Soulless Character designs

I wanted all the characters to look different they all come from very different places so they wont share the same features.

When working on the characters I started with silhouettes then moved to quick sketches before refining them and working on color comps.

Zion went through a lot of changes with his colors I originally wanted warmer colors because he is so hot headed. In the end we gave him cooler colors with a focus on purple to show his power and pride and so he would better stand out from the background.

Kia was a fun challenge because I wanted to show a contrast between him and Zion. He was given warm colors to contrast Zion to show how they initially fought each other but purple was added to show their eventual connection.

Evie was originally pitched and a large male character who could tower over the others. She was changed to a smaller girl so she could seem more like a peer for Zion and Kia, so the boys could see themself in her and give more complexity to the fighting.

Mio is the oldest of the four main characters originally pitched as a grandmother to them but was aged down to have more of a sisterly relationship with Evie they were both given bright red to visually link the two even before we know the twos history.

When working on the creature I knew it needed to be to be something grounded in reality but not something normal like a horse or bull. I landed on a falcon because they are known for being able to be trained and are very loyal.

I wanted the falcon to be large enough for someone to ride with a saddle that would be comfortable enough for long rides.