NPC: Chika

So finally got around to my entry :3 Download for full huge view of detail!

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Chika is a geek/nerd. I chose this kind of character to kinda offset all the really urban kinda "gangster" characters that I saw in the character examples. I'm actually kind of afraid of my decision because I was trying my best to make her blend in and not stick out like a sore thumb, and yet I wanted to do something different to set her apart from the rest of the NPCs.

Anyway, the only thing she's good at is tarot card reading as her predictions come true 99% of the time. Her role in the game is to helps the main character when he gets into a pickle with what to do next and stuff.

But that's the only thing you can rely on her for, because she basically speaks for herself; she's a weak, shy and clumsy person. I tried to convey that with an insecure look (the enlarged lineart in the back zooms in on her expression).

Kinda sinister in her own right too, she gets kind scary looking when she reads her tarot cards. She practices a little bit of voodoo too, and for that reason, she's never had to worry about bullies.

Design wise, I wanted to make her as simple and as self explanatory as possible. I tried to give her a simple colour pallet (which was difficult, mind you, because I wanted her to blend in with the game's atmosphere and I really wanted to use rainbows). Her colour are made up of earthy colours to give her a neutral, gentle look until it comes to her bag which carries her tarot cards. The purple and black are to represent the darker, more mystic side of her.

Speaking of the bag, there's a voodoo doll named Fred that hangs from it too (who was Fred? Who knows?), and the bag itself illustrates teeth and a Seeing Eye. The locks symbolize her that her bag contains her dark secrets.

For her clothing, I kinda went around doing some studying/shopping to do some research. I was looking for some urban wear since the game is very urban oriented. The dress is loosely based off of something I found, and I think it accomplished what I want for the character; kind of give her a naive and innocent look but still trendy without being too lolita.

The boots and scarf do a few things. first offset the dress that would have make her very stylish, but with the boots make her look kind of... silly (but it's cute). The scarf there because I thought that her character would probably not be one to show off a lot of skin, while the dress shows off her chest and shoulders. One of her socks are falling down because I wanted to give her a sense that she is a bit sloppy.

I did kind of mimic the lineart, colouring style along with the general anatomy the characters for WEWY when I drew her just so she'd have a stronger connection to the game. Yet in the end I ended up incorporating a lot of my own style in as well (too much detail in the drawing and shading, and her face and eyes are very pretty much my own.)

It was EXTREMELY difficult when it came to thinking up her character for the mere fact, I could hardly find any information on the game. Well, I kinda just went to wikipedia, and if wiki doesn't have much, then chances are I won't find anything more. I was afraid of doing a hero or villain character because I didn't know how they would fit into the game's scenario. I'm picky like that cause I hate making characters that don't fit in and have no purpose.

So here's a simple NPC! :3