#I do really like the redesign on their wings since then but I've always been kind of meh about the horns

[pearl-kite]

Hard year for drawing ideas, so I redrew this old one of Gale and Claire from 2009:

Proportions have improved drastically in the intervening years

[sparklecarehospital]

i've been working on V5 a lot, and i decided to treat myself a little and have a tiny bit of Comet Indulgence by doing 3 redesigns. not too many Major changes here, but each one has some noteworthy things!

ally has barry's bodytype, her star freckles are more defined, her constellations on kits wings look like actual constellations, and i made kits dress look different - i wanted to make the collar lower so you could actually see the chest ribbon instead of it always being covered by her beard, and i added a little ruffle to that collar as well for cute reasons. her sleeve ruffles are also the darker purple like the collar. i took away the waist ribbon too because i sometimes forget it's there so i didn't see a need to keep it djfkgfbgkgbkfg

sly is slightly more saturated (i think her being saturated would be without question) but the green is notably different from eve's saturation. she also has noticeably "unkempt" fur to make it more obvious fen doesn't take care of herself too much.

eve is meant to be more like me! squeak has a beard and more whiskers, has my body type, and has my special comfort hoodie that i wear all the time (and have worn since like 2019). i have also decided that eve has PCOS and is intersex.

some of these aren't really "simplifications" like the V5 designs but considering i'm the only/main artist for cometcare (aside from special comics like the kisswas arc) i didn't feel too much of a need to streamline their designs when they're just for fun and for myself.

i hope you guys like these designs! i promise i'm still focusing on main comic, i'm not distracted, this is just something i wanted to do tonight for fun since i was thinking about it. <3 if you have any questions/comments about the designs feel free to send them to the cometcare inbox!!!

[almightyhamslice]

Tarta redesign! I've talked a bit about him already, so it's about time I showed you what he's really like. He is as protective of his family as he is in canon, but my version has absolutely no compassion or regard for anyone OTHER than Opila and their chicks. He's a wild animal and WILL scratch and bite anyone outside his family.

To keep him in check, he was fitted with a harness that turned his mask into more of a muzzle, and his legs were cuffed together so he couldn't kick or scratch (at least, not without falling over). As you can see by the darker stains on his face, the harness rarely came off & caused him to develop rashes. Due to his cuffs, he also can't climb like Opila can. He's more ostrich than flamingo, so he runs faster and is physically heavier and stronger than Opila (not that it's very apparent, the cuffs often make him trip when he tries to run).

I imagine he was meant to be utilized similarly to Opila, but had to be strictly monitored so he wouldn't hurt anyone. He is NOT a guardian and can only be posed with and pet by park guests if he is sedated and a handler is present. You can see from his wall art that he didn't always have red spots on his chest. If you're not careful around him, he might gain more.

Ramblings abt Tarta's design under the cut!

I wanted my version of Tarta to look like the opposite of Opila! He has no sense of warmth and is sorta rooster-ish, with a sharper beak, undersized wings, and sharp red plumage that juts out of the opposite side of his tail compared to where Opila's plumage is. I wanted him to give the impression of an aggressive bird who puffs out his feathers to seem scarier to predators. I'm also particularly fascinated by his origins as "The Haze", an unused cyan Opila Bird found in the files of Banban 1 and Banban 2. The name "The Haze" alone is so mysterious and cool sounding I feel like I have to do something with it, but I just don't know what I'll do yet!!!

Ever since his inception I was curious why Tarta is depicted with opposite-facing pupils in his wallart! I kept that design feature since it's striking, but I figured I'd give it a real explanation. I suppose his mask was painted first & meant to look like he's looking backwards, but then the designer realized that it looks very silly from the front. It's like... the design was made 2D like it was only meant to be seen from one angle, only to gain a new unintended meaning in 3D space. Like, I've seen it on MLP toys before! Like the old Zecora blind bag figure that appears to have been redesigned for this exact reason!

I thought of her first because I had this exact figure as a kid! both of her eyes face backwards. I've also seen this same oversight on a Rarity figure, though I'm not sure what specific line that Rarity figure was from!

Anyhow, Tarta's eyes staring in different directions were kept/canonized because the mascot designers are desperate to make general audiences not feel terrified of their mascots lol. And he can't hurt you if he can't look at you, right? (WRONG)

unrelated! I was thinking abt how all the birds are cake themed and how each of the chicks has their own associated type of cake. I wonder what Opila and Tarta's are? I think Opila would be fruitcake and Tarta would be red velvet.

[syntaxaero]

so the aero part in my username never had anything to do with airplanes or even anything necessarily aerodynamic/air related

it's the name i gave a character who was an archer. I named a character that attacks with arrows "aero" because i had no other ideas. then i became a furry and when i made my current 'main' sona (Aero), instead of giving them a name like my previous sonas (Sytrus and Arkiose), I just said to refer to them as if they were me, though people would refer to me as Aero since that was my name on most platforms at the time anyway.

So yeah Aero is named Aero because of an archery pun from a humansona character i threw in the dumpster. SyntaxAero is word play on "Syntax Error" (Some accents pronounce Aero and Error almost the exact same), which I always thought was clever! but then people started calling me Syntax (and still do) instead of Aero sooo I eventually made a sona named Syntax to cover that. Some people also somehow don't know how to pronounce SyntaxAero despite the fact that it's two words and capitalized as SyntaxAero in any platform i can capitalize my username as such in. seriously ive had people call me "Sine-tax" before

anyways as for the other sona names

Aurex - wasn't actually my idea but i no longer know who to credit this to; can mean King of Gold/Golden King (Latin: Aurum and Rex) but that wasn't intentional funnily enough! ALSO funnily enough the name of some Toshiba audio products! I have audio equipment autism!

