Meet the Ferins (Riptide Concept Art)

May by REN!

Jayson by SHAN!

Wow. Whats this? A surprise art drop including a never before seen piece? WOW! A great day to be a patron!

Here is Jay's family, pictured at a time when her and Ava were children, and then the official designs of both her father and her mother!

Look she's even got her little doll!!

Malenia Ferin

Ren and I started working on May in like March! Yeah i be planning ahead. B] I originally sent a Pinterest board with some reference to spark inspiration and let Ren do their thing of magic! Just incase though, I did end up providing this description and lore:

May is the mother of Jay Ferin and the late Ava Ferin, and is also married to Jayson Ferin, a Vice-Admiral of R.A.F.T. She looks very similar to jay, obviously older, slightly pointer/slender features. Her hair has turned white, but holds some brown streaks, and her eyes are blue like Jays.

She chooses to live a quaint and simple life in Kiwi Village outside of Quill Kingdom, on the island of Featherbrook, despite having the means to live safer and more luxurious.

Her tavern, The Eagles Den, is filled with patrons, drinks, foods, plants, and birds.  May speaks fluently with most animals, and has druidic magic. Her druidic connection to nature and the magic that come from it are extremely rare and unique in the world, so most think she's one of a kind and some even think she wastes her own potential by running a tavern and marrying a soldier.   May loves very little more than her job and serving the small number of people in her village. However her family takes the top spot. She is extremely proud of Jay, even if Jay choosing to follow the life of a pirate meant facing ostracization from the world, whom indisputably dubs pirates as criminals.  She has no need for armor or a weapon/staff, and she usually doesn't feel the need to wear shoes either. However, because she works in the food business, I'm sure she makes the sacrifice.

May serves as an anchor for Jay, and she never feels the need to leave home incase her birds need to return to "the nest."

That includes Jayson, whom May thinks carries too much weight and responsibility, and if he didn't have the option of "the nest," to return to, he'd fall apart. She does not think Jay would fall apart without it, as she thinks Jay is the strongest and most kind-hearted person in the family.

As heard in episode 99, May grew up hearing stories & legend of her special bloodline, and their connection to a marvelous tree. It's very likely there was more to the story, perhaps a responsibility, that May left out. However, its been passed down through generations, so specifics can get lost in translation, and its safe to assume her parents are not alive, for one reason or another. I find this particularly intriguing to explore, since druids at a high level, age very slow & those of the land do not suffer from sickness. I'm not sure her circle would be any of the official subclasses though, it's probably specific to her backstory.

I really love May, she's a beautiful mother, and she deeply cares for her family. She can see the pain in both Jay and Jayson. She doesn't hold it against either of them how they choose to cope, even if it meant she's been without them for awhile. She is the truest representation of unconditional love. Of course, she can't be without flaw, and I'm sure she wishes she did a lot different when raising her daughters. I know she misses her family being together a lot.

Also yes, it is true I named May after Malenia in Elden Ring.

If youre interested in some of the behind the scenes processes and sketches, check out this imgur thread!! (Someone please let me know if theres a better method than imgur LOL.)

Jayson Ferin

This design is awesome. Shan fuckin' nailed it, killed it, burried it, revived it, absolutely went mad with it, got therapy with it, etc. Jayson's design goes hard.

Really embodies the word: POWER.

There's not much behind the scenes process for this one, nor sketches, as I'd already had the base look of Vice Admiral & Captain uniforms when designing Kuba Kenta. I know that art of Kira and Kuba is still needed, and its on the way!

I would very much like to share the full red suit concept & FREAKIN FIRE FISTS...  

In the art post containing the sprites and process behind making the JRPG visuals, I'll go more in depth on the Golden Soldier design, as best as I can without getting into spoilers! Some of you have pointed out I was using the stats of a red dragon... and you'd be correct. Of course, I'm still mix and matching with previous stat blocks, but because their are so many dragons in D&D, I thought it would be sick to assign them and their specialties to major Ferin family members. I'm not sure that the Ferins will actually turn into dragons, or have draconic features (as in all of them having dragon wings,) but I think this direction is really cool and kinda pays homage to D&D as a whole. Also reminds me of the Chroma Conclave from Critical Role!

Anyways, when it comes to the Ferin bloodline, writing the lore is getting more fleshed out every month. Its not complete, but its getting there, and man its fun to think about. Condi has no idea LOL. Honestly, Jayson probably doesn't either. Nothing outside what his mother would share, which definitely is only what's necessary.

I know Jayson is a very hated character. He is also very difficult to play. The way he treated Jay in the BLOCK is still heart breaking to think about. I often think about, how did this happen to him? I doubt May would marry a terrible man, so... How did a father become so cruel? What made him so cold? Was it because Ava died, or is there more that has yet to be explored? As we've heard, Jay's grandmother, Jayson's mother, is not any less frightening. Perhaps there is a cycle to be broken. These are all questions I have tried to answer, and think I know most of them by now. He is more nuanced than he lets off, but its all a mystery, and I think thats what makes an antagonist so interesting, and so easily hated.

Of course, those answers will never really matter unless Jay wants it to matter. At the end of the story, the relationship between Jay and her dad will be up to her and whether she thinks he deserves it, whether she wants it, and whether he does anything to earn it.

I honestly have no expectations, nor desires of my own when it comes to Jayson's part in the story. Just like May, he exists to support the story Jay is going to tell. I'm very excited to reveal more of RAFT's part in the world and the narrative as a whole though. We've only really seen them through the lens of the characters.

The Family Portrait

Last but, certainly not least. The first time any visual of Ava has been given, and a glimpse into Jay's past, that at one point, may have been a good one. POUR ONE OUT FOR AVA FERIN!! MIGHT BE SOME LORE COMING UP HAHAHA

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If theres anything that your curious about, ask away too!

Please look forward to the next Riptide Concept Art post. I'm going to try that audio/video breakdown thing I talked about with the sprites! I also haven't forgotten about Ensa!

bye bye!