History | Musings Of | Game Design | Portfolio

Conceptualizing a Goal

"Musings Of" is a working-title, work-in-progress project I've been working on for the past 12+ years. The goal of this project is to (hopefully someday) have a fully developed and published game that will be sold to the public. Realistically, this is more just a passion project that I've poured my heart, soul, and very being into. In spite of the fear of sounding vain, this project is very much my life's work, and I'm just happy to be able to share as much as I can of it with whoever is willing to listen and/or read through it all.

The end-goal is to develop concept art and finished pieces for the environments, regions, and countries within this universe, as well as produce the same end results for the 43+ characters that make up this story—in addition to solidifying their "full-bodied" personalities and quirks. This wasn't a project that came about by a need to desperately tell a story worth listening to, nor was it to shed light on some issue I'd developed an opinion on. It all—truth be told—began when I sketched out a boy. Just a boy... and his demon form, of course. A demon creature I then dubbed a "Xaerian".

Zak Warlyile (the first, original, initial sketch of him from 2009!)

The first, initial/preliminary "sketch" I did of Zak Warlyile in 2009...

Zak Warlyile's demon (Xaerian) form — a dragon-like creature with a spiky mane, black-striped tongue, sharp claws and a back talon, an abstract necklace, and stitches over its ribcage.

...and the 'Xaerian' form I gave him—the first ever "sketch" of the species!

It was from there that I become fixated on the idea of these creatures embodying the natural elements, although I had already carved ahead of me niche gamut of elements—considering Zak's Xaerian was the so called "Element of War". I stuck by this (and eventually developed a "Peace Xaerian"—yes, Khokori Pax-Esheway!—to neutralize and balance the War Element), and he still remains the Xaerian of War to this day. I sketched a version of a "buster" blade that also doubled as a sniper gun, and I began sketching and compiling references/inspiration for other characters that I would then add to the roster. I keep adding to the roster even now, so I suppose nothing's really changed since '09, but Zak is character that started it all. Shikyo had been a persona of mine for a few years prior, and I ended up tweaking who she was at that time to fit more into this new 'verse I had created. I had brought her demon wolves Morosoki and Xuuranaku over from her original story and plot (which was unashamedly a Naruto own character—or OC-insert). Although Shikyo's the main protagonist (and my primary character in just about everything), Zak is more or less the man standing behind her who made it all happen. Ironic, given his role in the plot.

All in all, this world was concepted around the idea of elemental dragon-like deities, and I've just been pushing myself to bring the story of this universe to fruition.

Xaerians

Running with the above concept and species name, I fleshed out the full body concept for a generic Xaerian. The intention behind the creature was to be a sort of long, slender ground (flightless) dragon that had elements of a wolf — hence the manes, stylized paws/feet, back leg "fluff", and loose fur over the tail. The original intention was for there to be a visual difference between Xaerian that reflected the appearance of their vessel, so "male" Xaerians would have shorter manes and sharper, more angular tail-blades, whereas females would display longer manes with more rounded tail-blades. (I admittedly haven't gotten around to sketching a more "anatomically correct" version of what these creatures are, but the final idea is that the Xaerians will take on appearances that somewhat resemble their hosts, but aren't so limited to the binary ideas of "male/female".)

"Male" Xaerian

"Female" Xaerian

To further illustrate the idea that each Xaerian is supposed to resemble their host, below are some of the (very early) concepts for a few of the elements.

Concept of Shikyo's light Xaerian, which includes

Xaerian Shikyo – Element of Light

Xaerian Zak – Element of War

Xaerian Sarah – Element of Storms/Disasters/Electricity

Xaerian Nicky – Element of Darkness/Shadows

Characters

From characters, to creatures, to symbols, below is a gallery of all old conceptual artwork for 'Musings Of'. Some characters and concepts haven't quite made it to 'final development', but it's fun to reflect and see where the present-day finalizations began from. Zak wasn't always a stereotypically spiky-haired anime boy, and Yono wasn't always a beefcake bodyguard!
I've also included the Gaia sprite concepts that a lot of the characters got their basis from (which I created using the late tektek.org, which I still miss dearly to this day...)!