Delta (Valstrax) - It's just sort of a gender feeling name that felt right for me. but also yes Partially Inspired By The Airline Name since Valstrax is a jet dragon and I've gone full airplane liker mode at this point.

Stratus - Spur of the moment kind of name! though I can't remember if i gave them cloudy details before or after i came up with the name! either way, creature of the clouds with a cloud name. ... coincidentally tangentially related to aviation?? I guess? so that's 3 sonas with something to do with flying

Biscuit - This wasn't meant to be their final name but it's the only name I couldve thought of when I first concepted them !!! I even commissioned a piece of them eating biscuits way before I ever actually finalized the design, soooooooo. yeah they remain biscuit forever. it's a cute name though and i like being called a biscuit

yes I have 6 sonas yes it's. alot. but the mood on who I wanna draw or get art of shifts fairly rapidly which is how im sorta able to manage it all (though, Delta barely gets drawn because FUCK those wings oh my god they hurt to draw, and they've been in redesign hell for a while, and Syntax hasn't really had a spotlight due to Aurex sort of just taking some of Syntax's defining traits and running with it {referring to their shapes and fat necks})

[steakout-05]

muffinsposting on main!?!?!?!??

so i'm a pretty longtime fan of the My Little Pony grimdark fanfic 'Muffins' (by an author i will not name for drama-related reasons. you can easily find it if you look it up, but i ask that you please do not discuss any drama related to them on this post), and i really like the character of Minkie Pie. in the story, she's Pinkie Pie's eldest sister, along with Inkie Pie and Blinkie Pie (maud doesn't exist rip maud). Minkie is her long lost sister who was trapped in a cellar since she was a filly and thus never developed a proper childhood. she's a very quiet and creepy mare who has a lot of passion for endgaming other ponies in the most overly violent ways possible. she has a very pretty design and i've always liked how creepy and timid she is.

she's always been a favourite of mine, but because of the fanfic's poor writing and general issues with Minkie's original character, people have been creating rewrites and redesigns and i thought i should make my own as well! i haven't gotten to properly drawing her yet, but here is a rough sketch of my Minkie redesign, 'Moonstone Pie'!!

this is Moonstone! she's a tall, slim earth pony who is very shy, timid and lacks a lot of crucial social skills. she bears a lot of religious trauma on her shoulders and has issues with properly trusting other ponies, but she's a really sweet pony once she feels like she can trust someone. she's named after a real rock of the same name, similar to how Minkie's birth name is Obsidian. i haven't gotten her special talent and stuff figured out yet since i've been mainly working on her design and backstory, but here she is :) i'm really proud of her and i'm really excited to develop her more as a character!!

her proper appearance is as follows:

Hide: a dark blue-grey sort of colour, with a white fade at her hooves. the sketch doesn't reflect it but Moonstone has peculiar black and white splotches on her fur all down her back that make her look like the night sky.

Mane: a very very dark purple that looks black in the dark. it's very long and straight, with a long fringe covering her left eye. one side of her mane and her tail are tied with thin black ribbons.

Eyes: her eyes are green, but change depending on what point of the story she's in. for example, when she was a child, her eyes were a bright Applejack-green to symbolise her innocence, but after being rescued from the cellar, they are faded and hollow.

Cutie Mark: a black key with a bow in the shape of two wings. this symbolises freedom and being able to unlock herself and fly free from her trauma.

Accessories: black ribbons that are tied to her hair and also hang loosely in it. she also wears a white dress collar.

her rough backstory is under the cut, though i'd like to give a warning that there are (albeit brief) mentions of religious trauma and parental abuse, as well as it being pretty dark. if that makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to read it and you're free to click off and go look at something nice and wholesome!! please take care of yourself :)

i don't have too much of her backstory done yet, so this is mainly a draft, but basically, Moonstone was raised in a cult that's something like The Family International and Jehovah's Witnesses put together. her parents, Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock, were very strict with her and would often enact bizarre punishments several incidents related to Moonstone's behaviour occurred, to which her mother, Cloudy Quartz (Pinkie's canonical mother), deemed her a devil and shunned her away into a cellar, where she would spend a majority of her life up until Cloudy "mysteriously disappears" one day.

