#Queen Bakrakra

[almightyhamslice]

Insektober day 22: Masquerade! (sorry its late)

Queen Bakrakra and General Lukanus at the masquerade ball. Lukanus wishes to dance with the queen but alas, he's a never been much of a dancer and she hasn't moved her legs this much in years.... they'd be a disaster on the dance floor.

So instead Bakrakra will stand and watch her subjects like ants, while Lukanus scours the premises for a certain ant! (FULGOR!)

This piece takes place at the same time as day 7! Same masquerade ball. The whole Masquerade thing is an episode of my rewrite (still a WIP....) and @dnpanimationstudioclone came up w the idea for it! It's meant to go between Koa the Frog and The Reskue, a transitional state between the Kruds being unable to put a face on the Verigreen threat and the Kruds recognizing Fulgor as the main threat of Verigreen resistence (and Aelia, but they don't really take her seriously since they see her as a weak butterfly)

[dnpanimationstudioclone]

“Till death do us part”💔

     Based on characters from InseKtors. The one in the left is Queen Bakrakra, the right one is Drako, an oc of @almightyhamslice ​ and the kid is Max, the Queen’s son and one of the protagonists. I know it’s kind of sad for V-Day but aren’t many love stories like that?

[distant-glory]

Could you please write about Acylius's father?

I do have plans for Vecundus to show up in one or two chapters of Blue Roses. Some of my headcanons about why we don’t see him in the show appear in ‘Kisses’--basically, there were quite a few points in Yuk history where the husbands/wives of the rulers tried to seize power from their spouse. Eventually, one of the queens passed laws that stripped all political powers from anyone who married into the royal family. With direct power denied to them, some of the newly-termed Consorts instead tried to influence their children to favor them over their blood-royal parents. This led to a convention--though it was never officially codified in law--of Consorts having extremely limited contact with their children, to prevent any coups from that direction. So up until the end of the show, Acylius has had barely any contact with his father.

Of course, since all other attempts at persuading Acylius to behave like a proper Yuk have failed quite spectacularly, Bakrakra would be foolish not to try something different...

[altamaranempire]

Fan-art of an obscure show that I watched as an obscure regional dub as a child? 

Yep. UK dub Insektors.

Queen Catheter(Katheter?)/Bakrakra and her son Prince Maximilian/Alycius! They’re both pretty clearly devil flower mantises (right down the the thin curly antenna on females only). Fun fact though they both use the nymph and subadult colours! I like to imagine that if they were weird space-biotech-touched like the colourful protags, they’d take on the adult palette! Although Max’s blue wings in that one episode may mean I am full of LIES.......

Also where are the queen’s wings I demand an explanation give them back. What’s up with her in general though hah.

[almightyhamslice]

Insektober day 1: Weather!

Prince Max and Queen Bakrakra enjoy a warm snowy day. Warm? Yeah warm! The snow is rainbow because it's weird warm snow generated by the Sky Breaker machine! I remember watching the original episode 10 and thinking it was strange that Bakrakra DIDNT have any opinion of the snow but Krabo considered it a failure anyways. Like wouldn't Bakrakra be stoked abt this weather??? it's warm AND it's fun! Maybe she'd be a little miffed or conflicted since its so colorful... but who cares abt that when it's exactly what she needed!!! idk. Wasted opportunity IMO. I think the rainbow snow's pretty OP.

So in my actual drawing Bakrakra has been sitting outside in the snow for a while and is very uncertain abt the whole thing, I guess reconsidering her thoughts abt... everything tbh. Isn't it interesting how your mind clears when it feels like you're in less pain than usual? That's why I think the rainbow snow's OP-- if Bakrakra was just operating at her proper temperature she'd have a better grasp on her kingdom and the wants and needs of the Kruds, PLUS the Kruds wouldn't have to fuel the Hypotherm anymore so it'd be a net positive for everyone... except for KRABO, because he'd lose his control over the other Kruds that way. GOD now that I think abt it Bakrakra's situation is way more interesting than I expected it to be upon my first few viewings of Insektors... they rlly could've explored that well I think!

