Solstice Redesign

I’ve needed to fix Solstice’s horns for ages because they didn’t look like reindeer horns. I didn’t want to start the process because I thought it’d be difficult, but I think I figured out how to stylize the shapes in an appealing manner (using furry art as a reference point).

Solstice has one fully grown horn and one that’s stunted. This is to convey the idea that as the Vice of Sloth, he represents the lack of motivation to work on a project beyond the idea stage. Solstice is a dreamer and can never get things done because he gets burnt out so quickly. His right horn represents his “right-brained” nature (the right brain being associated with creativity and art and the left with logic and rationality; it's a popular concept in culture but probs total BS haha).

I think what held me back the most from making this change was the fact that the scarce few pieces of Solstice I’ve made are now inaccurate. I grew insecure that I was changing my OCs too much. But I’ve come to realize that I shouldn’t value a consistent “brand image” above my own creative vision. I’ve grown and changed, and my characters need to do that too. Some elements must necessarily be let go of or changed. The Rule of Cool still exists, and I think giving an OC a feature just because you like it can be a really sweet signature! However, for me refusing to change Solstice’s horns just held me back from making his design the best it could be ^^

I also redesigned Sol’s jacket. Core colors are mostly the same but I added some lavender ones to his sleeves. This brings the total number up to 8 (I removed superfluous accents, namely the neon yellow and red of his eye that was literally only on that part of the design and overinflated the palette ). 9 if you count the white of his sweater. The desire to add purple came from the desire to diversify his colors and incorporate elements of the night sky. He’s literally named after the winter solstice, which is the longest night of the year haha.

Anywayyy he’s a cutie and he’s just like me!! (his art struggles hit way too close to home lmao)

If you saw this on Cara then you got an extra special slide with more information about Sol I’ll put it in the comments here!

OC: Solstice (Vice of Sloth, he/him)