OC Design Talk - Perseus

About This Series:

OC Design Talk is my way of sharing my obsession with character design, as I absolutely love talking about it and the thought process that goes into all of my original characters! I’ll be talking about visual design as well as backstory and personality for the characters, and the general intent behind their concepts. I think this will be a good way to really flesh out the reasoning behind the designs, which should, in turn, provide a greater understanding of the character as a whole, and maybe even the world they occupy as well! So with that, let's get started!

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Presenting: Perseus! He is one of the zodiac companions from my webcomic series, Starglass Zodiac. 

In this story, zodiac companions are essentially the “children” of the zodiac. While not all of the companions are the age of a child necessarily, they generally have less experience than the main zodiac, and thus look up to them as mentors / role models. Any of the constellations can be chosen as a companion, and it is a mutual decision, leading some to try for the position directly (like Centaurus to Sagittarius). 

Constellations in this universe go through different incarnations, and thus have varying personalities and appearances depending on whose spirit inhabits them at any given time. Every star has a set amount of energy, and every incarnation has their “time” before they eventually die, some leaving behind black holes as a final reminder. Some are lost in deliberate usage of energy, such as in combat, while others die out naturally. As new stars are born, previous constellations have a chance to be reincarnated, and new constellations can form from these as well. There is a chance, however, that they will not return at all.

For Perseus in particular, I liked the idea of previous incarnations of the constellation being more like the character upon which it is based. Mythologically speaking, Perseus was a famous hero known for slaying monsters, similar to Hercules. With this incarnation, however, I thought it would be interesting if he actively fought against what his name is famous for. Or more specifically, used his skills in combat to fight for better things. This Percy does not fight for glory or fame, and does not possess the ego of a typical hero. But despite his change in motive, he still has to carry the burden of his “monster killer” title, as if he himself has become the monster instead. He views this as punishment for the misdeeds of the others who bared his name, ashamed of a past that wasn’t really his own.

Perseus is a companion to Aries, and outside of being skilled on the battlefield, the two are almost polar opposites, with Aries being the most volatile and aggressive between them. That said, Aries did recognize Perseus’s desire to redeem his name. Aries, being the least agreeable of the signs, has similar goals when it comes to keeping his aggression in check and upholding his role as a sign and co-protector of the Astral Plane. He too had a lot of hurdles to overcome in order to maintain his position, and sees more potential in Percy than most for this reason. In his words, “if I can do it, you can too, kid.” 

From a visual standpoint, I wanted Perseus’s design to be somewhat chimerical (as in, made up of seemingly unrelated parts), but with a unifying colour scheme to tie it all together. In this case it would be different parts of monsters that, presumably, his previous incarnations had slain. Perseus’s most famous kill, Medusa, is referenced here, particularly with the snake-like elements of his skin and hair. Demon-like horns, claws, a tail, and a cat-like animal hide are also present. He has sharp shark-like teeth too, even if they aren’t drawn here (I will do follow-up drawings later).

Like all of the other constellation designs, his symbol (designed by these lovely folks) is incorporated into several aspects of his design. How often a symbol appears in a design can vary greatly depending on how well it can be incorporated, and sometimes its inclusion is more subtle as a result. We have a good mix of that here with Perseus, with his belt, cape and shield being the most obvious uses of the symbol, but it’s also present on his chest plate underneath the animal hide. His shield specifically is a reference to the mirrored shield that was used to turn Medusa’s glare against her in one version of his myth. His sword exists for similar reasons, and is his weapon of choice in combat. The rest of his attire is Greek and Roman inspired, like his mythological counterpart.

I came up with the blue-yellow-pink dynamic with the colour scheme starting with his eyes, and went on to develop it from there. I knew I wanted either blue or green as a main colour, as those are common for monsters, and the brightness of the pink and yellow made for a bold colour scheme. I did try a bright orange instead of pink a few times, as that is blue’s complimentary colour, but I found the contrast was not strong enough between it and the yellow. Having a bold colour scheme matched with a quieter personality creates the kind of contrast I want in his character as a whole, implying that he is easily misunderstood by others. I also wanted the eyes to be a focal point both in the line work and the colour, so the contrast had to be striking. Admittedly I use eyes as a focal point a lot in my designs (looking at you, Cassie!), but I wanted that to add to the strength of his concept rather than just be a preference of mine.

Perseus is incredibly self-conscious of his eyes, believing that his monstrous appearance will scare others merely by looking at them. This is another nod to Medusa, though much to his relief, Perseus can’t turn anyone to stone. This makes him more reserved and reclusive as a result, averting his gaze where possible and quietly keeping to his own business. Even his fighting style is very understated, favouring precision over strength. When he meets others face to face, he closes his eyes immediately, claiming they should not be seen by the faint of heart. That said, prior to Aries's training, he did rely far too much on his appearance for intimidation. This was usually effective, as his opponents would flee the arena before a sword was lifted.

Functionally, Perseus’s eyes move and dilate similar to a cat's eye, but appear slightly further apart than a more focused gaze would be, creating a more eerie stare. He may be looking at you, but he’s also looking through you. I hoped this would make him look a bit more pensive as well, and prone to staring while lost in thought.

When he meets Cassie for the first time, Perseus mistakes her for Cassiopeia* and kneels before her like a knight would to a queen.

*In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia is the mother of Andromeda, who strapped her daughter to a rock to appease the sea monster, Cetus. True to form, Perseus rescued Andromeda by killing the creature.*

After Cassie explains that she has an unusual eye herself, Perseus finally opens his, giving in to his curiosity. He is grateful, if a little confused, for her positive reaction to them. Eventually Cassie convinces him to meet Orion, the zodiac companion to Taurus. Orion, being blind, will never see Perseus, thus negating his appearance-based fears. Orion also understands Percy’s desire for redemption, being on a similar quest himself as a once-famous hunter. The two quickly become friends, with Perseus offering to “be his eyes” when needed.

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Overall I’m very satisfied with the design and concept as a whole. The zodiac companions are minor characters in this story, but I’ve always like stories that have a lot of interesting characters to fill out the extended world, and the Astral Plane is perfect for that. Characters like these are also great for supplementary comics and short stories, and I’ve got some ideas for those later on. :’D