DevLog #8: Zemali
Added 2024-08-28 22:32:12 +0000 UTCIf you can recall first devlogs, Zemali origin is the tree-people race I imagined long ago.
Of course they change a lot compared to what I was imagining back then, but what especially affected their final design is my fanart of Ivern I did in 2018, which I still like. It was very close to what I wanted to do with them.
Zemali Final Sketch:
Although at first Zemali were supposed to have different horns, the ones that Mawls have now, but I wanted to use deer/moose horns for someone, so I came back to Ivern design. As well they were supposed to be the second major tribe of the Realms of Bosom, however a joke about their chests being "flat as a board" was always on my mind, and so Zemali passed down this position to Mawls as well. When Thigh Region became the most fertile and safe land of Meora's body it was bonding well with Zemali abilities and personality, thus they became the second major tribe of the Thigh region... a flat chest doesn't mean a flat bottom after all.
Though they are not always meant to be that peaceful. At first I wanted their nature to be very antagonistic and violent, similar to Tofar, but a number of aggressive tribes was getting too high, as well as there was no weak and frail one. Thus I scaled back Zemali personality to that of a calm tree, though there still some traces left in their Lore: Belligerent Elders and appeal in raw animal meat and blood for consumption.
When it comes to clothing design, I wanted to give someone simple robes, dress and tunics alike to ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, etc. Zemali became a good choice for that: these clothes are light and guileless in design, befit to innocent tree-people.
