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#I LOVE JADES DESIGN ITS SO COOL SO CREATIVE SOOOOOO
angelizs · 2 years
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Hi hi its the curious anon again from the jade and azul ask !!,HEHR PLEASE DONT APOLOGIZE FOR THE LENGTHY,I love reading long posts so I enjoyed it very much and I loved reading it!!,you honestly had me going /YES YEA THIS/ the whole way through 😂 and if you wanna go off about their designs plea please do!! 🥺,
I dont have too many thoughts to share /myself/ however except maybe a silly one thats a lil shippy on how floyd would call is s/o their actual name and flipflop between the sea animal nickname and actual name cause of the theory that he usually calls those he respects/are close to their names n so on-
HII CURIOUS ANON, I'm glad you liked my lenghty thoughts on them! since you've given me the go ahead, I'll take up your offer and talk a bit about their Dorm Uniform designs! (I didn't include Azul's overblot or any other clothes to focus on these especific ones, but perhaps another time!)
oh, before I start, yes I agree with that! I believe you're refering to this post regarding Floyd's nicknames, and I agree with it! like he does with Azul and Jade, the people he's truly close with and respects he would call by their actual name, not one of his nicknames. although I'm very attached to shrimpy as I find it very cute and I'd kind of miss it if he dropped it altogether, so I like the idea of him varying between it and his S/O's name!
fun fact: I like to draw occasionally, so character design is something I have a lot of interest in!
now, let's get this started, yes?
I feel like my thoughts go along with the general consensus of their designs, but sometimes even the obvious should be stated, so I'll say everything in my mind!
AZUL
I have a confession to make. I'm easily attracted by anime characters with white hair. I KNOOOOW IT'S SUCH A COMMON TROPE AND I FALL FOR IT EVERYTIME, HOOK, LINE AND SINKER. so him having his gray-ish hair color is already a positive point in my books. differently from Ursula, his hair is not wild and free, but rather very well kept, tamed and wavy! (and difficult to draw, lmao. the notes in the 2020 visual book make a comment on how it's important to make an outline before drawing it, or else the right side can come out too big)
even with it's difficulty, I think the little strand that's just a tad longer and curls following his face, reminiscing of a tentacle, is just so charming, it's a nice little detail that makes all the difference! another thing you can't really see it's that he has AN UNDERCUT!! WHICH IS SO COOL!! I miss the time I used to have an undercut too.
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the choice of giving him glasses but not the twins is a bit ironic, since octopi don't have much of a bad vision at all, meanwhile eels are almost blind. (I think they use contact lenses. just imagine Floyd forgetting his and he can't see anything and he's just. confused.) I think it's most likely to make him fit even more in the stereotypical "smart and cunning anime character" profile. it miiight have been a reference to the darker shade around Ursula's eyes, but I honestly doubt it. they do fit quite nicely, so I'm not complaining at all!
one thing I like about his eyebrows are how expressive they are, which brings Ursula's eyebrows to mind! they seem to have very similar expressions in that sense, as the drawing of him with a mean grin and arched eyebrows is reminiscent of Ursula's expression! his eyes aren't half lidded like hers tho, a difference that pops out very clearly if you compare both pics of them looking straight ahead while smiling. Ursula's seem more menacing, as if she's up to no good, while Azul's is more polite.
I loooove the mole near his mouth, mirroring Ursula's, it's so charming!! and I don't know if you've ever stared at his lips before but. look. they are very glossy and they SHINE, his mouth looks amazing, he might not pass on Ursula's birght red lipstick but he DEFINETLY has lip balm at least
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now let's look at his drip. Octavinelle's dorm uniform makes an homage to the Sea Witch's elegant style, using a stylish combination of suits in more neutral tones, either in black and white or in shades of purple and gray, making a reference for her lavander skin tone and purple tentacles.
look I'm gonna be honest. I don't know what's up with the fedora. the iconic shell is a nice touch, but why must he wear a fedora? he could look professional and mature without it!! I am. not the biggest fan of hats. AND HIS HAIR LOOKS SO PRETTY WHY MUST HE HIDE IT
the bowtie I think it's a bit silly, but that might be because it's not common at all here where I live. I've only seen normal ties, so for me it might have looked better with one (not in this purple shade tho, maybe in a more muted tone of it. I do like the contrast of color against the white). I also don't see much what's the point of the grey scarf but it does help him look fancy, though the Octavinelle crest on it makes it look a bit like Harry Potter merch
as he's the housewarden, he gets a special long coat that does make him look a bit like a mafia boss, especially because he's not actually wearing it, only having it drapped over his shoulders. (or perhaps it's the bowtie. was that why it was there all along!?) and the white gloves? it's very snazzy and suspicious at the same time, but I can see the elegance of hiding your hands as if you're a victorian maiden hiding your ankles and shoulders to preserve your modesty.
the cane is SO COOL. I don't think he uses it for anything other than looking intimidating but's it's so cool. maybe it helped him to get used to walking with only two legs (adapting from eight to two must have been hard) when he started his first year and he's kept it. his shoes are pretty normal, expected even, BUT WHY ARE HIS SOCKS NEON PURPLE. I know it's to match his silly mafioso bow tie BUT WHY.