Early inked sketch of the Aeron's original concept

Sprite with grey hair, white skull mask with green solid eyes, black robe (with 2 skull accents), tattered cloak, and boots with skulls on them – Gaia Online sprite of Aeron, created with TekTek.org

Primary/initial inked sketch of Alan Sevraen, who is now Malik Benoit.

Detail sketch of Alan Sevraen's (who is now Malik Benoit) initial outfit — which includes his v-neck t-shirt, [tight] jacket over it, a cartoonified skull with an 'X' for the left eye on an armband on the shoulder, a bandage with extra fabric wrapped around the palm of the same arm's hand, a belt draped diagonally over the torso; individual sketches of the inside of his right hand (which has an x-like scar along the middle with stitches over it), a bandaged heart with pins (which is the detailing on the right sleeve, hidden from view), a crossbone belt buckle for his 'second belt', an individual sneaker with cartoon skulls on the side and a demon face (eyes and sharp teeth) along the front and sides, and a shot of how the back of the bottom of his pants hangs over the back of his sneakers (but is normal-length in the front)

Secondary sketch of Alan Sevraen (with more character/individuality and a more solidified design), who is now Malik Benoit.

Bust portrait for Axyle Grey, who is now Damien Grey — sketch was done with red and white (and features heavy crosshatching patterns) with an orange/yellow/red detail, and 'bokeh' patterning of various shades of blue in the background

Sprite with red, spiky hair, blue eyes, intricately detailed long white coat (no shirt underneath) with a metal arm guard, black pants, and black boots – Gaia Online sprite of Axyl Grey (now Damien Grey), created with TekTek.org

Initial sketch of Darren Gakt's (who went from Valentine to now Vallencourte) first design, which borrowed [heavily] from his Gaia sprite

Additional sketch of Darren Gakt's (who went from Valentine to now Vallencourte) first design, with a slightly angered expression and furrowed eyebrows

Secondary sketch of Darren Valentine's (now Vallencourte) first design, but with longer bangs, a turtleneck underneath the jacket, and a more refined style/concept

Sprite with black hair (long bangs), rectangular glasses, dark gray/black eyes, black and taupe-grey alternating dress coat, black pants, and dusty purple boots – Gaia Online sprite of Darren Valentine (now Vallencourte), created with TekTek.org

Refined, conceptual sketch of Irixyu, a character who did not make it into the final 'development', with notes about his outfit (such as how a chain connects the two belts located on his upper and lower arm, a single glove and single belt on the other arm, but with a belt on the wrist, which is connected to the belt on the upper arm with a chain, note about how the remaining three fingers on his right hand are covered by the glove, but the tip of his index finger and entirety of his thumb are uncovered)

Initial inked sketch of Keith 'Spitfire' Randalls

Secondary, more refined sketch (with grayscale shading) of Keith 'Spitfire' Randalls

Sprite with seafoam-green/blue hair with a silver crescent moon barette/clip, golden eyes, a black qipao with gold accents and a silver crescent moon accent, dark teal jeans, and blue sneakers – Gaia Online sprite of Luna Crescent, created with TekTek.org

Sprite with blonde hair with a sideswept bangs pulled up and back in a spiky-looking bun updo, dark gray eyes, navy blue crop-top shirt, jade green pants with a black belt, which is being weighed down by a giant silver disc, and black Converse sneakers – Gaia Online sprite of Midori Akamatsu, created with TekTek.org

Concept sketch for Mikaru Shonen's (now Shonnen-D'Ascenzo) initial design

Sprite with blond, spiky hair (reminscent of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII), red eyes, a black, one-sleeved vest, tight black short-sleeve shirt (almost a button down), black pants with cascading buckle accents down the legs, and black boots – Gaia Online sprite of Mikaru Shonen (now Shonnen-D'Ascenzo), created with TekTek.org

Concept sketch for Monosashi Reigenzien, which was inspired by and borrowed [heavily] from his Gaia sprite

