Hello, Commanders! Today, we will be showing you some cool behind-the-scenes content: the first finished conceptual piece for Kyoukai’s Boss, Kitsune. This is the first post introducing the character design in a series planned before the release, so stick around.
First step: Do some research
Like Sun Tzu probably said: know thy enemy. In this case, know thy samurais. Our amazing conceptual artist, Ana Andrés, did a ton of research into Japan’s Samurai era. Turns out, there were a lot of different kinds of samurai through the ages. They were very diverse in their aesthetic and even moral values, depending on the time and place. We decided to combine features which evoked the martial and clothing aesthetics of ancient Japan, along with some spiritual and folklore-related attributes.
Second step: Decide what you want from the concept
After doing the research, Ana decided which part to implement in the design. “We wanted the humble aesthetics of walk-in-the-night point of the samurai, so she has a straw cape. Japan is a very rainy country, so they used this kind of clothing to protect from the rain.”
“We also wanted the regal part of the Samurai,” Ana continued.
This was a little harder to do, since the Kyoukai faction already has a lot of the very obvious thing to add: the amazing samurai armor. So we went with a different aesthetic, more feudal but also very rich: The Kimono.
Third step: Connect the dots
A very important part of any character design is a sense of belonging. We wanted to connect our amazing Kitsune Boss as much as possible to the rest of the Kyoukai faction, without losing her unique characteristics. She is a boss, so she obviously needs to stand out, and yet she needs to still feel like part of the rest of her army.
To accomplish this, we added some important details: the kimono is a very warm pink, a color that goes well with Kyoukai’s purple. We also added sakura as a further reference to Japan. She wears a Kitsune mask as well, which is not only the Kyoukai’s representative icon, but also an important fox deity in the Land Where the Sun Rises.
She is one of our favorite bosses, and we are very proud of her. This is how she looks in her final form. ⚔️
You can play against her right now in Toy Tactics on Steam Early Access! 😁
Follow us on Steam for more in-depth content about our strategy puzzle RTS Toy Tactics. Thanks for reading, commanders!