Suzume and Kikumaru

A personal piece from late 2020 that I never got around to uploading.

As a big fan of From Software's games and a particularly avid fan of Sekiro, I felt inspired to create a character of my own. Several things I wanted to work on all came together;

- I hadn't designed many female characters before, and wanted to create one that wasn't a conventional youthful beauty.
- I was also a fan of Team Ninja's Nioh games around this time and enjoyed their versions of monster-ified Yokai, but wanted to explore those kinds of creatures and their connection to the world around them on a smaller, more intimate scale.
- I came upon some really interesting vintage photographs of the peoples of Japan's yukiguni/snow country and their large straw mantles, which I found to be a really striking visual.

All of these eventually compounded in the character seen here. The story I had in mind for her was that of a contract between a hermit and the mountain demon of the valley she lives in; she reluctantly lures in travelers unfortunate enough to trust her, and disposes of them in their sleep so the demon can feed. In return, she is permitted to live on its mountain unharmed and without fear of threats from the outside world. Kikumaru is named after the sight his legs inspire when curled up in his lair; a mass of uncountable yellow petals, like a spiraling chrysanthemum flower.