#hazbin pilot vox

[alice-after-dark]

Why Vox's Redesign was Important to Selling His Trustworthy Image

Tumblrites who follow my blog will probably have heard me talk about Vox's image as a trustworthy individual. Despite being an Overlord in literal Hell, Vox has managed to convince the denizens of the inferno that he is someone to be trusted. This makes him a compelling opponent for Charlie because it's made clear that her subjects don't given her much respect, so it will be significantly harder for her to get them to back her and the hotel over someone they trust and support like Vox.

But on a meta level, I want to discuss why the changes made to Vox's pilot appearance were so necessary to sell the idea that he could convince the Sinner populace to put their trust in him. Because if the audience is coming away from Vox's scenes and going "how the fuck do people trust this guy?" that's a problem. It needs to be believable and that was why they had to make changes to Vox's original design.

To get started, these are the two images I will largely be referencing:

The first thing I am going to address is the color changes and the impact they have on his design. The biggest change they made to his design color-wise was replacing the black of his clothes with a soft blue. Blue is a color of trust and serenity. It's a calm color. You will often see it in hospitals, banks, dentist offices, etc. Places where they want you to be calm and feel safe. By making blue the main color of Vox's design, it creates this feeling of safety, especially in a world where everything is bathed in red, a color of alarm and danger. The neon details on his design were also shifted to be more blue and less green/mint and switched his eyebrows from neon to black. This creates less of a contrast, so they don't feel as harsh. They also reduced contrast by making his screen more blue tinted rather than gray and his frame dark gray instead of black. Another significant color change was changing the red from a stark bright red so a gentler more magenta toned red. All of these color changes and the diminished contrast serve to soften his design and make him appear more trustworthy and less threatening.

Now, I mentioned above that red is a color of alarm and danger, so why would Vox include it in his wardrobe if he wants people to trust him? My thought on this is that is it to blend at least slightly with the world around him. Hell is bathed in reds, so being dressed entirely head to toe in blue would create such an abrupt contrast that it would probably scare people off. Adopting a softer, more muted red allows him to still feel cohesive to the environment while also standing out.

The next thing I want to focus on is the design of his mouth in both forms. While not as clear in the pictures I have in this post, Vox's canon mouth is one block of color with a jagged line running through the middle. Pilot Vox highlights every single tooth from top to bottom, which makes him feel more vicious and dangerous. His mouth in the pilot is also that neon greenish-blue against black, rather than the blue on blue of the canon design. There's less contrast so it lessens the perceived threat. The pilot design's mouth is also smooth, one solid arc, while the canon designs has edges and a more firm shape. Now, you might think that this would make canon Vox's smile more threatening because of the sharper edges, and usually you would be right, but there's something bigger at play here. The smooth curve of Pilot Vox's mouth feels unnatural. It slips into uncanny valley territory. It makes him feel less human, which naturally sets off alarm bells. Our brain is telling us that this thing is trying to look human but it's not and that inherently is going to make us more defensive. The differences in the way they separate the teeth also contributes to this. By adding shape to the mouth, it feels more human-like, even when his face is literally a flat-screen.

This is a small change, but originally, the bottom of Vox's jacket was one single hem, similar to Alastor's. It was changed to a tailcoat, with the bottom cutting back and splitting into two distinct tails. Not only does this serve to differentiate his silhouette from Alastor's, but tailcoats signify respect, dignity, and sophistication, adding to his more charming appearance and making him have an air of authority.

The last thing I want to point out is his hypno eye. Pilot Vox's hypno eye is always active. You can see this if you check the Instagram images. This creates a sinister feel because of the harsh contrast between the black and that bright red. It also served to make him appear less human, once again dipping into that uncanny valley feeling. By having it only active sometimes, it serves as a way to control when you want him to feel sinister. In canon, it only activates when Vox is either using it to hypnotize the masses or when he is getting upset. These are moments where you want him to feel more dangerous, so they make sense. Otherwise, in canon, Vox's eyes are standard demon eyes, which lessens the uncanny valley effect.

Overall, these changes create a softer, less threatening image that you can understand why a person would trust. By changing some key colors and design elements that slipped too far into uncanny valley territory, they were able to create a design that felt safer and more charismatic while also maintaining the power and villainous energy of the character.

[lucdoodle]

They have loud fashion opinions

[trisiyamoon]

Pilot meet series🤝

[modbunny]

to you he is deeply serious. to YOU. to me he is seto kaiba

[milariro]

I believe in old Vox supremacy...

[kitsupine]

☆Gifts!☆

[lalalalalalakakakak]

Inside of Vox there are two men (i am not going to articulate that, choose your own scenario)

[paprikaries]

"L'enfer" _ og Vaggie tribute Fanart: Vaggie/Vagatha/Hazbin Hotel (spindlehorse studio/Vivziepop/Amazon) So, as far as I understood watching some old Vivziepop drawings, apparently she originally was a demon, not an angel, and she went to hell because she committed suic1de (which was considered a sin few years ago in catholicism) hanging herself to escape the bullying or something like that. It was very dark, but I think it would have been a good way to criticize the sorting of souls between heaven and hell, to talk about how sometimes victims were sent to hell, not just executioners. What do you think?

[anisecandy]

Some doodles of pilot!Vox. I hc that he can't quite emote with his other eye or close it all the way down

[allastoredeer]

Writing “Beyond the Eight Ball” Vox isn’t enough, I need to consume him…

[millaneyy]

hello hazbin hotel fandom is this anything

[alice-after-dark]

Vaguely intrigued by Vox's original pilot concept lately...

[voxset]

pilot vox oh how i miss you...

[kora-lene]

murder wives

[modbunny]

i think im late to this trend by now. but vox in my clothes anyway

[milariro]

(Sorry if I made a mistake in English) Triple gift for moth