Moonstone, having been heavily traumatised and weakened from being neglected in the cellar for so many years, is in a state of near-death and delirium. just when it seems like Moonstone is about to kick the bucket, the door opens, and she sees two figures obscured by the sunlight standing at the top of the stairs. she thinks these are angels coming to take her to salvation, but they are actually her sisters Inkie and Blinkie, who just before had literally sent Cloudy plummeting off a cliff until she went splat. Moonstone faints, and after a couple comatose weeks, is introduced into a new "family" run by Pinkie, Inkie, Blinkie and their newest victim recruit, Derpy Hooves. little does Moonstone know, however, is that she has just been dragged into another cult, one that takes ponies and turns them into baked goods in a not-so-cheery way. she basically gets indoctrinated again by ponies who are close to her and manipulate her by giving her a loving family and a stable place to stay. i want to portray Pinkie's baking group as something that's way more sinister than it's portrayed in the original Muffins because i feel like it doesn't address the mental strain it has on the bakers as much as it probably would be. the baker's cult portray themselves as a happy-go-lucky batch of bakers who love each other, but there's really a shitton of distrust and fear between the members of the cult. Moonstone and Derpy later realise this, and agree to escape together as newfound adopted sisters. this is a story about colourful horses by the way- 💀

at the end of the story, her and Derpy end up escaping, and this is when Moonstone finally gets her cutie mark; a key with a pair of wings symbolising her newfound freedom. OG Minkie's cutie mark is a lock, but i didn't really like the message that it represented and felt it didn't make that much sense for Minkie's character, and the concept of a pony getting their cutie mark late is interesting, so Moonstone gets a cutie mark that represents her destiny to finally break free and unlock her true self :)

and that's pretty much Moonstone's character! i'll probably make a proper colour palette for her in the future and i'll see how her character goes if i develop her further. this post isn't confirmation that i'm definitely doing a Muffins rewrite, but i thought giving a different twist on Minkie's character while trying to stay true to the original would be interesting and fun.

a couple other facts about Moonstone:

the ribbons in her hair change colours based on her state in the story. for example, when she was a little kid, her ribbons were white to symbolise her innocence. she later wears black when Moonstone got dragged into the baking cult to symbolise her further dwindling mental state and the horrible situation she was in, basically symbolising how she became a harbinger of death and agony. and at the end, she wears white again to symbolise her newfound freedom and a hope to regain her innocence and happiness now that she is truly free. they also become more flowy when she's wearing white, rather than the viney swirl down her hair when she wears black.

i was originally gonna have Moonstone's cutie mark be something like a wing in chains or a ball of light breaking through black chains, but they felt a little too on the nose. i do like the light breaking through chains idea though :)

thanks for reading all this way :) as mentioned before, please do not use this post to discuss any drama relating to the original author in the replies or reblogs. please also refrain from mentioning the name of the author as well as i fear it would just stir things up. i don't want my blog to become a place of drama, i just want to share my silly little ideas about creepy girl horse :P

[a-silver-dragoness]

"How long she dreamed to never wake

Not to die but forever sleep

To shed mortal coil and ascend

As dragon goddess

Winged and content"

I was browsing Tumblr a couple days ago when I was struck with this intense, forest fire of inspiration. I don't remember the exact post, but suddenly it was like "I NEED TO MAKE THIS ART RIGHT NOW", and that burning inspiration hasn't ceased following it's creation.

I really, really want to gush over my favorite, most influential dragons of my life, so be prepared for a long summary/explanation!

From (top) left to right:

Everlasting Dragon, Dark Souls: "Rumour it may be, but I have heard of a surviving ancient dragon who resides in this land. A coterie of Undead serves the dragon, as they train to become dragons themselves. Sounds unlikely, but you never know, do you?"

- Domhnall of Zena

Light Fury, HTTYD THW: My favorite species in HTTYD! A welcome change to the classical "big, scaly monster" category that 90% of dragons fall into. We need more sparkly, feminine dragon species IMO. I know a huge chunk of the fandom hates this species because of it's feminine traits, and the individual that represents the species is female (females aren't supposed to have sparkles, such a horrible design REEEEEEEEEE), but I feel like everyone forgets that the ENTIRE species is feminine and sparkly, not just the Nameless Light Fury. There are male Light Furies with these traits, which everyone conveniently forgets, and assumes the entire species is all female or something?

I've seen plenty of really good redesigns, but it makes me feel bad that so many people hate the species enough to change everything about them. They make the species more masculine, more bulky, more "big, scaly monster". They make the species look more like Night Furies, which makes me feel kinda weird. But regardless, I will always prefer the canon design over any redesign.

Blue, Wings of Fire: My first exposure to WoF was the Graphic Novel of The Dark Secret. I was like, "Woah! Dragons as the main POV characters! That's so cool! I've been waiting for this my whole life!" So, I eventually bought all five Graphic Novels, and checked out The Lost Continent from my local library, and I've been hooked ever since. I currently own the entire 3rd arc, the Winglets, and Darkstalker. I know the fandom probably hates the scavengers in the last book, but as long as dragons continue the be the main POV characters, I couldn't care less how involved they are. Plus, as long as you have two intelligent species in room together, they're eventually going to figure out how to communicate (it's inevitable).

SilkWings are my favorite WoF species. Flamesilk (or just spinning silk and weaving it into tapestries) is an awesome ability, and a very unique feature for a dragon species. I have this strange, prominent love for four winged dragons in general, but I do prefer SilkWings over HiveWings. The ability the cocoon oneself and emerge five days later with wings is a concept that.... interests me greatly. I wish I could grow wings too.

Red Dragon, OG Demon's Souls: I have very fond memories of watching my brother run through Boletaria 1-2, running from the red dragon on those bridges to get to the Tower Knight boss fight. Their roar is unforgettable, and it's makes me happy to hear it. I don't mind the Remake, but I very much prefer the OG Demon's Souls. It has a very wonderful, janky old game feel (DS2 also feels this way to me), and the OST can't be topped. Plus, it has the sexiest armor in any video game, the Fluted Knight Set.

