Alright, so! Introducing, what has managed to keep me busy for the greater part of the end of last year, eheh. Tadaaaaa-

In one recent post, anyone recall how I mentioned how much I love Bota's artstyle and understanding of characters and shapes and colors? Well... some years back, when I originally had the idea for this design, I actually also originally wanted bota to be the one to do it. Again, she understands a lot of the theory and visual design and all that, I really vibed with just her 'shapes' and how she would draw anatomy even for anthro characters, such that they would look pretty anthro! But very creature-y as well, if that makes sense... and also, she understands the sense, like the idea of the character as well? This hearkens to some things that I loved about the drazerk species off the bat, as  thanshuhai shows off really well in his arts. This artwork really spoke to me of the sense of wildness, a feeling of untamed roving and a sense of identity even in the midst of nature. Wildness in how untamed the character's fur and mane looks as well, I relate to that! And then, this artwork has MANY thoughts attached to it of course - one of the important ones I took away? That sense of identity but with oneself, not because of the surroundings but rather because of... is that just confidence? Comfort in being completely natural in one's skin? Again, many thoughts! Many thoughts indeed.

Let us return to the original idea ahah. bota, to me, understands a lot of the confidence or comfort that comes from being entirely 'natural', if we will use that word here. A lot of the feelings I think of when I see her artworks or the messages communicated inside them or out align with the ones I have when I consider having a drazerk sona. Not to mention how similarly the swooping contours of this species are emulated in bota's works, for instance this one's slender proportions and limbs aah! All that to say, I would have loved to work with her for this character idea off the bat, but cheerfully accepted otherwise.

However-!
You see, I managed to nab an experimental paint commission, aha! And to make a long story short and to prevent another official Taz-yap: during our banter and after we had finally finished saying our mutual "hi! You're so cool! This is crazy! Nice to meet you! hi!-"'s, I brought up the idea and to my utter surprise and delight, she was kind enough to offer to work with me on this redesign. 💚 And as such, the artwork and design you see before you was born.

We, and especially she, worked so hard on this, for quite the while. Many back and forths, idea swappings or comparisons, experimentings to get the right feeling or color palette or other compositional details. Lots of studying of the source inspiration as well! As remarked, bota mentioned how good she was getting at drawing drazerk shapes by the end. xD That's how much investment of time was spent here, aah! Deeply, deeply grateful for the consideration given to me to get all the details just right, as this was an incredibly special gift of attention and effort on her part. Throughout all the sketches passed over, color theories questioned, whales and scientific diagrams discussed and passed over, all the banter - just such a unique commission and interaction overall, I am so overcome when I think of it. 'Grateful' feels a small word to contain how seen I felt then, and feel now when looking at this character! A lot of work has gone into him, not just from me or bota, but other inspirations and friends in yielding their thoughts as well.

Let's talk about the artwork now, shall we? For someone who enjoys anatomy and proportions as I do, getting THE "drazerk shapes" was of crucial importance, and bota scored that right out the gate with the blockily-rounded snout and large wild mane. And, the swooping upper-body and torso proportions as well! Conveying the sense of strength, but slender and sinewy as well. Alliteration is rad.🌿 Seeing that continue into the hand and footsie shapes was a delight as well, and the long tail [very important]! But... ah! The colors... the colors... let me point at these colors. I adore the amount of murky kelp-water inspirations that exist in this hide pattern, whether on the tail or decorating the shoulders and back. It fits a great balance of aquatic in just such a way that my favorite character design achieves in his fishy-lizardy greens and blues, and still maintains that exoticness of the yellow bioluminescent markings - but! Conveys this all in an entirely personal way as well, with bota's touch on color patterns.

Many of the compositional elements were incredible additions from her as well. <3 The detail showcase you see on the top-left, pretty much all of that is entirely her addition! Especially and definitely the [sunlight-refracting] doodle of a vaguely quadrupedal Taz floating in the water column, flanked by two vaguely zebra shark-looking individuals. [Zebra sharks are one of my hidden beloveds of the favored animal list, for personal reasons x)]. And the kelp color palette too, ah so pretty! I am a big fan of the level of expressionality and comfort displayed by the two headshots as well, both convey unique versions of either that self-confidence I value as mentioned above, or just a good dose of expression!

I'll finish out this post by mentioning, I'll add some bota-doodles into my Scraps after posting this. 🌿 We had a grand time interacting from start to end, and I am so grateful that the work was alleviated enough and that she felt the instinct to scribble them, because they are priceless memories of an incredible time! And little insights to how fun and just amazing this experience was, I could not value it higher. <3

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Artwork by  wuol - original design by  Sapphi, and drazerk species by  thanshuhai
Find the Original Submission here [Bluesky]!
May sunlight shine upon you, and warmth be yours in all your days matey 🤲☀️💚 you're the best and I appreciate you lots..!