Get to Know the Crew! Captain Bandit

Captain Bandit VII is a charming, but tough leader. As captain, his main goal is to complete missions and keep his crew safe. Bandit has a soft spot for outcasts and Crewcreatures who come up with unexpected ways to save the galaxy.

His father, General Bandit VI, was one of the most famous Zoorb captains in the fleet and Bandit is expected to succeed in father’s pawsteps. Like most dogs, Bandit was raised by a human family. In order to join the Zoorb Academy, he had become a “lost pet” and leave his human family forever.

As expected, he excelled at the Zoorb Academy and quickly caught the attention of Zoorb Council Leadership. Bandit was first in his class at Exploration, Peacekeeping, Security, and Search and Rescue. He was also captain of a 3-time champion volleyball team.

Bandit is one of the youngest captains in the Creaturehood, and also one of the most trusted.

Let’s Make Comics: Dr. Maria Curly design

 

Dr. Curly was actually one of the first characters I ever sketched from Star Beasts. As I was reading through the first draft of the script, I doodled some quick drawings of scenes if they stood out to me, or if I had some strong visual idea of how the scene or character looked in my head. It’s a good way to make your ideas real and closer to how you want them, if you get it out of your head and down on paper as soon as you can. That’s why I always keep a sketchbook handy.

Here is the first sketch of Maria:

 

 

Not too much difference from how she turned out, eh? When Steph and I were brainstorming characters, Steph mentioned thinking of Maria looking something like Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein…

 

 

Maybe that was why it was so easy for me to picture her in my head the first time I read her in the story!

I was also thinking of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, growing more and more frustrated, as she tries to brew the Drought of Living Death in Slughorn’s class. Her hair becoming bigger and more frizzled from the steam as the class goes on- a visual representation of her mood…

 

 

Somehow in the process of finalizing her look, she lost the bottom poof of her mad scientist hairstyle, but I still think the spirit of her easily frazzled personality comes through up on top of her noggin.

Get to Know the Crew! Maria

Dr. Maria Curly is a driven, well-respected scientist. With PHD’s in almost everything imaginable she doesn’t humor foolish creatures lightly. Maria loves to have THE scientific answer for everything.

When she’s focused on proving that her theories and experiments are 100% right, sleeping, eating, and even saving her other crew members becomes (SIGH) a bit of a bother.

Her role on the ship is to answer any science need necessary to protect Earth and study new astrologic experiences in deep space. Personally, Maria hopes that by exploring the far reaches of the universe, she’ll learn groundbreaking truths that will help her win the prestigious Dardis Prize again. Maria dreams of becoming the only creature scientist to have won the Dardis three times!

An entire wall of Maria’s laboratory showcases her well-earned diplomas and awards. The doctor may, or may not have positioned her lab worktable just so she could glance up at her own greatness every now and then.

Let’s Make Comics: Macca Design

When I was thinking about the look of Macca, the first thing that came to mind was the unicorn depicted in the series of unicorn tapestries from the late middle ages. I like to think Macca’s extra long unicorn horn may have come from the legendary creature shown here, in this piece called “The Unicorn in Captivity”

For a long time, I have been inspired by these tapestries, and the story of the unicorn hunt. There are many tales of humans searching for the elusive and pure unicorn, in order to acquire the beast’s magical healing powers. (my favorite version of this legend comes from “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White – a great book if you’re looking for something to read by the pool this summer.) There is a big project I’ve had in the back of my head related to this story that has yet to come to life, so I was glad to finally put some of this research into practice when coming up with Macca’s design.

Macca wears the uniform of the Zoorb Council, but with a bit of flair in the form of the flowers representing his Dirt source of power. (Learn more about sources of power in a previous blog post) The inspiration for using flowers comes from the Millefleur (or ‘thousand-flowers’) technique used in the Unicorn Tapestries, and many other works of art created in the late middle ages. This is when you see a field of tiny flowers, graphically depicted as the backdrop to a scene. Each member of the Zoorb Council has a reflection of their source of power on their attire, and since Macca was the first Dirt creature I designed, he got the say in how they represent their group.

The last bit of influence that I borrowed from this art, and many other images of unicorns from medieval times, is Macca’s beard. Oftentimes in Unicorn art from this period, the unicorn is made to look almost like a goat, sometimes as small as a goat or a dog-like creature, with a curled beard. I’ve always liked this difference from the modern unicorn, which is almost always highly feminine and pony-like. I thought I’d give Macca a little unicorn goat beard to give him a classic look, and it was just the extra bit of fancy that he needed.

Get to Know the Crew! Macca

Ian, better known as by his creature nickname Macca, is the last of his kind.

He’s a dependable peacemaker and natural leader. Macca is a sitting member of the Zoorb Council and the creature who communicates with the Prime Derma, the chosen human government official informed about the Cosmic Creaturehood.

When it comes to tough decisions and cosmic choices, Macca makes the right call 99% of the time. He tends to trust his inner voice rather than listening to others–a trait that doesn’t always win him points with the Condor Crew.

Macca believes in the pure purpose of the Order of Cosmic Creatures, to protect Earth and all Her creatures, especially humans. Most creatures look to him for guidance and he uses divine legends of the creaturehood to counsel others. He has a soft spot for underdogs and believes every creature deserves a chance to reach their full potential.

A trained warrior, Macca fights only when necessary. He carries with him the Relic of the First Unicorn, a long horn with hidden powers.