's the colour of blood, and is also the warmest colour in this design, so it really stands out. It's a colour we can't separate from the idea of vampires.

I was never happy about the shape of her hair, and subsequent artworks featured a different hairstyle, but it was still nothing particularly unique. 

Arms:

Her arms are covered by some sort of sleeve, but are not fully covered, as there's still a bit of her biceps exposed. I suppose these feel like long gloves, but I don't think there's a reason for this to be the case; in fact, it may be detrimental. 

Because there's no contrast between her biceps and her breasts, the two areas blend together, appearing as one solid mass. Not ideal.

Apparel:

There isn't too much to say for her apparel, as it's intentionally sparse. She exposes her body because it's sexy and liberating. Still, there is not a lot of thought put into this outfit. There is this cool spider motif present in the open midriff, but it does not appear integrated very well; so it just feels unnecessarily noisy.

The top and bottom parts of her outfit could be visually combined to resemble a leotard or one-piece swimsuit, though I wonder if moving in that direction would liken her to Morrigan from Darkstalkers just a little too much... So I'm not inclined towards that. 

An exposed midriff seems to be an element here, so it might be something we'd rather keep.

Exposed Legs:

The Vampire Queen's legs are completely bare, as to push the viewer's attention higher up, where there is significantly more visual complexity. Her silhouette is created by her apparel, between her bra & cape, so her most important bits will be her face and upper torso.

Physical Quirks:

Though still human in shape, her pointed ears reference the anatomy of a bat. These ears, as well as her claws and slight facial gauntness, borrow from Max Shreck's portrayal of the monstrous Count Orlok in Nosferatu. She feels slightly less human compared to what we might expect from a suave Dracula-like character, despite maintaining a humanoid shape.

It might be worth emphasizing her claws sometime in the future.

FIRST STAB AT A NEW LOOK

The Vampire Queen's hair wasn't particularly unique or dynamic, so it was the first thing I decided to tackle when trying to refine her design. I ended up with this:

So now her hair is covering her face, helping to suggest an element of mystery. It makes her seem even more alluring! 

Her new hairstyle also changes how we view her face. The sharp shapes of her eye & mouth are emphasized much more so, and her face feels longer than before. Now, she feels much less playful, and much more imposing.

Another one of my concerns was how her hair previously interacted with the collar of her cape. Because her hair was so long, it did not seem as though it would comfortably rest in the space her collar offered her. The new hairstyle, with it's shortened, streamlined back, allows her hair to fit much more nicely in the collar. No clipping issues here!

But her eyes!

One thing you might not have noticed is that her eyes now contain a vertical slit pupil.

This likens her eyes to that of a legitimate nocturnal predator, like many canines, felines, crocodiles, and even snakes. Vertical eye slits allow their owner to see colour in different lighting conditions, as well as improve depth perception and focus, among other things.

Her new eyes are both functional and evocative of predatory behavior. Perfect for a vampire.

POPPED COLLARS ARE COOL

With her hair now streamlined, the shape of her collar is now much more apparent: notice how it creates a silhouette rather than getting lost in her hair? In fact, she almost looks like the Dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park. 

You know the one. The Dinosaur that flares it's neck to appear threatening.

BREASTS & BOBBLES

I was considering a much more lithe build for the character, but I really enjoyed how the breasts looked in the above image -- as dynamic shapes that interact with the other shapes. 

Because I like having fun, and powerful vampires are known to posses such abilities, I think I can justify occasional large breasts by attributing it to vampiric shape-shifting. This IS a character who loves boobs and having sexy fun, so it would be entirely within character.

Still, I do think more reasonable proportions will help her look much more athletic & competent as a villain, as well provide her with a body that better contrasts Elayne's.

AND NOW... THE BIGGER PICTURE

Admittedly, there's not too much different about the design of her underwear. There wasn't much to work with in the first place, but we've got some shape changes.

Her previous voluptuous hourglass shape felt a bit generic, while her current form is much more interesting. She's still sexy, but this design seems to suggest someone who could ACTUALLY pose a threat to Elayne. 

The spider motif has been removed; it was a bit unflattering. It just wasn't adding anything of value before. I considered having it elsewhere, but I did not find a way to integrate it very well. But now we can appreciate her tummy better!

Her exposed biceps are gone now that her gloves have been swapped with proper sleeves. Her arms are a single unified form, bringing more attention to the blue of her hands as well as emphasizing the blue of her torso. This helps us pay more attention to the shapes of her body. Hot, right? It's almost as if she's wearing only the very top of a suit.

Her apparel feels less gratuitous too. Her panties resemble Elayne's just a bit more, giving a neat little visual connection between the characters, and her bra isn't quite as skimpy. The top still maintains it's sexiness by being short, however. The visual information is at it's most complex up high, bringing the focus to her bust, while still accentuating her long legs.

YELLOWY-ORANGE CAPE

Her cape feels much more yellow than before, doesn't it?

The colour red is a very striking colour, but poses a bit of a design challenge. The red cape interior does not provide much contrast against the hair (also red). Notice how it's easy to misread the hair & collar as the same red object? They visually fuse into one form.

With yellow/orange, however, we get a clear differentiation between the two elements. 

Red & Orange are analogous colours, which make for an appealing, unified combination. Orange & Blue are also complementary colours, so they contrast against one another. 

Because of these colours' relationship with one another, they play well together; somewhat of a compound colour scheme.

BUT WHY YELLOW...?

Well... There are some other interesting traits about the colour yellow too. Yellow can evoke certain ideas and feelings.

Yellow is often used to express enlightenment and creativity; it is a gaudy colour that grabs your attention. Perhaps it is a perfect to represent this character's hedonistic nature.

But it can also represent betrayal, madness, caution, and disease. These traits would also feel appropriate for the character considering the circumstances of her existence -- both as a vampire and what she represents to the setting's primary religious doctrine.

There's this neat duality present between pleasure-seeking and danger, which fits nicely with the idea of the vampire, in which the concepts of sex and death are often deeply connected with.

---

I do think there's probably still some room for additional development, but this is a solid amount of progress. These little changes make her feel much more coherent than before, and like she fits better with Elayne. She has definitely proven to be a bit of a challenge, but if any additional developments are made, I will definitely share it. 

Anyway, have a good one! Don't forget to eat & sleep.