December MOTM: Northern lights monster concept sketch + design commentary // sfw

i grew up with the northern lights. in the winters when i walked to and from school in the dark, there would often be northern lights, so designing this monster actually made me feel a bit nostalgic for home.

first, i was thinking about how to best portray the colours and moving shapes of northern lights; i could have simply coloured a part of the monster's body with those green-ish colours, perhaps in a pattern that mimiced the 'flowy ribbon' shape of northern lights. but i didn't want to make it too easy for myself, yknow? i wanted to come up with something a bit more innovative, so i thought about other shapes and features that could represent northern lights. personally i associate aurora borealis with the hems of curtains or other folded pieces of fabric, flowing with movement. that's the origin of the idea for the multi-layered 'veils' of this monster. i also just really love the look of a veil (or three), so this felt like a great opportunity to include such a feature in a design. 

their tail matches the veils and behaves in the same way; the layers and 'folds' of light are unaffected by gravity, they're constantly softly and smoothly moving just like northern lights, and the colour and light intensity fluctuates as well. the colour scheme was kind of a given; i wanted to use the characteristic bright greens of aurora borealis for the veils and the tail, while giving the rest of their body the colours of the night sky, dark blue and black dotted with little bright stars. 

this monster is very nonbinary, in the sense that they were never assigned a gender, nor do they feel the need for one. they were born from the night sky, they are made of light and darkness, they know all the secrets of the night, all the voices of the stars, they remember all the stories mother earth ever told them ... but they're still trying to wrap their head around certain aspects of human nature and all their weird social constructs. what even _IS_ a gender, y'know? 

i wanted to give them a sort of body type where it would be difficult to assume their gender based solely on their physique. they have beefy arms, a sort of deep, flat chest, a thin waist, broad hips, round thighs, and petite peets. they're athletic and muscular in a very elegant and graceful way, and they seem to move as if they're always underwater (an impression that's enhanced by the softly flowing veils and tail). they can float and fly, and when they do walk, they do not leave prints in the snow. they can't go far from areas where northern lights are naturally occuring, similar to how some merpeople can't be far from the sea for too long; they have to be in their right element. 

the ice crown was a spur of the moment idea (inspired by the medieval european veil + diadem combination), giving rise to the notion that perhaps this monster is some kind of sky/winter royalty? the veils are the focal point of their design, and i decided to leave their face more or less blank. it has a soft inner light, resembling that of the moon, and the light might slightly undulate in different ways depending on the monster's mood and feelings. i'm thinking about the light softly pulsing when they're chuckling; flashing bright if they're startled; shining warmly when they're having mushy lovey feelings; or turning blindingly bright if they're pissed off... other than that they have a completely expressionless, mask-like face--but their body language is very expressive and they're quite eloquent, so they hardly need facial expressions to communicate.

if you have any questions about this design, ask me in the comment section below <3

// art + character © me.