#isabelle caito

[madlificent]

Crystal Heart Concept Art - Journey

I have started making more focused efforts to play around with thumbnails and loose concept works and I've found I really enjoy it! It's a quick and casual way to bang out a concept and just get it out of my head and onto... something. Will I turn all of them into final pieces? Likely not, but the practice with composition and value is 100% worth it and I am a fan of the end results.

This piece depicts Maki (left) and their mother, Isabelle (right), traveling from their city to the main setting of Crystal Heart; the metropolitan city-state of Alexandria. ^_^

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[madlificent]

Wonder Crystal Heart Clip Studio Paint Pro - 5 Hours

This started off as a little sketch to boost my mood when I was feeling a little low, but I decided to take it a little further. This illustration depicts a young Maki (5-6 years old) with their mother, Isabelle. I haven't visually explored Maki's portion of the time before Crystal Heart's proper story and though this is small, I think it's a cute little glimpse back at Maki and Isabelle's relationship!

[madlificent]

Caito Family - Crystal Heart Clip Studio Paint Pro

Hello! Big post ahead!

Been hard at work doing a lot of draft writing and planning for our sci-fi fantasy story, Crystal Heart, so I haven't done quite as much illustrating.

However, I am working on exploring the designs of one of the main trio of characters, Maki Caito, and her parents, Desmond and Isabelle.

Maki and her parents are members of a community self-named The Gifted. They are descended from a group of scientists and explorers that attempted to tap into a massive geode full of seemingly limitless powerful energy, which was discovered to fuel the very planet they live on, Althea. The geode, named Althea's Heart by the Gifted, lashed out against the team when they attempted to mine it and the wave of energy killed many and scarred those that survived, forever changing their chemistry. They were now in tune with the Heart and Althea itself, and this connection allowed them to rapidly evolve to adjust to their circumstances, taking on animalistic or inhuman traits when necessary and becoming something more than human...

The first image, left side of the compilation, depicts Maki at around 6-8 years old, her father Desmond on her left and mother Isabelle on her right. She inherited the canid ears of her parents, who developed them to better listen to their community as they maintain leadership positions and keep literal ears out for danger. The markings visible on their skin are scars from the Heart's energy coursing through their bodies, mostly developing when the individual gains their first Heart Trait of their own.

The second depicts Maki and Desmond some 10 or so years later, after Isabelle has disappeared, presumed kidnapped by the human city of Alexandria, and Desmond has reared Maki mostly on his own. Maki has gained her first individual Heart Trait in the form of a long fox-like tail, developed for better balance while climbing and running along trees after a nasty fall left her injured in her earlier years. She now bears Heart scars as a result of her tail's development.

Phew, that's a bit of exposition, but necessary for context here. I will stop it there, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will answer to the best of my abilities! Who knows, maybe you'll help me develop something we hadn't thought of yet. 😊