Arcana Crusade - The Beginning.
From the very first draft to the self-publication of Arcana Crusade, roughly a year and a half had passed. There were many difficulties along the way, something that is to be expected when taking on such a project. Below are some trivia that I have collected:
Letio
This is one of Let's original Concept Art. In fact, this avatar of Let was originally placed in the cover of the very first version of 'Arcana Crusade'. This version was inspired mostly from a character concept art from 'Ragnarok the Animation: the Artbook'.
Let's appearance didn't change much from the original concept to the final version. His hair was totally different in the beginning, being spiky rather than sporting three large bangs. The collar of his shirt was upturned (later it became similar to a sailor collar), his shoulder armour converged with his shoulders rather than going off horizontally. The abdomen plate also had a different (and crude design).His Y-shaped scar was also longer. Let's character underwent much change. He was more spunky, if not arrogant- a trait later picked up by Var.
Let's appearance didn't change much from the original concept to the final version. His hair was totally different in the beginning, being spiky rather than sporting three large bangs. The collar of his shirt was upturned (later it became similar to a sailor collar), his shoulder armour converged with his shoulders rather than going off horizontally. The abdomen plate also had a different (and crude design).His Y-shaped scar was also longer. Let's character underwent much change. He was more spunky, if not arrogant- a trait later picked up by Var.
These are the first concept sketches I had done for Let after drawing the previous cover design. As you can see, the turnout is very different from the original motif, but I kept improving on the looks.Let is beginning to look more similar to the final version as well. Oh, and Let was supposed to have a toothpick on which he was supposed to always keep in his mouth. This toothpick disappeared for good exactly on page 10 in the manga.
Let's Alter Ego from the second version of 'Arcana Crusade'. I didn't give this character a name due to the fact that he greatly resembled the main character of my very first RPG manga (discontinued), Satoru. His personlity was more 'hero-ish' and righteous. His role was actually an escort or adventurer rather than a swordsman. I had already inked the first few pages of the 2nd version of 'ArcaCrus' but I felt it was fast paced and dropped the project. I prefer this guy's costume to Let's as it looks more like an adventurer than a sailor suit ~_~``` (plus he's got a belt and scabbard; I don't know where Let keeps his.)
Let as he appeared in the Sneak Peek Booklet for Malta ComiCon 2009. This version is also the one before last before Let took his normal form. In fact, up until mid- Chapter 2, I had used this version of Let. To be honest, I prefer the last version of all, reason why I was always modifying the main character.
Relea
Relea was also a character that was incremented in the original version of Arcana Crusade. Much of her personality remained the same, maybe at that point she was more reserved and shy.
Relea's original incarnation had little in common with her final appearance. her hair was straight-ish and pink in colour, her uniform was different. The few significant remenants that I still kept were the bunny ears, the cross-thingumybob that she keeps on her necklace and her boots. The facial features were improved on. Let's meeting with Relea was very similar to the final version. In the irst draft, Relea was to be captured by a group of bandits, rather than by imps (the bandits later gave rise to Var and his group). No particular reference was used for Relea; she was more like the typical supporting companion in most RPG games/anime/manga/etc. The more I developed her, the more I inputted characteristics from my girlfriend, and so I 'built' a closer relationship with the character.
These are some of the original concept art for Relea. Her personality, as mentioned, was more reseved and shy. She was to be more cry-babyish then now (I forgot what her past was like, but I think she was bullied as a child or something). There was supposed to be a scene where Let said something while they were under attack from some monsters and, instead of helping him out, she burst into tears and ran away. Maybe in future volumes I might do something similar.
When drafting the second version of 'Arcana Crusade', Relea had an alter ego, so to say, named Urielle. She was almost a photocopy of the final Relea, with the exception of being more level-headed. The only thing that survived from this version were the clothes, minus the cap (which was re-replaced by the bunny ears). "Let's alter ego" was supposed to escort "Urielle" to a city which had been attacked previously and finding her master dead, "Urielle" decided to join "Let's alter ego" in the quest and help those who had been afflicted in a similar fashion as her.
P.S. the reason why she only had one eye in the sketch was only for me to see how the eye would look like on her. Once this version was discarded, I didn't see the need to complete it. This happened to some of the other characters as well.
P.S. the reason why she only had one eye in the sketch was only for me to see how the eye would look like on her. Once this version was discarded, I didn't see the need to complete it. This happened to some of the other characters as well.
Var
Var was created during the second version of 'Arca Crus'. As such he is relativley new and very little changes were done for the final version. Var was introduced to create a balance for the righteous main character (see above), however as the second version was discarded, I wanted to introduce Var in the final version with Let. His design is typical to badass characters however I was mainly influenced by a Brazilian manga ('Holy Avenger') and "Saiyuki"'s Gojyo (mostly for personality). In fact, most of Let's original personality was given to Var. As the concept proceeded, I created a gang of bandits to follow him around. They were supposed to hassle Relea at a point in the plot but this was changed too.
A word on the airship. The mode for transport was a bit of a dilemma. At first I thought of having the characters hitch-hike most of their way, but found it monotonous. Then I remembered "The Mummy Returns"'s scene of the airship, and that hit it. At the time I was also reading 'Elemental Gelade' and the idea of air pirates tokk to my liking. I merged both ideas to come up with 'The AirShip'! I also wanted to do a Team Rocket gag of having crew members cycle on a machine to propell the ship...
A word on the airship. The mode for transport was a bit of a dilemma. At first I thought of having the characters hitch-hike most of their way, but found it monotonous. Then I remembered "The Mummy Returns"'s scene of the airship, and that hit it. At the time I was also reading 'Elemental Gelade' and the idea of air pirates tokk to my liking. I merged both ideas to come up with 'The AirShip'! I also wanted to do a Team Rocket gag of having crew members cycle on a machine to propell the ship...
Mirena
I had watched an anime, 'Tales of Eternia', and seeing a fighter in the main party got me thinking how very few RPG serieses had fighters in the party. So when I started the second iteration of 'Arca Crus', Mirena was born. Her character was more lenient when compared to her final version, but her short fuse stuck. The main idea was for her to be related to nobilty, hence the fancy garb. She ended up as the Princess's attendant and guardian (yeah, I know SO Impa and Zelda-ish...). Not much changed after her design, much like Var.
One thing happened that brought conflict between her and Relea- the hair. In the original concept, Mirena had pink hair much like Relea. When I was colouring the cover, I realised that two pink-headed girls were too much (as if seeing a pink-headed girl is normal in it's way...). I couldn't visualise Mirena other than a pink-head (...), so Relea lost the battle. Looking back, I think it was for the best.
One thing happened that brought conflict between her and Relea- the hair. In the original concept, Mirena had pink hair much like Relea. When I was colouring the cover, I realised that two pink-headed girls were too much (as if seeing a pink-headed girl is normal in it's way...). I couldn't visualise Mirena other than a pink-head (...), so Relea lost the battle. Looking back, I think it was for the best.