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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CAERU KINDA?
8 years ago
General
Alright, so this isn't exactly 100% accurate. It's hard to say *definitively* when the character Caerulus first came into existence. I picked the name for myself long before I ever had the character drawn, and I had been working on the character's design for years before I had even settled on a name. By my estimate, it took approximately 3 years for me to finalize Caeru's name and design; it was only once both his name and design remained unchanged in my own mine for nearly a full, solid year that I finally decided "if I haven't wanted to make any changes by now, I think it's safe to say I'm happy with what I've created." Because of that very long creation process, it's hard to say exactly when Caeru became a thing.
HOWEVER.
Today marks the 5th anniversary of the first piece of art of Caeru I have ever posted on this account.
That counts for... something?
If you want to get even more technical, there was a "preview" of Caeru seen here before I had approved the final version of the picture. One could argue that's the first time Caeru was shown to the world.
It's really hard to say.
Either way, in a way, I'm not sure if I'm more surprised that it's been this long, or if I'm more surprised that it's been this short.
But here's to five more years and beyond, because Caeru is very much a part of who I am, and that sure as hell isn't changing any time soon.
HOWEVER.
Today marks the 5th anniversary of the first piece of art of Caeru I have ever posted on this account.
That counts for... something?
If you want to get even more technical, there was a "preview" of Caeru seen here before I had approved the final version of the picture. One could argue that's the first time Caeru was shown to the world.
It's really hard to say.
Either way, in a way, I'm not sure if I'm more surprised that it's been this long, or if I'm more surprised that it's been this short.
But here's to five more years and beyond, because Caeru is very much a part of who I am, and that sure as hell isn't changing any time soon.
Though that was also part of the reason it took me so long to get art of him initially; I didn't want to commit to something I wasn't 100% sure about. Caeru--his name, his design, all of it--was "done" at least a year before I finally commissioned art of him, but I left him without art because I wanted to deliberately give myself the time and freedom to change him. My theory was once I had something that remained unchanging despite the freedom to change as I please, then it would be clear to me that I was happy with what I had created.
Interestingly, I've been wanting to pick up a proper ref sheet for Caeru eventually, though that would be a matter of properly defining the small bits and pieces that have been seemingly ambiguous. Perfect example: Caeru's longer muzzle often encourages artists to draw him with a canine nose, but a 100% accurate Caeru would have a more feline nose. It's a small detail, and one I don't get pissy about, but it is still a part of the character! Stuff like that is why a genuine, proper ref sheet would probably do well getting things pinned down 100%.
It's... still strange at times, considering Caeru is both me, yet not. He's mean to represent me, he's meant to be a part of me, yet there are contexts where it makes sense to refer to both him and I as one in the same, and contexts where it makes sense to refer to him as a separate character.
Five years and I still haven't gotten over that part. I suppose I never will. Oh well!