Ryukotsusei, Inuyasha: The first time seeing an eastern dragon was at my cousin's place. She had a few seasons of Inuyasha, and a Sailor Moon movie (the one with the winged unicorn). Probably not the most appropriate thing for a little kid to be watching (I remember Kagome getting kidnapped by a demon and waking up naked in a bathtub), but for my first anime experience I had alot of fun. Definitely had a crush on Koga. I remember drawing a circle in my hand and pretending to suck up demons at school.

The One That Got Away: I read this dragon book in elementary school, and I've never been able to find it again. I've only read it once, and when I went back for it, I never found it again. It has been bothering me for YEARS that I've never been able to find this wonderful book again. So, if anyone has any idea what book I'm taking about, please, PLEASE, send me a message or send an ask with the title! Here's what I remember.

A dragon (maybe red) swooping down grabbing a sheep, with veins seen in its wings, a farmer watches as his sheep is taken away. A dragon hunting a herd of deer. A dragon in a cave, with words like "this dragon's wings are too tight/big for this cave, it'll have to find a new cave soon".

On the bottom are things that might represent or be connected with my godkin identity. I could explain each one, but I'm very tired, and I don't want to do that.

Thank you for making it to the bottom of this VERY long post! Enjoy your day!

[heinousactszx]

what are your thoughts on flutter mane? i've just realised that flutter mane is exclusive to scarlet while misdreavus is exclusive to violet, which seems like a weird decision 😭

yeah they did it kinda weird with some of those, for example you can only get tyranitar in scarlet but iron thorns is only in violet. weird choice

i’m glad you asked me about flutter mane because i actually have a lot of thoughts as the resident misdreavus lover

as a whole, I definitely like it, probably would even say i love it, but do i LOVE IT love it the way I love misdreavus? ehhhh, let’s break it down

on the one hand, what they did add to the design is very nice and natural. The tendrils extending out into feathery wings is a nice touch, and it’s easy to see how those could have evolved away into the wispy edges that exist in the present. The spikes are unobtrusive and definitely add to the primal menace, and i like the inverted eyes (all the past paradox pokemon have yellow eyes except flutter mane, because misdreavus already had yellow eyes!) And I do like the subtle asymmetry on its left side, with the fang, wing, and blade of the “dress” differing just enough to be noticable without dominating the design. I’ve always liked designs that aren’t mirrorable

on the other hand... that’s it? that’s all they wanted to tweak? I know misdreavus is a simple design, basically just a floating head, but they couldn’t have pushed this to be more out there? look at some of the other paradox pokemon. Sandy shocks is recognizable as magneton but is given a totally different personality. Iron Bundle keeps the bag of delibird, but completely changes the function to tie it to the future them. Roaring moon takes the “primal” look and jacks it up to 11 in a way that still looks good, while Flutter mane mostly just flirts with it.

Flutter Mane was designed by hitoshi Ariga (known for the mega man megamix manga), who’s said that misdreavus is his favorite pokemon. While I’m happy that he got to put his own spin on his fave, I think he maybe didn’t want to stray too far from a design he already loved. That has its place, sure, don’t want to lose the misdreavus-ness in a redesign, but my preference would have been to really push it in a bizarre direction

Just for comparison, look at Iron valiant, easily my favorite of the paradox pokemon. it’s a combo of two pokemon, but combines them in such a brilliant way that it feels like an entirely NEW pokemon altogether. Bits and pieces of (mega) gardevoir and gallade’s designs are blended into something familiar yet alien, and it even introduces a whole new design element in the detachable and combinable blades, all while matching the futuristic theme of the others.

I really, really wish that all (or at least more) of the paradox pokemon had gone for combination designs like this. not only is that fascinating from a world building perspective, as we could see which pokemon diverged from a shared ancient relative in the past and which pokemon are converging into similar species in the future, but it would also lead to more interesting designs

and if they wanted a pokemon to combine misdreavus with, I mean come on! shuppet is right there! they’re both floating heads, they both end with a dress, they both feed on negative emotions! think about how easy it would be to combine these designs into something that’s distinctly both. add shuppet’s more oblong head, eye shape, and spike, while keeping misdreavus’s eye color, pointier dress, gems and tendrils, then a bit of that ancient flair and voila. Flutter mane already has the spikes even, it wouldn’t take much to make this idea work

Anyway, that was a lot of words, and it might seem like I dislike flutter mane after all that ranting, but I don’t. I really do like it, and since pokemon is clearly moving towards more different forms and such for established pokemon, it’s exciting to have your favorite included. I just can’t help but be a little disappointed that I didn’t get that bit extra more

as a quick post script, check out flutter mane’s stats

geez, man. power creep just keeps getting more absurd. it should not come as a surprise that smogon banned this thing for being too powerful. it’s extra funny to me because I’ve been wanting for years for Mismagius’s stats to get bumped up to 55/55/55/115/115/115 to give it a bit more viability, which i thought was a reasonable buff. game freak clearly thought that was kid’s stuff

[blindecho6]

I've got a big idea of how I want to redo these characters at about 1am, but it was too late to draw this, so I've been able to start working on this today (and that's the reason why there's no art fight drawing today). I'll leave old drawing and some notes/ideas behind these characters under the cut (they're mostly for me, but I'll do my best to explain everything, so anyone can understand)

So let's start with old drawing (I know the resolution is shit, but I can't be bohtered to look for this drawing to take a beter photo, but I've put their names onto it so you know who I'm talking about):