I don't think Bakrakra is a particularly compassionate person nor do I think she has much regard for the Verigreens, but unlike Krabo, she is willing to put aside her hatred for them when it benefits her directly or indirectly (wow what a saint LOL), whereas Krabo is so stubborn he would never accept help from the Verigreens even if his life depended on it. So I suppose even though Bakrakra is often made out to be the more imposing threat, Krabo is the largest threat to Joyceland as a whole and, honestly also the Kruds themselves. I just thought that was fascinating tbh!

Anywayz I hope u liked my post and my ramblings today. I like Bakrakra a lot! And I am doing Insektober again just like I did last year, funny random color schemes included!

[almightyhamslice]

insektober day 16: Future

its called future cuz Princess Saturn here is actually a fankid design! She's Bakrakra and Lukanus' kid. She's an antlion! She looks a little silly cuz I actually designed her as a baby first n didn't think abt how adult antlions look like discount dragonflies. So to keep her recognizable ish I decided she'd have a few neotenic features like her sharp jaws n "fur" but she'd also have adult features like antennae, (stunted) wings, and a tail. I rlly like her wings, they look like screaming faces.

She seems like she'd be funny! I dont hve much written abt her though because she's not rlly part of my funny rewrite plans, she's just an OC I made because I thought it'd be fun if she existed essentially/thought itd be cute if Lukanus was a parent. He would be so proud of her even though she likes causing problems on purpose <3

I also think her relationship to Queen Bakrakra could be interesting! Not to get too into spoilers for the comic but Max's relationship to the monarchy is complicated so maybe Bakrakra would be happy to have a daughter who's actually passionate abt Krud City? Though Saturn's existence is also kind of scandalous because Bakrakra and Lukanus aren't married!! Or are they? I don't think they are, no. I think Lukanus is just her consort or something. Unofficially. NOT canon lmao. Anyways disregard everything I just said cuz Saturn isnt real unless I SOMEHOW put her in my rewrite which I WONT unless I FEEL LIKE IT IDK

[almightyhamslice]

Insektober day 13: Monster(s)!

These characters are all termites! Fightermites even. Left to right they are: Nasuto (nah-SUE-toh), Lord Sisyphus (SISSY-fuss), and Cubit (KYU-bit)! Nasuto and Cubit are soliders and both are blind (fun fact did you know irl termite soldiers and workers are blind? the winged termites that eventually become kings n queens aren't, though). Sisyphus is a termite king (demoted to Lord at Queen Bakrakra's demand) and he's Lady Prometheus' husband!

Sisyphus was meant to be the general and commander of the army of Fightermites, but he realized his wife needed his support, so he abandoned his military duties to better care for her. Bakrakra tolerated this because Lukanus was able to take Sisyphus' position and lead the fightermites, but as a result none of Sisyphus' children respect his command and just think he's a pathetic little guy. There isn't much familial love between the Fightermites since there's hundreds of them and neither of the parents can give them much attention... but Prometheus has a commanding presence and Sisyphus doesn't, so they all listen to her. Prometheus finds it difficult to be personal to her children, but she is at least able to with Cubit and Nasuto since they are her guards and therefore usually by her side.

I am NOT late and I did NOT forget, I was just out of the house all day. I chose to draw Prometheus' henchmen for today's prompt cuz termite soldiers remind me of frankenstein's monster lol. They're like different bugs stitched together into 1!!

[almightyhamslice]

Insektober day 10: Flowers!

Suzy pays a visit to Flora's flower shop and buys a bouquet! Flora belongs to @emilyrosebug.

