Hi! This is CES06, otherwise also known as Seigi/JUSTICEMAN/alsosprachces/raseaces across the internets! (I’m sorry. I couldn’t just settle on one name.)

I’m an illustrator by vocation though not by trade, and I especially like designing characters. This is my first time actually joining a game project and finishing the game, and (I believe) my first game credit, which is funny because I work in the games industry. It was a learning experience for sure. There’s some things I wish I could’ve worked more on, but the other team members did great and any credit for the game being neat should go to them.

I’m also a huge Precure fan, so joining this jam was a fun opportunity! What you’ll find below are my musings for the character designs, which were based on the brief from the writers. With that, let’s get to it!

Renra

BRIEF:

• Happy-go-lucky, bright, cheerful, optimistic
• Wants to be like her seniors/do/perform more
• “Seigicore”
• Character reference:
  • Ruby Hoshino (Oshi no Ko)
  • Emu Otori (Project Sekai)
  • Kaori Miyazono (Your Lie in April)

I believe she was the first design to be made- she was rather straightforward to design and a character type I enjoy (my friends know me well to describe this as “me”-core). I do love my silly little cheerful bright magical girls. Since time was short, I tried to make the character designs and silhouette as simple as possible. I based the proportions around Puyo-Puyo’s character designs (Arle specifically) for reference since that seemed like a good fit for both the story and the production schedule.

Given her role in the story as a newbie that has to take on the main role, I thought of her as a “Yellow” that stepped up to fill the role of a “Red”, in color-coded magical girl/Sentai team terms. Added a cape for that fantasy feel, and some gingham patterns for that idol feel, as well as the Japanese “beginner’s mark” on her hip which I thought would be funny. The school outfit was inspired by the school uniform from Yes! Precure 5.

I ddjusted her headband to green so it resembles a sprout to hammer home just how green she is. The sunflower theming was added a bit later, but was a way to add more cheer to her character. The blue highlights were to contrast with the yellow, but truth to be told it’s also so she doesn’t look too much like Cure Peace from Smile Precure. (Who, for the record, is my favorite Cure- and a character whose image I only realized late into the process I must’ve subconsciously used as a base for the initial design of Renra.)

Overall, I like how she turned out and she feels exactly like how the character type would look like, which is a target I also aim for with the other designs. Some expressions and poses didn’t make it, but perhaps that’s for another time.

Chikin

BRIEF:

• Tsundere
• Only gives hints, avoids direct answers

Chikin was a bit of a challenge on account of being a… well, simply put, a simple chicken. An early idea explored was “a chicken that thinks it’s a phoenix”. I wanted to keep the silhouette simple, so the clear option was to give Chikin accessories. I opted for a teacher-like look with the cravat and monocle. The end result kind of reminds me of Aroma from Go! Princess Precure.

Tamatama

BRIEF:

• Harmless, cute
• White color

Just a simple, blobby, spirit-like design. Like a huggable drop of toothpaste.

Enemies

BRIEF:

• Overworked Monster
  • Mouth, glasses
  • Strict, businessman-like
  • Amalgam
• Discrimination Monster
  • Eyes, judging
  • Mistreatments by adults
  • Discrimination/racism
• Loudspeaker
  • Ears, loud
  • Sound Horeg*

The reference images for these were blobby shadow monsters, which fit well since I can draw them relatively quick. Added masks for a focal point (Persona’s Shadows had the right idea) and the rest was just interpreting the themes as literally as possible.

I think it turned out nice, though if I could redo it, I would’ve changed the collars into ball & chains. I do like that the “boss” has its own boss pressuring it with the riding crop. Though my biggest regret will be not giving the last one monster truck-style wheels instead of making it quadrupedal.

*Sound Horeg, BTW, is a recent subculture that’s popped up in rural Indonesia where people trick out and take these massive (and I mean massive) trucks with a gazillion speakers and mounted sound systems for a ride. It’s both a massive noise hazard on wheels and fascinating subject to glance pictures of at during lunch break.

Hazame

BRIEF:

• Normal Form
  • Moody, edgy, sad, envious, grudge against the world
  • Pretty, but doesn’t fit “industry standards”
• Magical Form
  • Fractured, long dark hair
  • Yamato Nadeshiko-like
  • White/black kimono
• Character reference:
  • Osaragi (Sakamoto Days)
  • Mafuyu Asahina (Project Sekai)

Hazame was the trickiest to design, but what was clear to me from the start was that in lieu of any body negativity (which I didn’t have confidence in conveying or handling properly through the design), “not fitting industry standards” often comes down to skin color. Which affects a lot of people whether they’re idols or chika idols or kaigai idols. (Off on a tangent, but check out and support kaigai idols like PAiDA and Phoebe!)

While the brief called for a more Japanese aesthetic, what came to mind was something more Victorian-ish, with the parasol too. I ended up something that’s a mix of that and Taisho-era maid clothing. The mask/visor is the Gundam fan in me speaking. Shoutout to all the mysterious masked rivals out there. (By the way, the shoulders were inspired by the Qubeley.)

This didn’t make it, but from her magical from, I think her theming becomes even clearer, though hopefully you’ve noticed by now. Her dark version colors are blue/purple to fit the rain theming, but her “original colors” are Red/Pink. Yes. She’s supposed to be the “Red/Pink” of the team- the main character. But discrimination didn’t let her be.

That’s a bit of a somber note to end on, but I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making the characters designs. I don’t get to make designs that actually get used for something that often, and since I usually more often draw mecha, this was a really nice opportunity to draw more things.

Until we meet again!

https://ces06.carrd.co/