Now to the characters. I'll split it into the old and new characters descriptions, but it's mostly just some minor details changed and the main indea behind the character stayed the same. So starting from the left on the redesign: Nathaniel Old - He's a vampire. But not the glowing twilight type, but buring in the sun type. Vampires in the old version weren't "repelled" by garlic, but he was allergic to it (I found it quite funny). He has very pale skin and is always wearing a hoodie to protect himself from the sun. Most popular guy in school (because vampire, tall, ect.) New - He's now an elf. And in this world most creatures are magical, so he's magical. He has magic related to being vampire (so the old idea's still there). Now he doesn't burn in the sun, but can change into a bat and do some other vampire like stuff. He has a pale skin, and that's the reason he's wearing a hoodie. He's still alergic to garlic (I still think it's funny). Still popular for being tall and now elf.

Joshua Old - He was a werewolf, and because of this he was bald (you can't see it, but I had the idea, where medicine for lycantrophy made your hair fall out and he definately took it). Optymistic and kind of reckless guy. Alwasy best friends with Nathan. New- He's now a warg (so basically non magical creature that has two forms: human and wolf). Since he doesn't have to be bald now he has crazy hair (I always imagined he'd have them if it wasn't for the medicine). And like previously Optimistic and reckless friend of Nathan.

Michael Old - Always imagined him like the most resonable person of the group that know when to relax and do stupid shit with others. He has a dg Spook who's fur patter reminds a skeleton. Never had a strong feeling towards his look, so I mostly winged it. New - He's now a hellborn (think like demons in this world). Hellborns are magical creatures which always have the same magic type, as in they can change between human and hellborn forms (more animal like look where their skin/hair color and horn/tail types stay between forms. Thay can litterally have ANY skin color). He's still the resonable one.

Lucy Old - She's a witch that's supposed to die before she turns 21 (that's the first thing you lear about her in the story, so not really suprising). Her companion is a black cat Felix (just an accident, since her parents are also withches with a bird and a rabbit as companions) whose life is intertwined with hers (they share thoughts, fell pain and die together). Mostly interested in an alchemy and learing the secrets of philosophers stone (gives immortality and ect.). New - She's just a regular mage that's magic is related to soul sharing, so she still can intertwine her life with Felix. I though of her before as straight, but now she's bi (because why not). I didn't thought to much about her changes, since I like the witch idea, and because of it I'm not sure if I'll follow through with the changes.

Eric Old - Very good swordsman who's working for a guild. He always makes sure everyone's safe and will put his life on the line to protect anyone. There was more to his character but I can't remeber anything else, beside the fact that he was bf of Lucy. New - Well, I didn't thought of much for him, except he'll be a mage now (I think it fits him). I didn't thought of his magic yet. Also now he has some kind of tattoos on his arm.

Nicholas Old - Werewolf like Josh. These two knew each other as kids, but lost contact since Nicholas's parents moved to new place. He takes medicine for lycantrophy, so he's bald. He gets easily hurt when someone calls him a monster, but doesn't show it to anyone except friends. He's gentle giant ball of fur. New - like Joshua he's now a warg. He's still bald but now it's his decision to shave his head like that. Still get's hurt when being called names. Still gentle (not so giant anymore)

Sophie Old - Brains of the group (not like anyone else is stupid, but she's defiantely the smartest one). She belongs to royal family, so she has a lots of money and will gladly give as much as she can to friends who doesn't see her as an ATM (when needed ofc, she's not spending it on just anything) . New - All of the above still applies, but to fit to the world she's now a blank (human without magical abilities).

Matthew Old - He has a pet racoon he can talk to named Bandit. He always thought it's weird he can talk to an animal (and just one at that), so he hid it , but it turned out he's a witch. When he met Lucy, she basically explained all of it to him and put a name to his "werdness". There was more to him, but I can't remember right now. New - He's now a mage with abilities related to talking with animals, so he can still talk with Bandit. No more ideas for him for now.

Maya She can fight and is a kind of rebel. And I literally cannot remember anything more about her. I know I always wanted her to have a lether jacket, but because I couldn't draw she had a hoodie (I still can't draw, but I try).

Too mcuh writing. There's probably a ton of errors, so I'll fix at a later date... maybe...

[thewickedmerman]

My Redesigns of The Specialists

Well, since I finished with the Winx Club girls and The Trix, I figured it was time to do my redesigns of The Specialists. However, not all of them are going to be just powerless fighters. I felt it would be more fun to make their team be made up of fighters, fairies, and sorcerers. Plus, they get to have their own transformations too. The fighters get transformations similar to the Power Rangers/superheroes (Because it makes no sense for there to be an emergency and they just rush off to change clothes, which is an INSANELY dangerous time waster), the fairies will have transformations similar to the Winx Club themselves, and the sorcerers will have transformations similar to the ones from Miraculous Ladybug (Honestly, I don't know what to think for the sorcerers). Why? Because it's so much more fun that way.