Refined and colored render of Monosashi Reigenzien

Sprite with black hair, golden eyes, a black fur collar, an intricate navy blue robe (with white accents and buckles over the chest), lack pants, and black steel-toed boots – Gaia Online sprite of Monosashi Reigenzien, created with TekTek.org

Initial inked and colored sketch of Shikyo's demon wolf companion, Morosoki

Secondary inked sketch of Shikyo's demon wolf companion, Morosoki

Updated (but not final) inked sketch of Shikyo's demon wolf companion, Morosoki

Initial inked sketch of Nanashi's first concept

Sprite with white hair, red eyes, one-sleeved intricately-detailed vest top with buckle accents along the single sleeve, a sort of loing-cloth/cape waist piece, belted black pants, and black boots – Gaia Online sprite of Nanashi, created with TekTek.org

Initial sketch of Nanashiki's first concept

Sprite with black hair, dark gray eyes, black-and-white intricately-detailed military uniform jacket, ripped dark wash jeans, and black steel-toed boots – Gaia Online sprite of Nicky Decev (now Deceverence), created with TekTek.org

Initial sketches of Raizix McVay's first concept

Sprite with wild spiky ashy-blond hair, golden eyes, light blue robe with shoulder-cutout sleeves, mathching scarf, black pants with white criss-crossing detail, and black boots – Gaia Online sprite of Raizix, created with TekTek.org

Sprite with sideswept white bangs and ponytail, light blue eyes, white draping/criss-crossed shirt with layers over it, mahogany pants, and no shoes – Gaia Online sprite of Reno, created with TekTek.org

Sprite with long, brown hair, teal eyes, light blue boatneck long-sleeve shirt, white jeans with a black belt, and black shoes – Gaia Online sprite of Rin Kimura, created with TekTek.org

Sprite with long purple hair, magenta eyes, navy blue long-sleeve crop-top, purple leather/latex pants with a black-and-white-studded belt, and purple Converse sneakers – Gaia Online sprite of Sarah Impra, created with TekTek.org

Concept sketch for Scipio's initial design

Bust/face sketch for Scipio's initial design

Initial sketch of Sergio Militarae (now Vargaas)

Concept sketches of an updated (but not quite final) Sergio Militarae (now Vargaas)

Additional sketch of Sergio Militarae (now Vargaas)

Updated (but absolutely not final) sketch of Sergio Militarae (now Vargaas)

Bust portrait for Sergio Militarae, now Vargaas — sketch was done with dark teal and white (and features heavy crosshatching patterns) with an orange/yellow/red background (complete with 'bokeh' patterning and blood splattering)

Initial sketch of Seyric, a character who did not make it into the final 'development'

Sprite with long red hair (mohawk in the middle), dark eyes, black shirt and pants, red arm bands, an intricate, orange/silver/red sash wrapped diagonally around the torso, and mahogany sneakers – Gaia Online sprite of Seyric, created with TekTek.org

Inked concept sketch of Shikyo's Naruto AU OC (alternate universe original character) design

Early inked sketch of Shikyo in her Naruto AU OC (alternate universe original character) outfit

Refined and inked illustration of Shikyo

Sketches of Mikkoku Damasu, Sarah Impra, and Irixyu

Initial sketches of Voyan McVay's first concept

Sprite with ice-blue hair, cerulean blue eyes, a black and light blue button-down (black sleeves, blue middle), an off-kiltered white belt with large blue detailing (gemstones or the like), white pants, and black boots – Gaia Online sprite of Voyan, created with TekTek.org

Initial inked sketch for Yono Hartgraves

Concept inked sketch for Yono Hartgraves

Additional bust/face sketch of Yono Hartgraves

Bust portrait for Yono Hartgraves — sketch was done with black and white (and features heavy crosshatching patterns) with an purple/red background (complete with 'bokeh' patterning and blood splattering)

Inked sketch of Zak's buster blade sword, with notes on its concept (of it doubling as a sniper gun)

Inked sketch of Zak's early, inital design

Additional sketch of Zak Warlyile, this time with a long-sleeve top with a cutout from the collarbone (revealing his left shoulder and part of his chest)