The main man Hazel! He was actually the first character I sketched, but I really wanted to land on a design I was happy with, so he went through more design iterations than the other characters.

I love Hazel. One of my favourite fictional characters ever. He leads with kindness and isn't afraid of new ways of thinking. His dedication to his brother, (keep in mind they're most likely not the only members of their litter) and assurance that he will keep him safe is admirable, and showcases his kind nature and integrity right from the very beginning. His persistence at leading the rabbits to safety, then fixing any problems they might have shows his intelligence and perseverance. He's brave as hell, and damn well goes right up to the terrifying antagonist to try and talk him down, he's not afraid to put his own life on the line for his friends & warren. In Sandleford warren, if they'd stayed (And in an alt universe where the warren didn't get destroyed) he probably would have remained a poorly treated outskirter, his place as leader works exactly because in the rabbit society he's not someone in usual circumstances that could become leader. People who badly desire leadership make terrible leaders. I wish more of the current leaders we have in the world right now were more like Hazel.


I've been trying to avoid being too inspired by other adaptations depictions of the characters, but I couldn't help but take inspiration from his 1999 series design. I love his dark head/nose marking, I just think it suits him. I think it works perfectly for Hazel because you can also put this very big marking onto Fiver, immediately making it clear they're brothers from appearance alone.

That being said I did try to change up his design a bit, the markings aren't identical. I thought making him a bit more scruffy was a must, he's an outskirter after all at the beginning!