Suzy is my OC, she's a paper wasp queen. She's like a semi-authoritative Verigreen? It's hard to say since Verries don't rlly have traditional leaders, though Suzy feels kinship with her fellow wasps and ants and tries to better life for them any way she can! She is kind and calm, but also very protective! I think unlike her Krud analogues (Bakrakra and Prometheus to a greater extent) she isn't unhappy with her role in Verigreen society simply because there's no pressure for her to be something she doesn't want to be. She can just do her thing! And so she will. Today's a nice day for flowers, so she bought a handful from her friend!

Don't ask me abt flower size continuity or I will be VERY sad bc it took me foever to draw them LOL. I didnt have to go this far for a damn daily drawing!!! my hand hurtz...

[almightyhamslice]

Day 4: Technology!

Lady Prometheus uses the newly installed SPARKIE system to inspect (spy on) her subjects, but an unfamiliar Insektor catches her attention. See, Prometheus has spent the past 29 years of her life stuck in the same Fightermite chamber and hasn't seen the outside world since she was 20 years old. Not because she's a criminal, but because she's a termite queen (she isn't called 'Queen Prometheus' because Bakrakra wanted to be the only Queen in Krud City, so forbid Prometheus from assuming the title & labeled her 'Lady' instead)... so she's effectively immobile. Like being chained to a stone, if you will! So for nearly 3 decades she's only had her husband and the other Fightermites under her authority to talk to about the outside world, and SPARKIE has been enlightening to her! Her wide-eyed stare can be frightening, but she's actually very curious and intrigued right now! Though...

If you've seen SPARKIE and Co, you know how this ends... she does NOT get to keep SPARKIE because it malfunctions when Fulgor colors one of its data cards. Fulgor couldn't have known about Prometheus' existence as he's never seen her in his entire life, but the rest of Krud City is at least dimly aware of her... Synapse and Krabo know her particularly well. The removal of SPARKIE from her room will prove to be particularly disastrous I think, because she was given a glimpse of the outside world only for it to be ripped away immediately. Fortunately for Prometheus, Fightermite Monarchy is only a 30 year job, and she's going to be out of it when she turns 50. She's not sure what she'll do then, but she can promise there will be blood... er... hemolymph? And it won't be hers that's shed!

So say hi to Prometheus! She's one of my fav designs which is insane because Termites r one of my least fav bugs!! I think they are very scary and that's why Prometheus is a scary villain! I'm very excited abt her because I think she is very sympathetic but can also be very menacing and isn't rlly emotionally connected to the Krud cause, I think she has a greater revenge drive than even Krabo. Lots of pent up anger! So she's scary to the Verigreens and also scary to the Kruds! But to me she is a funny blorbo. I like her a lot LOL. I am rotating her in my mind. I dont think she's irredeemable or unreasonable (unlike SOMEONE) but she has very tough walls she built for herself! It will take a lot to break through.

[almightyhamslice]

regarding my last post, I also drew another gift for @dnpanimationstudioclone bc I rlly appreciate that she continued helping me on my search, it was rlly nice of her... 

She requested that I draw Lord Drako and Queen Bakrakra together. I obliged!

[almightyhamslice]

(yesterday’s) prompt was ‘Love’

sorry it’s late

if I haven’t explained Lord Drako before, he’s Max’s dad. the spots all over his body are mold; he has a cordyceps-like disease and has to be quarantined for it. Queen Bakrakra and the rest of her bloodline are pretty long-lived (almost ridiculously so) but Drako ages normally, so despite being younger than Bakrakra, he’s very frail and affected by old age. As you might imagine, it was pretty devastating for Bakrakra to learn this.

[almightyhamslice]

today’s prompt was ‘power’. I find it incredibly difficult to draw Bakrakra!!

[almightyhamslice]

May for Nokturno and Kretinus. He’s always sad to have to drag her back to his mom’s office at the end of the month.

[almightyhamslice]

less of a daily drawing and more of a daily painting rlly lol. 

