Chapter 54 – Appearance Has Meaning Too
A short while later, in the corridor leading to AniGo’s drawing room.
The three of them were walking side by side.
Min-Hyuk and Dong-gyo had their hair completely soaked, dressed lightly in short-sleeved shirts and shorts.
In Kim Rok-hee’s case, she was wearing a rabbit headband, her self-proclaimed work outfit covered in all sorts of cute symbols, and bunny slippers as she padded forward.
What could one even say… AniGo usually encouraged casual clothing, and weekends had even fewer restrictions, but still…
‘Impressive.’
‘To walk around like that in full sanity.’
The other two couldn’t help but marvel anew at this free-spirited soul truly worthy of the AniGo name.
At that moment, Rok-hee stared straight at Min-Hyuk and asked,
“When you say ‘medieval knight,’ what exact vibe are you going for?”
“Hmm… Visually, I want it to have a grotesque feel, but at the same time make it instantly clear that this person is an overwhelmingly powerful figure.”
“Hmmmm… Is that the Mer-Verk vibe you’re after?”
Dong-gyo crossed his arms and named a specific work.
Mer-Verk.
A fantasy comic chronicling the life of a cursed berserker in a fairy-tale-like world, infamous for its dense artwork and uniquely brutal storytelling.
The author was renowned for their obsessive craftsmanship, and in the future Min-Hyuk had lived through… the series ended up unfinished due to the creator’s death from overwork—a tragic, cursed comic.
Min-Hyuk lightly stroked his chin before replying.
“Yeah, if we’re talking lineage, it’s close to that. But Mer-Verk was expressed purely through pen lines. I was thinking of using screen tones to bring out more gloss and sheen, so the character really pops and stands out. Like the protagonist of the work.”
“Ooooh, so you’re doing a fantasy one-shot for your next project, Min-Hyuk-kun?”
“Well… something like that.”
To be precise, it was the current project and not a one-shot at all… but since he couldn’t exactly tell them what he was really working on, there was no helping it.
Rok-hee stroked her own chin and asked again.
“Hmmmmmm… Then this character probably has some kind of complicated backstory, right?”
“Yeah, sort of. The setting still needs more fleshing out, but basically someone who tried to do something big in the past and failed… and because of that, carries deep resentment and obsession… That’s the rough idea.”
Well, that was half a lie too.
The background story for <Reverse Heaven’s Monarch> was already fully fleshed out.
‘His beloved children were killed by the gods. In his attempt at revenge, he stepped into the domain of the逆天 (Reverse Heaven), only to be killed by the gods’ apostles as well—trapped forever in a cursed world.’
Of course, none of this would be fully revealed in Chapter 15.
Information like that belonged in the final arcs of the story.
But whether or not he had this setting locked in would completely change the boss character’s dialogue, behavior, and presence in this chapter… which was why he had to prepare it in advance.
Still, he obviously couldn’t just spill all of that straight out.
Then Kim Rok-hee continued.
“So, we should incorporate the character’s backstory into their costume design… and also capture the atmosphere you described. Those two elements need to be considered together.”
“Hm? What do you mean by ‘incorporate the backstory into the costume’?”
Dong-gyo tilted his head, clearly not following.
Rok-hee huffed through her nose, then hoisted up her ball-jointed doll—Vincent—and pointed to a specific spot.
“This badge pinned to the right collar of Vincent’s outfit—do you know what it is?”
It was a ruby-like, shining red rose-shaped badge.
“…How would I know that?”
“Before Vincent went off to fight in the Millennium War, his fiancée gave it to him as a gift. She died while he was away at war, and ever since, Vincent has never taken this badge off. The reason it’s a red rose is because the Velvetrose family—his fiancée’s house—uses the rose as their crest.”
“Uh… War? Velvetrose?”
Dong-gyo blinked blankly, clearly understanding none of it, so Min-Hyuk stepped in to translate.
