Songrui Li

Character Design – Revised Version

Redesigned Characters & Custom

After receiving feedback from Week 7 and earlier presentations, I began to rethink my character design. Although I was still interested in exploring L’ona’s story, I realized that this approach was not suitable for the current project. Her narrative relies on worldbuilding elements that are unfamiliar to most players, and the abstract storytelling style of fairy tales would make this background even harder to convey. As a result, I decided not to pursue her story within this project.

However, I chose to keep the cat element and made several changes to the main character’s overall appearance and costume design.

Nyanita – Player character, a cat fairy.

  • This name is a combination of “Nyan” and “Amanita”.
  • “Nyan” is a Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat’s cry, equivalent to “meow” in English.
  • “Amanita” is a genus of mushrooms that includes many well-known deadly species, such as the Fly Agaric (which also serves as a source of inspiration for the character design), the Destroying Angel, and the Death Cap.
Concept Art
Hairstyle

I redesigned Nyanita’s hairstyle based on the annulus of a mushroom, which is coincidentally also referred to as a “ring.” Her hair color was inspired by the mushroom’s stalk. Due to oxidation and environmental factors, the edges of a mushroom’s annulus often appear darker or even black, so I incorporated dark brown highlights into her hair.

Face markings

The markings on her forehead were first inspired by the Miqo’te from Final Fantasy XIV, as I consider these patterns to be highly distinctive and a strong sense of wildness. I also studied images of white cats and noticed that many of them have natural markings at the center of their foreheads, formed by fur growth direction and facial expressions. Due to their pure white fur, these markings are especially visible. As a result, I incorporated similar patterns on her forehead to reflect this characteristic of white cats.

Custume
BEFORE
Now

Based on the existing costume design, I decided to incorporate more mushroom-related elements. Using the Fly Agaric as a reference, I added white polka-dot patterns to the headscarf and circular cutouts to the socks.

The overall costume design is still inspired by Kitri’s outfit from the ballet Don Quixote, with the color palette incorporating the iconic white spots of the fly agaric. I added gem pendants to the top to echo the decorative elements commonly found on ballet costumes. The structure of the bodice is inspired by the busk, a form that also frequently appears in ballet attire.

I chose not to use a classic tutu skirt. Tutu skirts are typically made of voluminous tulle, which is difficult to illustrate, and visually too light and airy to effectively convey the mushroom motif.

Catania – The Fairy Queen.

  • The name references Titania, the Queen of the Fairies. By changing the first few letters, I try to create a stronger connection between the name and “cat”.
  • Still working on concept art.

Cateron – The Fairy King.

  • The name references Oberon, the King of the Fairies. By changing the first few letters, I try to create a stronger connection between the name and “cat”.
  • It allows the audience to recognize the homage while also appreciating the originality of the work.
  • Still working on concept art.

Chestnutleaf – King’s servants, one of the main enemies in the game. A Siamese cat.

  • This name references Peaseblossom, one of Titania’s attendants in the play. I followed the same naming structure, with Chestnut corresponding to Pease and leaf echoing blossom.
  • Still working on concept art.
    • I searched for several common bean names to serve as a counterpart to Pease, including Bean, Soy, Chickpea, and Blackbean. However, their pronunciations were not very pleasant, so I decided against using them.
    • Next, I shifted my focus to the latter part of the name and considered using Hollyleaf as the name. However, its pronunciation was too similar to that of other words, which could easily confuse people, so I decided to abandon it.
    • In fact, both Hollyleaf (not used for the reasons above) and Crowfeather (see below) were inspired by characters from the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter. At first, I just wanted to use the name Jayfeather, which is also one of the characters in the book, but I realized that “Jay” usually makes people think of blue, and blue cats are tricky to design. So I switched the name to Crowfeather. Then I noticed that it’s actually also the father of Hollyleaf and Jayfeather, which makes it kind of another way of paying tribute.

Crowfeather – King’s servants, one of the main enemies in the game. A black cat.

  • This name references Cobweb, one of Titania’s attendants in the play. The name is constructed from a combination of an animal and something it produces. I chose to use the term feather in a similar way, as it not only aligns with the original naming logic but also serves as a subtle hint toward a specific colour.
  • Still working on concept art.

Pumpkinseed – King’s servants, one of the main enemies in the game. A ginger cat.

  • This name references Mustardseed, one of Titania’s attendants in the play. Similar to the previous names, I tried to design a new character name following the structure of Mustardseed. I first chose the word Pumpkin, as it clearly indicates a colour. However, I struggled with finding a suitable replacement for the suffix. In the end, I decided to keep the original suffix; rather than forcing a new one, the original reads more smoothly, and Pumpkinseed itself sounds very natural and pleasing.
  • Still working on concept art.
    • I had considered both Cinnamomeseed and Pumpkinseed. Although Cinnamomeseed evokes more of a fairy-tale atmosphere, cinnamon-colored cats are relatively rare in reality and difficult to design. For these reasons, I ultimately chose Pumpkinseed.

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