Full Character Developments

Gabor (since 2002)


Magician

The first version of Gab that came to life was him as a magician - there weren't any colored illustrations, since I mainly drew a story back then. He was a villain, an evil magician who ruled over his own planet (!), and he was supposed to die in the end. But everything went differently, and he became the first male OC that I liked. He had white, short hair in the beginning, which changed to black, long hair in 2006. Ever since then his overall design never changed. Due to style reasons, he was much more buff in the beginning (Dragonball Z influence), and became more androgyneous later (mainly VK influence in 2006). In 2016, I designed his inhuman shape to make his powers more visible and tbh, a bit more "ugly". He was my most "popular" OC ever, in my more popular times from around 2007 to 2011, and most people liked him because he was pretty (and VK was a trend, too). He became a bit less important to me between 2012 and 2014, before I came up with ALoFD where he appeared again - and since I wanted to get away from the "pretty bishounen" cliché, I made a more monstrous design for him, which I've kept until today. But overall, he's the same since 2006, even his clothing style. ALoFD is also the first story with Gab as a main, where the focus is a bit more on him as magician.



Human

Instead of killing magician Gab in his first story, he was transformed to a human, his powers ripped off of him. As a human, he had black hair since 2004, which was supposed to be a more visible change of him, before I made him black-haired constantly. His right eye was either blinded or completely removed, depending on various story versions I wrote for him. Other than that, his attributes remained mostly the same with slight variations - in some story parts he colored his hair, sometimes it grew a bit longer, sometimes short. A more major change was his eye color - they were light blue in the beginning, but I made them midnight blue iin 2018, and black/brown in 2021, since it made more sense for magician Gab's golden eyes just turn very dark. He also always had the chest scar from the beginning. Even his overall plot never really changed. Currently I don't use him a lot, since he's not existing in ALoFD yet. In all of his own stories (where he was a main, not the first story with him as villain) the focus was heavily on his struggles as a human, with feelings and mortality. This is basically still his main line, even though it'll have some variations in ALoFD. Human Gab and magician Gab are two different personalities (souls, if you want), which is something that became more clear during the novels I wrote. Gab's novels are my longest stories so far, and parts of them return in ALoFD.

⚜️

Keith Jaden Reaves (since 2011)


Young Keith

There's a reason why I seperated young and "old" Keith here. First of all, Keith appeared for the very first time in a novel in 2011, and I drew a rough design draft for him, but didn't go any further. He wasn't supposed to be important, just a random drug dealer. When I continued the novel in 2012/13, be became much more important, was the main villain, but even then I never planned to make him reappear after a time skip in the story. So, originally there was only this young version of him. He got his final design in 2013, even though his hair style changed various times, which is generally something he does when he's younger. So there'll always be various hairstyles shown on him. His facial features refined a bit, but remained the same, too. He also always had the same piercings. I started adding his tattoos in 2015, first only one, but they became more over the years, and also changed a bit (he first hat a tree of life tattoo on his chest, pe). The tattoos are also something that will change, since he gets more over the years. The fact that his look is the result of plastic surgeries was also a major part of his character ever since the first novel. Just like Gab, he was supposed to be a villain who vanishes or dies over time.


Older Keith

Just like human Gab, older Keith developed on his own during the story I wrote (Gab's story was a manga from the beginning though, while Keith's story was a standalone novel). After a time skip the main character (Kaz) searched for him and found him changed. Keith was my first OC who's "beauty" I deliberately destroyed, and also part of my attempts to create more than just pretty bishounen. Keith became overweight, and his hairstyle also changed. Due to the weight, his clothing style also adapted. Instead of making him just a very bad person who was punished by Karma, which was my intentional plan, he became a very tortured man with severe problems - just like Gab, I just couldn't create a plain, evil villain, but instead started to question the "why". His overall desgin never changed since the beginning, only the parting of his hairstyle changed because I didn't want to keep the same side parting as Gab had. Sometimes I tried to change his hair color to a more natural, mature color, but in the end I always returned to the violet color. ^^" His weight changed a lot over time, mainly because I wasn't able to draw it properly in the beginning, and it also changed in the story depending on his mental condition. In 2024, I decided to remove these struggles from him. Mainly because of the major problems I had because of this with sharing the story online. A more minor reason was that ALoFD is already pretty complex and this additional issue wasn't really missed. However, he still doesn't have a "perfect" shape anymore, but it's not as severe as before, and I guess many people don't even see it. His clothing also became more hiding overall, and I changed and adapted his clothing style repeatedly. Drawing him was a huge learning process (still is, I guess). He also got more tattoos than young Keith.
A bigger change might also be that he got a very huge "Glasgow Smile" scar in his face in the first version of AloFD in 2015 - I also removed this from him now, but he might get a different scar later.

⚜️

Kazuki Satō (since 2006)


Kaz was originally a copy of Gab with a different storyline that I seperated from Gab's first own story version. For more clearness: Gab got his own story in 2004 first, but I changed the plot in 2006. First, human Gab was supposed to become a singer, later he became an assassion, so I took the singer plot and created Kaz instead. Kaz' design was a mix of human Gab and different Visual Kei musicians (like Klaha from Malice Mizer and Hizumi from D'espairsRay). I'd say he was a fully VK influenced character, thus the singer plot. I changed the original Gab eyecolor to violet, but kept the black hair, just a bit more wavy - in 2009, I wanted to give him a more independent look and made his hair blonde. It varied from his story's plots whether they were bleached, and originally hazel, or natural. Now it's natural, but he colored them in his drug addicted episodes. His original story always remained the same, he was always a singer who became drug addicted (even though the reasons changed). And he also always got disfigured in his face during his stories. For a long time it was "just" a diagonal cut, the acid burn was something I wrote for ALoFD - to make it less reversible and more drastic.
Sad for Kaz, he went from being a main character to becoming a side character who dies. In the first version of ALoFD, he didn't die though, and there was still a bit of a plot where Keith and him met again - I removed it to keep the storyline more focused on Gab/Keith. But even though Kaz' importance for me decreased, I still like his novel a lot, and also the part of ALoFD with him and Keith. To me, they're just concluded stories. Nonetheless, he's still an important person for Keith that has a huge influence on his life, like he always did.

⚜️

Jurji Morosow (since 2013)


Jurji's design never changed since I created him. I wanted a character with more sharp facial features. He was a novel figure at first, and his first appearence was in the 3rd part of Gab's story. He became human Gab's boss, and even his lover, but there was a crossover where Keith also appeared as Jurji's employee and Jurji's ex lover - who ordered Gab to kill Keith because he was a traitor (for Kaz OTL). Jurji has alwas been a stern, strict character with clothing that would fit this image. Suits, high collars, relatively modest. His role didn't change much either, he's still Keith's boss and ex lover (but maybe he won't kill Keith anymore lol). He also got a bit more of a background history for ALoFD, or rather as a side story, where he meets Keith for the first time. Young Jurji looks a bit different than later - a bit more casual, less strict. He's "only" a side character, but in the old stories he's been the main connection between Keith's and Gab's stories, so his role was reduced a bit now. While Jurji was clearly gay back in the old stories, he's bi now, but still with a close connection to Keith. He's still someone who shaped Keith a lot, kinda manipulated him and had a great influence on his career.

⚜️

Raphael deSantis (since 2007)



Raphael went through quite a few design changes. At first he had long, brown hair tied together in the back, and a very formal suit clothing style. I was never really happy about this design, but tbh he was a bit plain as a character, too. At first, he appeared in Gab's novel as human Gab's first boss and lover (he died early, though). He was just one of many attempts to give Gab a suitable lover, and one of the many failures tbh. While I didn't intend it, he really manipulated human Gab a lot, and I'd consider their relationship as quite toxic. It wasn't easy for me to come up with a creative design either. In the many attempts to change Gab's story, he also received a new design in 2014, making him younger, with red hair and cheek piercings. His clothing style became a bit more showy with leather, patterned shirts and fur collars. He still looked like that in the first version of ALoFD. But since I gave the cheek piercings to Keith later, I didn't want them to have the same features, so I changed him a bit again - made him older, and changed the shape of his nose. His role was also reduced a lot and also adapted more to the role of a Mafia boss (he was way too soft in the beginning lol). His body shape was also changed a bit, from the usual lean shape (that all of my characters had before I created Keith ^^"), he's more sturdily built and not completely lean anymore. He's also not gay anymore.

⚜️

Corvin (since 2010?)


Corvin is actually much older than the pictures show, I think I first created him around 2010, he was part of Gab's 2nd novel, and I remember that I drew him, but sadly I don't have any of these artworks anymore. But his hair was pale violet back then, and he didn't have dreads. The current design was made in 2016 for ALoFD. He always had white, blind eyes. He's also always been the dark magician guild's leader and Gab's enemy. In 2024, I added the 3rd eye to his forehead to make his abilites more visible. He's actually blind, but he can see inside others' bodies and minds. For that he'll open the 3rd eye. He also always had quite a few piercings, which I varied a bit over time. But all in all, he didn't change since 2016.

⚜️

Isajas (since 2013?)


Just like Corvin, he's older than the pictures can show. I don't even remember if I drew him before that tbh. ^^" He was also part of Gab's novels, and he first appeared in the 3rd part in 2013. I drew him just like I described him in the novels - a bit of him is inspired by Apophis from Stargate. I rarely draw him, even though his role will be important. It's also possible that he'll get some special features, like Gab with his skeletons and Corvin with his 3rd eye. Isajas has always been the leader of the white magician's guild and Corvin's rival.

⚜️

Elaine Winter (since 2016)


Elaine is one of the few characters whom I created especially for ALoFD, and thus, one of my newest OCs. Her overall design remained the same, red/auburn hair, freckles, light blue eyes and a very feminine shape. I made her hair a bit longer and more wavy in 2024, since her hairstyle was a bit too similar to Keith's. Her role as Keith's colleague and friend has also always been the same, and I created her for the purpose to have a supportive character for Keith (and also something else, not for Keith, but that'll come later).

⚜️

Aruna (since 2002)


Aruna is actually even older, I already drew her in the 199ies, but not in manga style. She''s one of my childhood characters whom I always took to new styles and stories. Back in 2002, she was the main character of her own story (she was named "UU-GA" then XD). Due to Sailor Moon influences, she was some kind of magical girl, but the story was more of a parody, hence the stupid name. lol I drew this story for a long time, and Gab was one of her antagonists there. She always had blonde hair and blue eyes, and various costumes when she transformed (just like Sailor Moon). Back then, she lived on the sun and had the purpose to protect the world from evil. Since she was bored, she just came down to earth. I took her to Gab's own story in 2006, where she was renamed as Aruna, and a magician who fought him and took his powers away. She got hazel hair in 2009. She always had a huge red gemstone - first for transformation, then for no particular reason. When I remade Gab's story in 2014, she became a ghost of an ancient magician who had to be summoned, which I kept for a pretty long time. I also used her in ALoFD for the same purpose. In 2018, I changed her design and gave her blue hair, since she was connected to space, and I wanted to make her look more mysterious. In 2024, for the ALoFD remake, I brought her back to earth, and now she's a living magician again. ^^" She's still a special magician though. But she's less mysterious now, and more like she was in the very beginning in her own stories. A fighter, strong, and stubborn. She still has a connection to the otherworld, which is connected with her gemstone.
Overall, she changed quite a few times, and is probably my oldest active OC. I probably could've made a whole new character instead of changing her so often, but even though she doesn't have such a big personal meaning to me anymore, she's just part of my creative life and a dear memory.

⚜️

Fhara Price (since 2002)


She origins from Aruna's own story and was her antagonist back then. She had no natural powers, but still managed to fight her all the time. Even though it wasn't a serious story. ^^" Later she received magical powers from a forest witch (Qu'ira, see below) and became a really dangerous opponent to Aruna - in the end, due to betrayal and a personal loss, she joined Aruna's team though, and became a (very grumpy) ally. And when Gab became a human, he became her boyfriend. Since I just discovered the Gothic scene back then, she and Gab became my first very Goth couple. For Gab's story, I gave her blonde hair (for the dumbest reason ever: since Laila and Gab had dark hair, I just didn't want to shade hair all the time lol). Her style became a little different, but still Goth-influenced. In 2014, her hair turned black again and I gave her a bit of a vintage style, which she still wears. Her skin was supposed to be darker, even though you can't see much of it on the old artworks bc they're so overly contrasted. ^^" I made this more visible from 2014 on. Her eyes were blue in the beginning, but I made them turquoise in 2007. Then she also got bangs, which I made pointy in 2009. Her hair length changed a few times, now it's long again, like in the beginning. She's always had a very feminine shape that she accents with her clothes. She's not a villain turned to the heroes' side anymore, but I actually have a backstory for her, even though there's no room to tell it.
In Gab's first story, she still became his lover for a short time, but since 2014 she became Laila's girlfriend. In ALoFD she's a magician with weak powers from the beginning.

⚜️

Laila Bartimore (since 2002)


Laila is also part of Aruna's old story. She was a princess with a faible for pink clothes, and Aruna's self-proclaimed helper. She never had any powers and was useless in fights, but she showed Aruna the human world and provided a home for her. In 2005, her overall pink-dresses style became a Sweet Lolita style that she kept for quite a long time. In 2006, her violet-black hair became blonde for a short AU story, but after that I made it lavender. In Gab's first story, she was the organisator of Aruna's group and gave human Gab a home in her castle out of pity. They became close friends, but Gab betrayed her later. In 2014, her hair turned blonde and much longer, and her style became a bit more mature. She still wears romantic dresses, maybe a bit Mori style/Cottagecore inspired. Since her role as an organisation's leader never changed, she shouldn't look too childish, although I wanted to keep her look friendly. She's certainly my most bright character. For a while her hair had a ombre coloring, but now it's just blonde. In ALoFD, she also became a magician with weak powers, too.
Laila maybe doesn't really fit my usual character concepts, but tbh she's a memory of someone dear, so even if her role is much smaller today, she's still important to me.

⚜️

Gab's Parents (since 2012)


Honestly, I don't really know when I created them, or where I mentioned them first. ^^" It was somewhere in Gab's old story, since they were responsible for what he became. I drew them in 2012 first, and since then only two times, shown here. His mother Anuket is from ancient Egypt, his father Håkon of nordic heritage. I changed his fathers' name a few times, and he was already mentioned in the very first story in 2003, but never shown. Gabor's planet had his name, Gareth. Later his name was Godric, but I just took a more historically correct name for him that fits his heritage. Except for the changing makeup, and Håkon getting an undercut, their designs remained the same.
Their roles won't be too big, but they're still extremely important for Gab's development.

⚜️

Qu'ira (since 2002)


Just like most of the female characters, she was part of Aruna's original story from 2002. She was actually the main antagonist and worse than Gab - she gave Fhara her powers, but only to manipulate her, and later stole the powers Aruna took from Gab, so she became the final opponent in the story. She was only referred as "forest witch" back then. In 2005, I added her to the first draft of Gab's own story as Gab's childhood friend who helped him first, but took his powers again. In Gab's first real own story, she became a more distant figure, but helped Gab again for egoistic reasons. While she had dark skin in the beginning (not in the manga though, because I was too lazy to shade it ^^"), her skin became pale and her hair more red later. She had venetian roots and also a venetian/burlesque style. I lost track of her for a bit, even though I occasionally drew her with style variations (very alienated in 2015 lol). I also added her in ALoFD as a very ancient witch, more related to her original role again, but struggled with her design for a while, from pale with violet hair to black with violet hair, to the final design, black with grayish green hair. Her colors are overall grayish because of her age, and she always adds all kinds of bones to her outfits. She is deeply connected to nature (like she was a as a forest witch in the beginning), but now she's a complete mystery with unknown powers. She also doesn't side with anyone. Her appearence in ALoFD will be very late, but very important. And the bones in her design do have a purpose and also hint to a connection with Gab.
Back then and now, she's always been my most powerful character, with or without stolen powers.

