R-Series: Sever Sakai 01

Inspired by The Cure OC Tourny with the opportunity to let my creative prowess shine through, I went to work developing some older characters from an anime project of mine that have been sitting around collecting dust for some time now. And the character I was most interested in entering into the contest was this one, Sever Sakai. I ended up opting out of entry into the contest, because I knew I wouldn't really have time for it and didn't think my skills were quite up to par just yet... but well before I made that decision, I dug out a few huge sheets of paper and pumped out a few of these sketch pages. And I have to say, I'm quite proud of them(even the crappy, unfinished audition comic). They turned out way better than I could have imagined they would, especially considering how rarely I draw human character's these days...


So then, why was Sever top of the list for the tournament entry? After all, he isn't the hero of the series you developed him for... hell, he isn't even a good guy! He's a Villian!! And not even the main villian! XD Ultimately, he's just one of the antagonist's crew, doesn't even hold that high of a rank. So why Sever? Well... he just stands out. Out of all the characters I had already nailed down for the series in question, Sever was the most complete and the most interesting. And I just plain wanted to work with him. XD It was more interesting than going along the usual hero route.... this way, I could play a character who just didn't give a shit. He wasn't out to save the day, he was just THERE, doing his job and trying to get by with minimal effort. He has a bit of a god complex too, since he really is almost invulnerable thanks to his special ability, which meant he could react to all of these weird and creepy/scary things in a very laid back and nonchalant way, while everyone else was busy peeing their pants.

This page contains the first four images I drew of Sever... like... EVER. I've never actually drawn him before, so I was literally making things up as I went along. The upper left corner was the first of the images, followed by the full body pic to the right. After drawing the full body image, I went back and added some details to his coat in the first image. I went downwards from there, drawing whatever defining imagery I could think of to help show off his general attitude. The decision not to give him any shoes came after I realized that I couldn't draw shoes for crap and he'd look just as well barefoot. Though to give extra meaning to their absence, I decided to ask Sever why he wasn't wearing any shoes... to which he promptly responded, "Fuck Shoes."

Also, I'm not sure how noticeable it is, but he has dark lines underneath his eyes. I did this originally to reflect a common trait seen in a number of villains, which effectively distinguishes him as more of a "bad guy" than he would appear without them. I also later theorized that he suffers from insomnia, due to chronic nightmares. This attribute better defines how his past shaped his present personality. It also would have factored in well into The Cure's scenario, since one of the 4 Sicknesses was "Insomnia."


I've also considered, judging purely by appearance, that Sever might be a good "Base" to use later on for designing my version of West's character.