ALEX BY DUSK
What is anomalous?
Anomalous is my currently in-development webcomic project! The story centers on Aster, a young witch raised to believe her only role in life is to master and protect all water magic in the world. When she grows restless in this position and runs away to pursue her passion for plant rearing, she learns that the real world is much different than the one she knew.
The story is still in early development, and I've kept track of my progress here! Click through these galleries to see the progression of Aster's design, as well as her supporting cast and environments from her world.
Aster:
design progression
Aster's design has been in the works for a few years now! These slides contain some of my development steps when working through her design for the first few arcs of the story.
Because Aster is the main character, her design is a crucial factor for establishing the rest of her world. Aster is a bubbly character who is naive to the reality of her situation, and I wanted her to be generally upbeat and highly expressive. The main goal with her design was to communicate her bodily connection to water, as she was created to wield it, and her personal connection to nature. Her hair and prosthetic arm are made from her water magic, indicated by its purple coloration, but aspects of her appearance that she chose for herself lean towards plant aesthetics.
Initial sketches for Aster's official redesign. The goal with this redesign was to tighten up her design to fit her role in the story, as her older art had been a bit inconsistent.
Building from the initial roughs, I tweaked some elements of Aster's design to make them more readable to new audiences. This included some early tests for the expressiveness of her water hair, and emphasizing the plant shapes in her clothing.
This is the most recent model sheet for Aster's design in Act One!
Initial sketches for Aster's official redesign. The goal with this redesign was to tighten up her design to fit her role in the story, as her older art had been a bit inconsistent.
Other art from the world of anomalous
 Model sheet for Asra |  Model sheet for Rori |
|---|---|
 Model sheet for Fen |  Model sheet for Fjord |
 Model sheet for Sawyer |  Cover illustration for a development book |
 Concept illustration of Aster and Asra in the City |  Concept illustration of the main team in the lower city |
 Concept illustration of the team in the Forest |  Concept illustration of the team outside of the City |
 Concept illustration of the team outside of the City |  Anomalous-themed sticker sheet featuring the comic's main characters and motifs! |
 Preliminary planning for Aster's house and floorplan. |  Reference sheet for Aster's house at the beginning of the story. Though it is her home, I wanted her to feel out of place and small in comparison. |
 Concept illustration of Aster with another character, Midas, who serves as her guardian. |