JADE
I'll start with things that will apply to Floyd as well, but I only want to say it once
Flotsam and Jetsam are... not the prettiest around. I'd say they are very far from it, even. Which only surprises me more that the twins look SO GOOD when they were based off of this??
as a reference to the moray eels, Ursula's beloved pets and minions, the twin's hair follow their color scheme, teal in it's majority with a dark gray stripe, and each have one yellow eye that helps to differentiate from which eel they were inspired by. their merman forms also make reference to them, as their tails are quite similar and they have fins and gills, which is not something the merman in the Little Mermaid used to have.
thankfully, for everyone's happiness, their physical similarities end there.
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JADE TIME!! I have another confession to make: I also love character's with hair that has more than one color. I'M NOT TOO HARD TO PLEASE ALRIGHT!
Jade's hair is very unusual and at first glance might even look strange, a mix of color and shapes in an already complicated design. I think it plays along well with him, the little J shaped strand of hair hugs his face and calls attention to it, breaking the monotony from his otherwise short hair and balancing it's color out. the way his side bang is cut in such an angular and sharp way gives it such a nice shape, and I like how his hair is well kept and brushed! (differently from Azul's, his hair is a pleasure to draw, as I sometimes find myself doodling it at the corner of my books, absentmindedly)
THE SHAPE OF HIS EYEBROWS !!! they also feel quite angular and pointed, different from Floyd's, which compliment his eye shape very well. AND HIS EYES?? I could look into then all day. the way they are sharp and pass the feeling of his witty personality, they are angled upwards and give him an alluring sense, his upper lashes are fuller and give a cutting look to his eyes, the little eyebags (?) under them breaking the lightness of his skin and adding some color around them, even his eyelid fold helps to create such a charming gaze. I LOVE THE HETEROCHROMIA!! they aren't wildly constrasting, like I commonly see, but rather a duller tone of the other, which is how it usually happens in real life! such a polite look and by it's shape alone you can tell there's something behind it, something sharp enough to almost break the surface.
even his nose differs from Floyd's, as it feels a little softer and round ended, less curved and more of a straight line. I love these little spot the differences games, while they might seem like such minor details, they come along to create a bigger picture that differentiates the twins and each is their own person very well, not only with their body language but also by their appearence!!
OH AND HIS LIPS. I know I know it's the art style but still. the way his bottom lip is so full and shiny?? the way the corners of his mouth curl upwards just so. the carefully constructed politeness. how he rarely shows his teeth to keep the more harmless appearence, only letting them be seen if he's trying to intimidate someone or if he's actually happy. the dangers of his sharp teeth hiding like a shark under the waves !!!!!!
AND JADE'S EARRING! like on Floyd, it's such a dynamic little shape and gives them a bit of a more approachable look? and then you discover how they even got it in the first place LMAOOO. wait, let me give some context: on Usrula's spell, she says "Beluga Sevruga, Come winds of the Caspian Sea!" what does that mean? beluga is a variety of caviar (and of the more expensive ones), and it's harvested from the Sevruga sturgeon, native from the Caspian Sea. the story of how the twins got those earrings is that they won a fight against a sturgeon and kept the scales as a prize, so really even their cute little silly earrings are indicative of how dangerous they can be and how they like to flaunt that around LOL. in story they are also mentioned to be known as a good luck charm, due to being a popular ingredient in the Sea Witch's potions. it's such a nice reference! and it also implies the twins might have a bit of a supersticious side to them, which is so interesting.
the merman form is so cool too! as mentioned, I really like how they use more elements of moray eels and lets them have a more fish-like look. the stripes are elegant and a nice detail that brings these aspects from the eels, not to mention his body is literally luminiscent! like! he glows underwater!! how cool is that?? the fins in place of ears are cute, and the webbed hand makes a lot of sense! the tail adding lenght to them and making them twice their human size is a nice way of making them grow without distorting their proportions. (just why. why must he have abs. eel abs. it was a whole jumpscare the first time I saw them.)