Today’s Insektober prompt was ‘Job’. Niff (and Itchy) must bravely fight colossal creatures in order to gather resources or meat. Niff is averse to killing them, however, since they’re MUCH too large-- it would be wasteful, he thinks. So, Niff prefers to cut small pieces out of his foes, then let them go. Not fatal, but definitely not painless. Itchy on the other hand, is very squeamish & struggles to even keep Niff’s sword in their hands! They’ve got a long way to go...

just one drawing today... it’s probably pretty self-evident as to WHY lol. Anyways yeah I hope no one’s disturbed by the fact that Kruds can hunt other creatures, lol. I guess here’s a weird little... lore thing? that also ties into IRL insect biology/contradicts it? So, most of the Krud cast of the show are actually based on herbivorous bugs irl (cockroaches, weevils, stag beetles, etc), but Krabouic and Kaboche are omnivorous since they’re ants, while Queen Bakrakra and Prince Maximilian are carnivorous since they’re mantises. Now, the part where things get kinda fucky is, the Kruds eat human foods. Kaboche makes sandwiches (egg & cress, and chicken satay), and Niff and Erik like to eat jellied eels. the latter ALSO implies that ALL kruds are omnivorous, since rhino beetles are herbivorous irl! Pretty strange, isn’t it?

If you are unfamiliar with these two characters: Itchy is an OC of mine (they are an android, akin to Peg/Gallopus but more like a person than an animal) and Niff is an interp. (he’s mentioned in the UK dub but never appears on screen. He’s a hercules beetle!!)

[almightyhamslice]

Insektors fan-character creation guide, please? 🤩🤩🤩

Ok honestly I'm not the absolute authority on Insektors OCs nor do I have a super strict method, BUT I will take you through my personal design process!!

So firstly, I decide on a species of bug. This is the foundation of the design, so it's pretty important! I often choose insect species that are personal to me in some way, but it's totally ok to pick a species just because it looks cool! I did that for Drako, Kurkulie, and Nokturno, lol.

Species also has somewhat of a bearing on personality, in many different ways. Makabris is super burly because stink bugs are a type of shield bug so he's very defensive, but he's also rather easily embarrassed due to his reflexive defensive chemical spray. Kachhua is prone to lying because the green tortoise beetle mimics the ladybug, pretending to be something it's not.

It can also be fun to invert species tropes when designing a character! Iridamorous is very gender non-conforming, while bagworms are extremely dimorphic IRL. He borrows traits from male and female bagworm moths, but is most easily distinguished as male because he flies. Rook is a water strider, but he has severe thalassophobia (or... hydrophobia, perhaps? which is funny since water strider legs are hydrophobic in a biological sense) and wears a coat that looks just like a life jacket.

Regarding species, there's also anatomy to think about.

I think generally when designing Insektors characters, it's completely acceptable to play fast & loose when it comes to bug anatomy. Generally characters will have less arms/legs than their IRL counterparts, and some can have very fantastical features (canonically: Krabouic & Kaboche have weird teeth, Synapse has a large crest instead of a long snout like Kretinus even though they're both weevils, and neither Aelia nor Pyro have proboscises)!

It's also okay if you pick a species that's kind of close to a canon character's species, and your fan character looks nothing like them. Like I said before, Synapse and Kretinus are both weevils and look nothing like each other! Iridamorous is a moth just like Pyro, but he doesn't look like him, and Makabris is a type of shield bug just like Krabouic and Kaboche (though, that's just my headcanon personally. They're really vaguely designed imo lol... but I guess that's more reason to get experimental with anatomy, right?) So really, I think nothing is off the table.

Generally most Insektors characters do have the same number of eyes as their IRL counterparts, but Prince Max and Queen Bakrakra do not. This could mean that 2 eyes is just the standard for all characters, but I don't think it's set in stone, hence why Zarojo has eyespots & goggles with 3 lenses, and Okagne has 6 eyes.

Stylistically, I try and stay as close as possible to the source material, though it's fun to break a few rules every now and then!

