DPUF Character Redesigns

Hey peeps. I know it might seem a little weird to see an art post from me, but with me finally in the stages of drafting my biggest Mario project ever, I wanted to share something on the visual side to have as a reference before the story gets out to you all.

I recently decided that a lot of my characters’ designs either didn’t fit the time period I was aiming for or didn’t fit their personality, as well as the colors being too bright to the point of being an eyesore. So I went through and redesigned all of the main characters of the story. Some just had color alterations while some got redesigned entirely. So I decided to put them all in a post to show them off and feel glad to myself that I’ve gotten the slightest bit better in two years.

With that said, let’s get this ball rolling.

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Mario

Not many changes here aside from darker colors. More casual sleeves and the addition of a collar of sorts, but it’s likely not the most noticeable here in comparison to some others.

Luigi

The first major redesign. I ditched the blue and second shade of green from his original palette, instead opting for black and white. His outfit is meant to look less formally “Royal” due to his active role outside the ruling role.

Peach

The base of the dress was kept the same here, but the details were changed and I wanted the colors to be less bright and princessy in general to symbolize her more dour personality for most of the story.

Daisy

Similarly to Mario’s, this design barely changed at all aside from a few flourishes on the dress and a darker color palette. There wasn’t much I felt was necessary to change with her, especially given her…reduced role.

Valore

For Mario and Peach’s eldest child, I wanted to emphasize his more regal personality while still having flexibility for action. I shifted his color palette around as well, because I feel the darker shades make for a more solid design.

Amore

For her, I wanted a design that more showed a certain inexperience with adventure with being a tad fancier, but is still open to learning thanks to the short skirt allowing for mobility. I also wanted to show a tad more pink rather than have the navy blue overshadow it, adding the gold and white to make them both pop.

Sole

The character that inspired me to do this whole redeg thing to begin with. I rebooted his design entirely so he wouldn’t look like he belonged in the modern day, but kept the style simplistic due to his very forward personality, and I actually lightened some colors on him so he wouldn’t look too darkened.

Anima

Another character who I felt had a bit too modern of a look, so I wanted to find a better way to show the look of a tomboy warrior. A lot of colors here were either darkened or changed to something entirely different to keep up with the slightly more detailed look.

Elle

Another character who I’ve wanted to redesign for a while, and only finally got around to. I replaced the reddish-brown with blue in order for her to both have a color associated with her and so her outfit wouldn’t look so dead. I also tucked her hair behind her ears to make it look more organized, as while she’s meant to be unique in appearance, I didn’t want it to be quite so jarring anymore.

Cielo

It was difficult for me to know how to color this one given that his original palette was SO simplistic. So I added the brown to the mix since I feel it’s a good neutral color, especially with more adventure-esque designs meant to stay on the somewhat simpler side.

Luna

I wanted to give her design the slightest hint of an Eastern feel, given the varied cultures of her mother’s home in Sarasaland. I also ended up being surprised how well the darker color palette ended up looking with what I wanted to work with.

Rosalina

I wanted to have a bit more color variety in her design, which is why I added the blue rather just stack on teal until I explodes. I also felt her initial design didn’t quite suit her more elegant personality, which is why I changed the style and added the cape.

Cosmo

This is the design where I majorly emphasizes the darkening of colors, especially with adding the navy blue to his palette as a permanent addition. I also slightly altered his hairstyle so it would be a bit more logically styled, and arguably more appealing.

Peasley

Given his more ostentatious personality, I felt it was more fitting for his outfit to have a tiny bit more color to it as well as look less formal. I ittedly found that shade of brown on a whim and ended up loving it, so there you have it.

Geno

Very little changed about this design in general, with the only thing outside of the colors changing being adding a small flourish to his color so it looks more put together rather than the squiggly lines I had it as originally. I also decided to have his hair be down because I liked that better than the ponytail I originally had.

Geaney

The design that changed the least out of everyone wraps up everything. Aside from the darker colors, the only change here is that her hair is the slightest bit shorter, which is probably barely even noticeable anyway. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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Well, that’s everything I have for today. It’s been a while since I’ve felt good enough about anything to post it, but since I really want to build confidence for the story, I want to pump myself up by showing off what I make for it. Hopefully that makes some sort of sense.

I hope you all enjoyed this and are looking forward to more in the future, as I’ll do what I can with my work schedule being what it is. Other than that, have a good day and I’ll see you all next time. :hibiscus: :art: :hibiscus: