This is a look at Hotaru's latest design, created by my artist, Ink Knight. Around this time, Ink Knight's art skills had significantly improved, and he expressed a desire to redraw Hotaru in his new style. He's been drawing Hotaru since 2018, so this was an exciting update for both of us.
Hotaru is described as a relatively short teenage girl, so much so that people often mistake her for a younger child at first glance. Though well concealed by her clothes, she has an unusually athletic physique for her size, with a four-pack and toned arms and legs. She has long neon pink hair reaching her ankles, usually styled in a braided ponytail, along with big azure blue eyes and rosy cheeks.
The inspiration for Hotaru's braid came from watching Magic Knight Rayearth. I adore CLAMP's art style, particularly the design of MKR's protagonist, Hikaru Shidou. Hikaru’s bright red hair and long braid really stood out to me. She’s a bit of a tomboy compared to her friends, Umi and Fuu, who are more graceful and ladylike. Despite this, Hikaru is still cute as a button, and I'd say Hotaru fits that bill perfectly. She's tough and loves to fight but is still feminine and wants to look pretty, so I wanted her design to reflect that. Needless to say, I think Ink Knight did a wonderful job bringing her to life.
For this design, I provided a reference of a lady in a dress striking an action pose. After finishing, Ink Knight mentioned that the drawing reminded him of something. When he brought up Tony Valente's Radiant manga series, I immediately recalled my favorite character Ocoho striking a similar pose. I suppose it was in the back of my head! 😂
Link to Ink Knight's timelapse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=CMlOJ0MEZyg
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