'Thabisa' - 2D Concept Art.

'Thabisa comes from a long lineage of fairy royalty. Born to the rulers of a large kingdom, that particularly thrive during the spring. Driven out of her old kingdom, she now disguises herself as a human and resides in a florist shop.'

I created this character with a Visual Novel context in mind and explored exaggerated expressions and poses to clearly portray different emotional states, as this is a common feature in many Visual Novels. I wanted to create a character that was very feminine and fun, one which would appeal to a younger audience!

Thabisa's human disguise. 

She takes this form when working in the Human Realm as a Florist. Although she does try to keep her magical identity a secret, sometimes her powers affect the flowers around her and reveal her true feelings. Thabisa picks up flowers that reveal her emotional state, and can influence the appearance of flora and fauna depending on her emotions.

Thabisa's true appearance. 

Her hair is replaced by bushes of Hydrangeas which once again change appearance depending on her emotions. I chose Hydrangeas as, in the real world, their colours are effected by the PH level of the soil they are planted in! 

When in Fairy form Thabisa attracts nearby butterflies who are also affected by her mood and can sense how she is feeling. 

Mock-ups of this character in a Visual Novel context. Showing both the Human and Fairy version:

Development of Character: 

Initial human outfit concept vs. the chosen final concept. 

Initial fairy outfit concept vs. the chosen final concept.

Experimentation with flower imagery and shape language for the Fairy form.

Development of character expressions. 

Rough work showing the development of the exaggeration of the happy pose.

Exaggeration of the happy pose. 

Exaggeration of the sad pose.

Exaggeration of the angry pose.

Exploration of flower meanings. As well as being literal with colour theory showing Thabisa's emotions, I also wanted to incorporate hidden 'floriography', also known as flower symbolism.

Initial concepts for the wings of Thabisa's Fairy form. I used flower imagery to create these! 

Thank you very much for viewing my post! If you'd like to see more of my work, I can be found on Artstation! 

https://adelelouiserichards.artstation.com/