Sky

Well, I got the most BORING of the boys out of the way, so that's something. For his design I used Eric's body from The Little Mermaid, the face of Derek from The Swan Princess (Or at least from a specific poster), used his second hairstyle from the show because it suits him better and look less like a surfer dude, and I used the uniforms The Specialists get in the later seasons because it's BADASS. Plus, considering that Eraklyon is related to geology, it makes sense to have some armor that looks like stones. I did change the shade of blue to match his signature color, which is sky blue (I mean, it's in his name). He is the prince of Eraklyon and the son of a sorcerer and a fairy, but they still loved him despite that he had no magic. However, that made them even more protective of him since he was a child and there was a threat of him being kidnapped and held for ransom by Yoshinoya. So Sky's best friend/squire, Brandon (Who is a fairy and has magic to protect himself and Sky) was to switch places with Sky for public appearances and in school, so that no one would know who Sky really is. The only ones who knew the truth were the royal family, the castle staff, members of the royal court, and Diaspro & her parents (Who Sky was betrothed to since they were babies). Despite having no powers, Sky refused to be helpless and studied fighting hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. Sky is a boring character but could be good if put in the right hands. Give him flaws, have him held more accountable for his actions, none of the bullshit conflict that happens with him and Bloom from seasons 4-8.

Brandon

For his design, I used the face of Edward from Enchanted, the nose of Rameses from The Prince of Egypt, the eyes of Joseph from Joseph: King of Dreams, and the body of Bolin from The Legend of Korra. I've always questioned what race Brandon was supposed to be coded as because he seemed pretty ambiguous. Was he just white but with a tan? Was he Middle Eastern? Was he Filipino? Was he Hispanic or Latino? I saw someone say he was Middle Eastern and pointed out some areas in the Middle East where they have lighter tan complexions, dark brown hair, and similar features to him. So I thought for some representation, I would go with the Middle Eastern coded option. I made him a little darker than he was in the original show by giving him Flora's skin color from the original show (Since I gave her a darker skin-tone in my redesign of her), sharper eyes, and more Middle Eastern looking nose. I didn't want to use Aladdin's nose because the noses of Aladdin and Jasmine were a little too exaggerated the same way that the noses in Lilo and Stitch were too exaggerated (Polynesians don't have potato noses). I also wanted to show some body diversity by giving him a plus-sized body. NO, Bolin's body isn't fat but it's very much plus-sized. Brandon was a fat little boy growing up because he was just built differently. However, as he got older and started training, he bulked up. He's still plus-sized but is also muscular. You're probably wondering why I decided to make Brandon a fairy. I don't know but it just works. He is the fairy of geodes! I got that idea from Diaspro's fairy form and powers. They come from Eraklyon, so the magic in that world must be related to geology. So he's basically an Earthbender lol. But his powers are rooted on rocks, stones, gems, ect. so it's no wonder his body is so solid like a rock. I also modeled his wings after Diaspro's, which I noticed are solid instead of transparent like other fairy wings. I figured that must be part of the geology themed powers. As for his costume, I based it on one of the background fairies that were seen during the destruction of Bloom's home planet, Sparx. It just looked like it suited him. He and Sky have been friends since they were little and he is Sky's squire. He's the son of one of the palace guards. Since Sky was in danger of being abducted since he was a little kid, Brandon was made to pretend he was the prince for Sky's protection. Brandon's parents were dead against it, but the king demanded it. However, it was ultimately Brandon who decided to do it, even if his parents disapproved of putting their son in danger. You may ask, how would people believe that two white parents had a brown son? No idea! I guess they just said he was naturally tan lol.

Riven

For Riven's design, I gave him the face/head of Proteus from Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, the body of Shang from Mulan, and the eyes of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. For his outfit, I didn't want to just give him the same outfit as Sky but with a different color because I wanted more individuality. So I gave him the outfits that were worn by Nex and Thoren (Sky's cousin). They looked less heroic and epic as the outfit I gave Sky, which suits Riven's more roughish nature and how he hasn't had an easy life compared to Sky (More on that later). It also has a bit of a low-key bad boy vibe to it. I still stayed true to his signature color, magenta, while making sure it didn't clash with his magenta hair, and giving him some purple to match his eyes. And I just had to give him an angry look on his face because it's Riven, so of course. Riven is my absolute LEAST favorite of the specialists. Sky may be boring as hell but Riven is ANNOYING as hell. He's poorly written, has terrible development, is always an asshole for no reason, has no backstory to justify the way he is, doesn't really change, and his relationship with Musa is absolutely toxic. In my version, I give him a backstory and better character development. His backstory is that he was born to a father that was a sorcerer and a mother that was a fairy while he was born without the ability to perform magic, which was a MASSIVE disappointment to his parents. They neglected him, emotionally abused him, and on occasion physically. This makes his actions and attitude all the more understandable. He's a show off because of how he never really got attention growing up from his own parents and is trying to make up for it, as well as prove that he is capable of great things and isn't useless just because he doesn't have powers. He's angry and a hothead but has more of a secret gentle side that he sometimes shows, MUCH MORE than the original Riven, which helps make it more understandable why Musa would have a crush on him. His emotional baggage also made it easier for Darcy to manipulate him, even giving him some magic (But takes it away when she dumps him). His backstory also gives him a reason for why he lashes out at his fellow teammates. In my version, Brandon is a fairy and Timmy is a sorcerer, so they can perform magic while he can't. He especially resents Sky because of how he was also born with parents that could perform magic while he couldn't but was still given love and attention despite this. It made him VERY angry and jealous because of how Sky manage to have parents that adore him, despite being born unable to do magic, while Riven had neglectful and abusive parents because of his inability to perform magic.