A lot of my characters are modeled after canon characters, having something of an amalgamation of multiple characters' features. I think Okagne is likely the least canon-compliant of the roster, since she has fuzz all over (which isn't exhibited on any of the characters), weird eyes, and extra arms that take on a weird shape. Fuzz in general may be non-canon-compliant because I imagine it'd be a pain to render using such old cgi technology, but I think it looks cute & it'd be weird for certain bugs not to have it (except Nokturno, Mayflies don't actually have fuzz at all- I just drew her with a fluffy collar because it made her look cooler LOL). Plus, the UK dub mentions that Pyro has dandruff... which you have to have hair in order for it to manifest!! So of course insektors characters can be fluffy!

Additionally, I don't really draw FCs with eyelashes, since no characters in the show have them. The exception to this would be Unity, because I wanted to think of a unique antenna placement for her that'd be different from all the other weevils. So generally I avoid eyelashes, but like a lot of other features, I'm sure they're possible! Also don't be afraid to give your characters more human-looking clothing. I personally like to skew towards more organic-looking outfit designs, but again Pyro proves to be a very helpful reference in this situation! He DEFINITELY wears clothes that are not made of exoskeleton material. Crosette wears actual clothing, and so does Kaliko. Okagne and Iridamorous are intentionally ambiguous, and Makabris and Kachhua's 'outfits' are definitely all just part of their bodies. Fun fact, Makabris' collar pattern (the part before the stripe at the end) is intended to look like a fading houndstooth pattern!

Lastly, character names!

I like giving my characters rather verbose names, though some of them (Drako & Rook) are rather brief. Most character names I decide on have some form of meaning behind them, and others are chosen just because I think they'd sound cool (like Kaliko lol). For more examples: Zarojo's name is pretty simple & just based on their maroon coloration ("za rojo"- the rojo- the red), Crosette is named after a type of firework (since she's a red cracker butterfly, it made me think of firecrackers), and Nokturno's name is derived from 'nocturnal' (since she's asleep when the Kruds are active... it's not a perfect description since she isn't really nocturnal, but it does sound cool LOL). I tend to think of names last, since it usually takes me ages to come up with them. Nokturno especially, I have files on my computer calling her 'Nokturna' and 'Nokturnus' because I couldn't decide at first. Also, I like to include 'K' in most of my kruds' names, to match the naming scheme used in the original version & NA dub of the show. This is DEFINITELY optional, and I don't follow it all the time.

So, that's about all I've got I think. I hope you found this helpful, and have fun drawing your character(s)! I'll have to check the Insektors tag more often, I'd love to see other people's characters! I think I've actually only met one other person who even HAS insektors fan characters, and that's @dnpanimationstudioclone lol! so, shoutout to her as well. (she also inspired me to call Lord Draco 'lord' instead of 'king' during a discussion we were having on discord)

[almightyhamslice]

tbh I was kinda saving this for valentines day but.... I’m rlly bored so here it is early LOL! Anyways here’s the big reveal: Kaliko and Magus are married!! and Kaliko is Fulgor’s mom!! what a surprise it’s almost like she’s the only other ant character with a dog face LOL

well anyways yeah that’s about all I got for today, lol. Also it’s rlly hard to draw romantic scenes with Insektors characters because they don’t blush (or at least, Max and Aelia don’t... and Lukanus doesn’t either even though he gets all flustered after talking to Queen Bakrakra)! But I did my best.

Here’s a headcanon I have about Magus: the name ‘Magus’ is something he came up with for himself, and ‘Eurekas’ is his birthname. He changed it before he fled Krud City, both because he wanted to reinvent himself and because he wanted a new name without the signature ‘K’ in it. In my personal rewrite, a lot of the Kruds either forgot about his new name or never knew him by anything else, so they only recognize the name ‘Eurekas’ (which makes Fulgor’s whole interrogation process MUCH harder btw).