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Description
If this design and title seems a bit familiar, yes, this is a new version of the previous female Livahk design I put up a while ago. Before finalizing any of their designs, I'm revisiting them and hopefully making them better, and I think I managed that in this case.

In this case I wanted to soften her up a bit, to make her look at least somewhat like she farms and such when not fighting for survival, and also give her the bolder shapes that the other revised designs have. Initially I softened her too much, but I think I hit the right combination of feminine and permanent grumpy/stoic Livahk attitude this time around. The male Livahk designs have been virtual mountains of manliness, and I wanted her to seem an equally idealized female (Livahk proportions aside,) but also just as ready to fight as the guys. What I second-guessed the most was upper-body wear, since thus far Livahk hate shirts, and I wanted to maintain a certain level of consistency, but you know, boobs and all. I tried something much more plain shirty, but it was jut plain boring and didn't seem consistent. However, I really liked the long loose sleeves, so I thought hey, the warrior has full arm coverings but no shirt, why not do it again? Besides, I applaud other character designers for the courage to go with designs like Felicia from Darkstalkers, I would be a hypocrite if I wimped out and played it safe instead of following my heart. Better a controversial design than a forgettable design. Besides, this is default level 1 gear, which is what they wear normally. It's not really supposed to be battle-worthy, like the minimally-covered level 1 versions of the male warrior and workers. No inverse-coverage sexy armor logic here. (Though to return to Capcom comparisons, Katt from Breath of Fire II fought through the whole game wearing nothing but a bikini top and she managed.) Anyway, level 2 and 3 versions will be actually decently armored, but otherwise, like I said, Livahk hate shirts.

If you're wondering what she's holding, it's a hoe. She is technically a spear-wielder, but since level one equipment is standard clothing and tools, a level one spear is a hoe. I just didn't bother drawing the pointy end in this sketch.

In the end I like this design, and I'm pretty pleased with the volumes of the drawing itself. (Not that me being obsessed with volumes should be a shock.) The only problem is that when I think kick-ass fantasy style female character, I instantly go to the super-awesome Lenneth Valkyrie. And spear-wielding vaguely rodentish animal woman leads to Freya from FFIX, who I also very much liked. Or just regarding spears, there's Hrist Valkyrie, who unlike Lenneth actually uses spears regularly. So try as I did to fight it, a combination of a Valkyrie and a Burmecian was the inescapable conclusion of the direction I was given. Trying to avoid it was like swimming up a waterfall. But since my rule about anyone's work is that I'd rather see appeal be the first priority and originality the second, I guess I should apply that same standard to myself and move on.

Mostly pencil and paper, with a little Photoshop finish and cleanup.

Description
If this design and title seems a bit familiar, yes, this is a new version of the previous female Livahk design I put up a while ago. Before finalizing any of their designs, I'm revisiting them and hopefully making them better, and I think I managed that in this case.

In this case I wanted to soften her up a bit, to make her look at least somewhat like she farms and such when not fighting for survival, and also give her the bolder shapes that the other revised designs have. Initially I softened her too much, but I think I hit the right combination of feminine and permanent grumpy/stoic Livahk attitude this time around. The male Livahk designs have been virtual mountains of manliness, and I wanted her to seem an equally idealized female (Livahk proportions aside,) but also just as ready to fight as the guys. What I second-guessed the most was upper-body wear, since thus far Livahk hate shirts, and I wanted to maintain a certain level of consistency, but you know, boobs and all. I tried something much more plain shirty, but it was jut plain boring and didn't seem consistent. However, I really liked the long loose sleeves, so I thought hey, the warrior has full arm coverings but no shirt, why not do it again? Besides, I applaud other character designers for the courage to go with designs like Felicia from Darkstalkers, I would be a hypocrite if I wimped out and played it safe instead of following my heart. Better a controversial design than a forgettable design. Besides, this is default level 1 gear, which is what they wear normally. It's not really supposed to be battle-worthy, like the minimally-covered level 1 versions of the male warrior and workers. No inverse-coverage sexy armor logic here. (Though to return to Capcom comparisons, Katt from Breath of Fire II fought through the whole game wearing nothing but a bikini top and she managed.) Anyway, level 2 and 3 versions will be actually decently armored, but otherwise, like I said, Livahk hate shirts.

If you're wondering what she's holding, it's a hoe. She is technically a spear-wielder, but since level one equipment is standard clothing and tools, a level one spear is a hoe. I just didn't bother drawing the pointy end in this sketch.

In the end I like this design, and I'm pretty pleased with the volumes of the drawing itself. (Not that me being obsessed with volumes should be a shock.) The only problem is that when I think kick-ass fantasy style female character, I instantly go to the super-awesome Lenneth Valkyrie. And spear-wielding vaguely rodentish animal woman leads to Freya from FFIX, who I also very much liked. Or just regarding spears, there's Hrist Valkyrie, who unlike Lenneth actually uses spears regularly. So try as I did to fight it, a combination of a Valkyrie and a Burmecian was the inescapable conclusion of the direction I was given. Trying to avoid it was like swimming up a waterfall. But since my rule about anyone's work is that I'd rather see appeal be the first priority and originality the second, I guess I should apply that same standard to myself and move on.

Mostly pencil and paper, with a little Photoshop finish and cleanup.