Timmy

For his face/head I used some old concept design of Milo from Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the smile, eyes, and body of Aladdin. I went with Aladdin's body because of how Timmy wouldn't be as masculine as the others but wouldn't be lanky. Aladdin has some muscles on him but he's not super built. I also gave him freckles because it's just too perfect for him. His outfit was tricky because of how I had to find a way of making him look like a sorcerer but also incorporate it with technology to go with his powers because of how he is the Sorcerer of Technology. For his scepter, I went with Tecna's Mythix wand, with some adjustments. Redheads look surprisingly really good in the color yellow. I decided to make Timmy a sorcerer because of how I feel it suits his personality. He's not as action-oriented as the other guys but more intellectual, even though he still fights. Imagine how amazing he'd be with technology with magic. He'd excel! No, I don't have him being from Zenith like Tecna but from another technology planet, though one that isn't considered as high up as Zenith. So this makes him feel a little intimidated by Tecna, that and him having a MASSIVE crush on her. He always is trying to prove that he is capable and isn't just some weak nerd. Out of all of the specialists, he's one of my favorite, if not my number one favorite. He's just absolutely awesome with how much of a dork he is.

Helia

Helia was the one that I was looking the most forward to doing a redesign of because of how I made him a fairy. Out of all of the Specialists, he's the one that really benefits the best from being made a fairy, especially when I got to his Believix and Enchantix. He has more of a feminine personality while still proving he isn't a wuss but rather a badass, despite being a pacifist. This gives him layers and depth beyond just being a typical good looking hero. Plus, his hair is just AMAZING! I used the body of Mako from The Legend of Korra, the eyes and nose of Shang from Mulan, and the head/face of Little Creek from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. I also gave him Brandon's skin tone to make him look more brown instead of just a light Asian. His outfit is very feminine but also clearly meant for a man because of how it's kind of toga looking. But I did his toga in a way that looks more Asian inspired instead of Greek inspired. Plus, this look suits his chill and relaxed personality. I made his outfit salmon pink with some orange because those colors just look so good on him and just suit his character. I made him the fairy of art, the same way that Musa is the fairy of music. So he can make art literally come to life, turn things like paint into ropes, can control paper (Particularly when in an origami shape), create portals, can jump into paintings to hide, and you get the point. Basically, his powers are awesome!

Nabu

And now we've come to my favorite of The Specialists, Prince Nabu. First of all, I want to make VERY CLEAR that in my version, Nabu DOESN'T die! That was a bunch of BULL CRAP! I mean, he's introduced in season 3 and then close to the end of season 4 they kill him off? Not to mention that out of all the boys, they chose the darkest one, who was also the love interest of black woman! She ended up having to suffer more than any of the other girls because of this. Not to mention that in season 5 they tried to replace him with a brown (But much lighter) man with terrible blonde hair and a terribly bland and boring personality to match, Roy. Then when that didn't work, they did a dumb love triangle in season 6 where the white man that has a personality mixture of Riven and Brandon, Nex. Yeah, all of this is TOTALLY not racist! And that's coming from a white man. Also, I wanna also point out that Nabu is NOT black! He is Indian, so he is coded as South Asian. Now that we got my rant out of the way, for his design I used the face/head of Naveen from The Princess and the Frog, the body of Flynn Rider from Tangled (I wanted to use Naveen but there wasn't a base of him to use or a tasteful nude picture of him), and the eyes of Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I also chose to keep his super long single braid instead of the two shoulder blade length braids he had in season 4. Why? Because it just looks SO MUCH better and is more badass. Non-white men just look amazing with long hair. He is still a prince but he doesn't come from Layla's planet, Andros. Why? Because that planet is water themed and his powers aren't related to water. His powers are illusions and healing, so it only makes sense that he comes from another planet, especially when the rules of Andros are black while Nabu and his family are Indian. He and Layla are in an arranged marriage, which she refuses and their relationship still goes the same way it did in season 3. Except, I'm having them meet during my Sirenix story line because that season would be about Layla, due to it being water themed. He still went by a disguised name, Ophir before revealing his true identity once they fell in love. So I'm giving true respect to the Sorcerer of Healing and Illusions.

And now for Brandon and Helia's Believix!

Just like the girls, Brandon and Helia are getting Believix and Enchantix forms. For the Believix forms I took inspiration from @teawithlemonacid, who did some fanart of The Specialists as fairies. I did make some adjustments of my own but still did take inspiration from that artist, so credit where credit is due. As I said when I did the girls with their Believix, the way they earn their Believix is pretty much the same way they earned their Charmix in season 2. They have to believe in themselves and overcome a personal struggle. I also took liberties with the Believix aesthetic because of how I want the fairy looks to be more timeless rather than dated-looking.

Brandon's Believix

For Brandon's design, I gave him a new hairstyle because if the girls get new hairstyles for each new fairy form, so do the boys. I gave him Nex's hair, apart from those dumb looking sideburns. I embroidered some stoned onto his outfit because of how he's the fairy of geodes. Since I also decided to have his race be Middle Eastern, I decided to incorporate some of that into his look as well. I gave him some curled toed shoes and some Middle Eastern inspired accessories. That was hard because of how most Middle Eastern jewelry are women's jewelry. I gave him Tecna's Mythix wings because they just really suit him for some reason. As for how he earned his Believix, well he had to overcome some hidden resentment he had for Sky that was starting to show during a trust exercise. He resented that he had to put his life on the line for Sky ever since they were kids. That really effects a child when they are having their lives in danger in order to protect someone else. Yes, Brandon did agree to do it in order to protect his friend but he also knew that if he didn't do it that he and his parents would be in trouble with the King and Queen. Sky's parents didn't really show much concern for Brandon's safety and that caused more resentment because Sky didn't really say anything to his parents about their poor treatment of his friend. Sky could tell something was up and it was only when Brandon stopped bottling up his feelings that things started to get better. It was emotional and difficult but Brandon felt better when he finally let it all out. It was then that he earned his Believix.