⚜️

Nerois (since 2006)


Nerois isn't part of ALoFD, but I still list him because he's part of my nickname (Keigane means: KEIth, GAbor, NErois), and I solely had this name as nickname for a long time. Also, I drew him last year, so he gets a place here. XD
He's a vampire and was part of Gab's first own story. He appeared in the end of the first part, when human Gab seeked for an opportunity to regain immortality. Actually, Nerois was pretty mean, but turned Gab into a vampire in the end, and became his boyfried for a while - Gab never had a stable relationship in his old story, but the longest one was with Nerois. His design was inspired by Visual Kei, just like most of the designs from back then. He always  had black hair with red highlights and black eyes. His hairstyle varied a bit, included an attempt to give him a mohawk in 2014. I intended to give him a role in the remake of Gab's story, but I don't remember my exact plan tbh. ^^" His style became more goth and less Visual Kei. After I started with ALoFD, he lost significance for me. I just occasionally drew him for random ideas or sidestories, or to see how he'd look in a more current style.
He's not an active character anymore and I have no plans for him. But I still remember that I really liked him. I even wrote a short story for him once (maybe around 2006).

⚜️

I have no interest in getting ratings which style of mine looks best tbh. I know from experience that most people seem to like my style around 2006 the most, which is ofc extremely frustrating, since it was basically a copied style to imitate Visual Kei bands, not much original. During my development, I went through different states of life included severe depression, which may show, too. I deliberately decided to turn away from mostly traditional art to digital art since 2018, and tbh I wouldn't change that ever. I'd never change my style just because others prefer something else anyway. As said, ratings are meaningless. They're just a matter of taste anyway. And while I probably always knew how to color/shade things halfway properly, I think regarding proportions and expressions I did become better. At least it's more like I imagine my art now. There's no super-impressive skill boost. It's slow. I'm just a hobbyist who draws in their freetime, while I went to school, had an apprenticeship (actually two), and worked ever since then - except for unvoluntary breaks due to illness. I never had a super supportive environment, and art was often my desperate attempt to survive and to express myself freely, often secretly, and often it was seen as a disturbance. Art has always been for myself only. I had a small boost in 2007, which lasted until 2011, but except for that (which came with a price), I drew against all odds, and often had to defend my art and creativity against others. It's sad that it wasn't ever really possible to share my stories and more than a few superficial illustrations with an audience, and I guess that won't change ever. Sometimes I think I might have been able to become better if I had a different environment, but that's long over, and I just try to keep creativity alive in my daily live. That's it. And thus, I don't expect super impressive development, and strongly oppose this kind of pressure. I'm okay with my style. There's always a few things I like to work on, but that comes with practice. To me, what matters is to go on.

If I had to mention something specific, it's that I personally dislike my style from 2007 and 2016/early 2017 the most. Both were times when I tried to draw more realistic and less abstracted because I thought I'd have to get a more "mature" style. Of course, the end of 2005 and 2006 pushed my development a bit, this was also when I started actually caring about anatomy. ^^" Other than that, I'd say 2018 was the beginning of my current style.

This development is for illustrations anyway, just to show an overall style development, but ofc the stories I draw are more important. You may also notice that my shading/coloring didn't ever change a lot - simply because I don't really care much about it. ^^" If you can see something beyond the colorings/shadings, I'd be very happy ofc.
I'm also very faithful to my characters, as you see, and many of them are very old already. I rarely create new characters, and it's unlikely that I'll ever create some that are as important as Gab and Keith to me. And in the end, ALoFD is the final result of all these characters and their stories. I'm not even sure if there's anything beyond it.

Kommentare