Design Thoughts - Corsair
2 months ago
I wanted to create a journal dictating some thoughts I've had over the course of coming up with my design for my main character, Corsair. I want to just have another place to put these thoughts down and have a more ironed out concept of his appearance in writing. While some of these descriptions are somewhat subject to change, most of them have been solid for a while. I also want for this journal to serve as a sort of copyright for the design of my character.
What does Corsair look like? (The enduring question):
Corsair is a cross between a sergal and King Rauru from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The idea for incorporating design elements from Rauru came at the suggestion of some good friends, who initially didn't know who Rauru was and, upon seeing concepts from the Tears of the Kingdom artbook and in-game screenshots, jokingly urged that I should "just steal Rauru, easy." I wanted for Corsair to have a sort of regal appearance since his inception, but not imposing. The idea for a sergal-like head structure came from the desire of making him stand apart from Rauru's design so that I wouldn't "just steal Rauru." As such, Corsair has a wedged face and head like that of a sergal, has Rauru's large and very fluffy ears, and long, flowing hair which is kept tied up in a long pony-tail. Unlike Rauru, Corsair has a tail that is about as long as he is tall (an even six feet), in his anthropomorphic form. This is the most basic description I can come up with, and has been the description ever since 2023, when Tears of the Kingdom came out.
Colors and markings:
For a long time, I've simply said that Corsair is purple and black without much else to go on. So here will be some more specifics on what I mean when I describe him as "purple and black." Corsair's primary color is purple, and he has black markings on his neck, his arms, his back and the upper part of his legs. I describe them as "tribal," although, I realize now that might be too broad a descriptor. Without his thick, purple fur in the way of the markings, they look like more organized tiger stripes which originate from his back and flow into the areas of Corsair's arms and upper part of his legs, mainly. Some of it spreads up into the base area of his neck. This tiger stripe sort of pattern starts to fall off once it reaches down to his tail. The top of his long tail has a solid tapering black line that travels down all the way to the tip. With the fur in the way, so to speak, it makes the markings look more natural and more choppy along the length of the stripes. Corsair's hands and feet are black, giving him the appearance of always wearing fuzzy gloves and socks.
The markings on Corsair's face are a little different. Keeping with the theme of long, flowing strokes, Corsair's face starts, from the wedged part, all black. The black pattern tapers and splits into two lines that travel up to and surround his eyes, making his crimson red pearls more intense similar to that of a cheetah's facial markings. His jaw is entirely black.
Corsair's hair, like his markings, is also black. I figured this would make the most sense since in his feral form his hair takes on more of a horse's mane sort of structure. This structure sort of endures in his anthropomorphic form as well, but with it commonly tied up into a pony tail the only indication that this structure exists lies in the chaotic, unkempt bit of hair that tapers to a point along the back of his neck, which then becomes the solid black line that travels down along his spine and tail.
Final Thoughts:
As I've said previously, these thoughts have been fairly solid ever since 2023, and I want for this journal to be more or less a final concept of Corsair in description and to sort of copyright his design in writing. Some minor design choices might still change when I do finally get around to sculpting Corsair up and rendering him. If they do, the close friends I've had the privilege of meeting will be the first to know, and they will likely have some suggestions of their own which I can't wait to hear.
What does Corsair look like? (The enduring question):
Corsair is a cross between a sergal and King Rauru from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The idea for incorporating design elements from Rauru came at the suggestion of some good friends, who initially didn't know who Rauru was and, upon seeing concepts from the Tears of the Kingdom artbook and in-game screenshots, jokingly urged that I should "just steal Rauru, easy." I wanted for Corsair to have a sort of regal appearance since his inception, but not imposing. The idea for a sergal-like head structure came from the desire of making him stand apart from Rauru's design so that I wouldn't "just steal Rauru." As such, Corsair has a wedged face and head like that of a sergal, has Rauru's large and very fluffy ears, and long, flowing hair which is kept tied up in a long pony-tail. Unlike Rauru, Corsair has a tail that is about as long as he is tall (an even six feet), in his anthropomorphic form. This is the most basic description I can come up with, and has been the description ever since 2023, when Tears of the Kingdom came out.
Colors and markings:
For a long time, I've simply said that Corsair is purple and black without much else to go on. So here will be some more specifics on what I mean when I describe him as "purple and black." Corsair's primary color is purple, and he has black markings on his neck, his arms, his back and the upper part of his legs. I describe them as "tribal," although, I realize now that might be too broad a descriptor. Without his thick, purple fur in the way of the markings, they look like more organized tiger stripes which originate from his back and flow into the areas of Corsair's arms and upper part of his legs, mainly. Some of it spreads up into the base area of his neck. This tiger stripe sort of pattern starts to fall off once it reaches down to his tail. The top of his long tail has a solid tapering black line that travels down all the way to the tip. With the fur in the way, so to speak, it makes the markings look more natural and more choppy along the length of the stripes. Corsair's hands and feet are black, giving him the appearance of always wearing fuzzy gloves and socks.
The markings on Corsair's face are a little different. Keeping with the theme of long, flowing strokes, Corsair's face starts, from the wedged part, all black. The black pattern tapers and splits into two lines that travel up to and surround his eyes, making his crimson red pearls more intense similar to that of a cheetah's facial markings. His jaw is entirely black.
Corsair's hair, like his markings, is also black. I figured this would make the most sense since in his feral form his hair takes on more of a horse's mane sort of structure. This structure sort of endures in his anthropomorphic form as well, but with it commonly tied up into a pony tail the only indication that this structure exists lies in the chaotic, unkempt bit of hair that tapers to a point along the back of his neck, which then becomes the solid black line that travels down along his spine and tail.
Final Thoughts:
As I've said previously, these thoughts have been fairly solid ever since 2023, and I want for this journal to be more or less a final concept of Corsair in description and to sort of copyright his design in writing. Some minor design choices might still change when I do finally get around to sculpting Corsair up and rendering him. If they do, the close friends I've had the privilege of meeting will be the first to know, and they will likely have some suggestions of their own which I can't wait to hear.
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