Helia's Enchantix

homeworldHelia's Believix was A LOT of fun to do. I loved getting to have his hair loose because it looks amazing. I didn't make too many changes to the outfit I modeled this after. I love how the gold has a paint-like feel to it. It really adds to his powers being art based. I used Flora's prototype Bloomix wings for his Believix wings because they just seemed to suit him. I also had the magic coming from his hand looking even bigger and more powerful than it was during his Magic Winx form. The way he earns his Believix was different from how others earned their Believix. instead of mainly being an emotional struggle, it was also a physical struggle because he had to overcome his passive nature. He has a lot of power but he holds himself back because of an accident that happened when he was a kid. Because he didn't restrain himself, a friend of his got badly hurt. The friend lived but his parents wouldn't allow him to be friends with Helia anymore. After that, Helia kept to himself, chose not to be aggressive, and wouldn't live up to his true abilities because of that accident. His grandfather, Saladin (The headmaster at Red Fountain), has been trying to break him out of it and live up to his true potential. It was only when his friends, specifically Flora, were in danger that he finally overcame his passive nature and started using his full power. This caused him to earn his Believix.

And finally for Helia and Brandon's Enchantix

We have come to Helia and Brandon's final transformations, Enchantix. Just like the girls, they must earn theirs by saving someone from their homeworld by making a big sacrifice. The boys were hard to do, due to how there wasn't really anything for me to go off of. However, I think I managed to do a pretty good job. I also wanted to have them be in revealing outfits just like the girls. I mean, fair is fair, after all. Let me know what you think.

Helia's Enchantix

For Helia, I wanted to do something that had an Asian influence to it that also showed his art powers being influenced. I gave him something that was very flowing to go with his sensitive and feminine personality while also having a rainbow theme to go with his powers. I didn't use the colors of the rainbow because I didn't want him to just look like a Pride themed look, which ended up looking awkward and busy when I first attempted it. So I limited the colors to the ones in his wings to make it look better. I still wanted to include his two main colors, salmon pink and gold while still making the rainbow colors pop. I went with a very Asian inspired hairstyle, which actually shows both of his eyes. The eye that is usually covered is actually blind, which goes with the childhood backstory I gave him that helped him earn his Believix, which will also play a part in earning his Enchantix, which I will get to in a little bit. I felt it would show him embracing himself while also showing the Asian culture. I took some liberties with the jewelry because of how most jewelry is meant for women, which is why most male looks are boring. I tried to butch up his shoes to make them look less girly and making the gems resemble a paintbrush. For his wings, I used Stella's Mythix wings because they look like a rainbow, which really suits Helia. I made his powers in his hand the biggest and strongest they've looked out of all his fairy forms. As for how he earns his Enchantix, I had him save his old childhood friend, who Helia had accidentally caused to become permanently blind because of his powers, which also caused Helia to become blind in his right eye. He had seen him but was avoiding him because of his guilt, despite his old friend trying to reach out to him during this time. He saves his old friend from an avalanche that was caused by The Trix, specifically Stormy. Helia not only almost died but his wings were crushed, so he wouldn't be able to fly. He said that he lost his friend once because of something he did and wasn't going to lose his friend again when he could do something about it. However, it was due to this sacrifice that he was able to earn his Enchantix and gain a new and MUCH stronger pair of wings. Not only that, but he had his old friend back after all this time. Helia apologized for what he did to his friend when they were kids, but his friend forgave him and said he missed Helia.

Brandon's Enchantix

Brandon's Enchantix was even more difficult than Helia's because of how Brandon's not as feminine as Helia. I took some inspiration from Tynix because of how Brandon's powers are related to geodes. I made his vest and best/waist thing look like diamonds. I even incorporated gems into his sash. I took major liberties with jewelry because Middle Eastern (Which is the race I decided Brandon is) jewelry is very limited in jewelry for men, at least from the google search I did. I love the one sleeve look I gave him with his emerald vest/armor. I even gave him some gems on the bottom of his pants. I gave him very Aladdin looking pants, only without the crotch being so low lol. I gave him the hairstyle of the character Thoren from Winx Club and Stella's Tynix wings. The way he earns his Enchantix was by saving Sky from being eaten by one of Valtor's minions, causing Brandon to be eaten instead. This cause Brandon to earn his Enchantix and his powers were enhanced to where he could destroy the creature from the inside. This earned him not only his Enchantix, but also finally getting respect from Sky's parents, who, AT LAST, apologize for how they treated him. Yeah, this is simple but you get the point.

ENJOY!

Credit for the character bases goes to SelenaEde, Credit for the backgrounds goes to SparxGuardian, credit for Helia's Believix wings goes to darkfairyofmadness, and credit for the Enchantix wings and Brandon's Believix wings goes to AstralBlu. All of whom are on DeviantArt.