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I'm. gonna sound a bit hypocritical now. but! I think the hat looks nice on Jade. HEAR ME OUT! I'm still not the biggest fan of hats, but Jade's is not like Azul's, it has a wider, less square box like, shape, the shell is hidden as to not overdo with the details and leave it as a more discreet one, and the way it's drapped on his head, following his bangs and the linearity of his longer stripe, gives such a fluidity to the whole thing and manages to make him look suave!
also, one thing about him is how he's always prim and proper, tucked in neatly in any formal suit and showing his diligence. there's something about people who are always so covered up and formal looking. the profissionalism... the maturity... the sense he's above you... the clothes make the man...
ANYWAYS. I like that the shade of the regular uniform is a lavander that goes easy on the eyes (housewarden's neon purple, take notes), it gives a classy feel and goes along great with the general color scheme! I hope they are careful on laundry day to wash those separatedly from the white uniforms.
again with the little bow tie. the white manages to compliment his gloves and the pocket square very well, but it stills looks a bit silly to me. I'm sorry, but here where I live the only people I've seen using those are clowns, literally (look up Patati e Patatá. it's Jade and Floyd).
he thankfully doesn't show his socks, but his shoes have white details on them that I feel that kind of break the sleekness of the whole. I know it would be way too monocromatic otherwise, but I don't think it'd be necessarily a bad thing, especially since they have no problem in doing it with his other designs. with the ones he has on, it looks like he's about to start tap dancing at any minute.
still, Jade is slaying
FLOYD
as I've already discussed some of his design aspects in Jade's part, I'll go over only what I see as unique to him.
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his hair is messier than Jade's, wilder and spikier, and it kind of looks like he doesn't brush it in the mornings, but that's part of his charm, this unkept look! the F shaped longer strand seems a bit fuller than Jade's as well.
his eyebrows are higher and less sharp than Jade's, angled downwards and following his eye shape that makes him look sleepy or bored more often, less atent than Jade, and exposes his double eyelid better. his eyes are more expressive, oftentimes curving in excitement or with his pupils contracting when angry.
the shape of his nose is pointy, sharper and slightly more curved. ONE THING I REALLY LIKE: his mouth. Floyd is always showing his emotions, and it's delightful to look at his jagged teeth as he smiles openly! even when he's not emoting so drastically you can still catch a glimpse of them!
the thing is that while they have their differences, the twins designs are very similar, as they really separate from each other in their personalities.
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the hat also looks better on him than on Azul (sorry Azul, yours is a bit goofy and doesn't compliment your hair very well), and while it follows some of the reasons I've cited on Jade's, there's also something else. the hat helps to show his impulsive nature! how so? well, I think like this: the rest of the uniform he has to wear, there's no escaping it, but the hat? he can do wathever he wants with it. if he feels like putting it on, he does, if he doesn't feel like it, he can just not. it's not a crucial part like the shirt or the suit, so people won't get much on his case about it. in the card, he's taken it off, simply because he wanted to.
he's also more free than Jade's buttoned up look, as he quite literally doesn't button up many parts of it, his jacket is open, his collarbones are exposed, his silly clown bow tie is untied, his scarf is flowing in the wind. Floyd doesn't like to be restricted by tight fitting clothes and honestly I get him.
as much as Floyd is interested in shoe fashion, I don't like his shoes at all. in most of his cards actually. I don't know if it's because I know nothing about it and use an All Star for every occasion, but his shoes always look goofy because of his socks. ALWAYS. who lets him keep getting away with this??? someone please stop him he's comminting crimes against fashion with those socks. THE NEON PURPLE DOESN'T EVEN GOES WELL WITH THE SOFT LAVANDER OF HIS SHIRT. THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON FOR HIM HERE. not to mention he's also using the tap dancer shoes.
CONCLUSION
I really like Octavinelle's under the sea theme and how well their designs make callbacks for their counterparts, making nice references for such an iconic villain! all in all they are very elegant and pass a professional vibe that's characteristic of the dorm and it's students, leaving enough space for their own little quirks to shine through.
I love to take a look at them like this!! I might have a terrible fashion sense for myself, but when it comes to character design I suddenly become a critic lol. though I feel that the game manages very well to create interesting designs that calls to mind the original villain's and leave enough room for their own personalities to shine, catching your attention and staying easily on your memory! all the characters have unique little things that differentiate them and make even people that have never played the game recognize them!
that's it for their dorm uniforms and general designs, I hope you like it curious anon! thank you for once again indulging me on my rambles!
(I took the images from pinterest but they are from the 2020 visual book, which I found some translations for in their character fact sheets and here, or from the Little Mermaid's concept art book!)
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