“She means it’s good to make a character’s visual features tie directly into their backstory or personal history, right?”
“Hehe! Exactly. Unlike a certain someone slow on the uptake, you catch on quick.”
“What—slow? Did you just call me slow?!”
“If a guy who draws comics can’t understand something this basic, then yeah, he’s slow—”
Rok-hee stuck her tongue out playfully, and Oh Dong-gyo’s face crumpled in defeat.
Whatever the case, Min-Hyuk nodded slowly, turning her words over in his mind.
‘She’s right. I definitely overlooked that part this time.’
When designing a character’s visual appearance, deliberately combining elements from their backstory, personality quirks, habits, and so on.
It was one of the most fundamental techniques in comic character design… and also one of the things creators overlooked most often.
For example: suppose there’s an odd-eyed character (different colored eyes). If you ask a less skilled artist, “Why does this character have odd eyes?” the answer might just be “Because it’s pretty,” or “Because characters like that are popular.”
But if you design a character that shallowly, they end up being nothing more than a pretty doll or figurine on the outside.
If a main character is set to have odd eyes… there absolutely needs to be a reason that justifies or complements it.
For instance: maybe a ghost possessed one eye, granting them special powers… and that’s why the eye color changed. Something with that level of reasoning.
In fact, most of the characters in <Brave King> were designed with exactly these kinds of layered details scattered throughout.
The bullied protagonist Kim Bin-woo has wrist scars, keeps his bangs slightly covering his eyes… and habitually grabs his own wrist to hide it—small, deliberate design choices made on purpose.
Of course, some elements came about by chance or were retrofitted as the story progressed, but still.
Character personality, in this way, naturally emerges when the author’s intent is embedded to some degree and the visual is built in a way that matches the backstory.
But…
‘I never thought to apply this method to villains.’
Up until now, Min-Hyuk had treated the antagonists appearing in <Brave King> purely as “monsters.”
Since there was no real need to give them concrete narratives or goals, he naturally hadn’t incorporated these kinds of elements into their designs either.
However, the Reverse Heaven’s Monarch appearing in Chapter 15 could not be handled the same way.
‘I need to weave this villain’s narrative into the design as well…’
While he was lost in thought, the three of them arrived in front of the drawing room.
“Anyway, let’s talk more in detail inside. No one’s going to be here at this hour anyway.”
“Yeah.”
Slide!
Rok-hee opened the door, and all three stepped inside at the same time.
But the moment the door opened… they could see that the lights inside the drawing room were on.
“Huh?”
“Is someone still here at this time…?”
As the three of them looked around, a familiar face came into view in one corner.
A girl wearing a baker boy cap.
It was Han Yu-ra.
Scratch scratch! Scratch scratch!
Even at this moment, she had her face practically buried in the manuscript paper, eyes never leaving the page as her inking pen moved without pause.
How should one put it…
‘The atmosphere is downright murderous.’
‘So this is what “possessed by the work” really looks like…’
She gave off the kind of intensity that made it seem like she could kill someone with her comics.
Overwhelmed by the vibe, the three exchanged quick glances before whispering.
“Should we… go outside and talk?”
“Yeah… probably better.”
Just as they turned to leave—
“It’s fine.”
A cool voice came from behind, making all three of their shoulders jump.
Rok-hee, with a single bead of sweat forming on her forehead, forced an awkward smile and asked,
“Uh, um? Yu-ra… was that you just now talking to us?”
“Yeah. You guys can talk here. I’m not paying attention anyway.”
“Eh, but it’s the drawing room… You’re concentrating so hard, it feels weird to be chatting in a group.”
“What’s actually bothering me right now is you guys standing there whispering. Just do what I said and stay.”
The three exchanged looks again, then dragged some chairs over and approached Rok-hee’s spot.
Scratch scratch!
“Okay, then let’s start by roughly nailing down the concept. Min-Hyuk, you said you wanted to use screen tones for texture, right?”
“Yeah, I was thinking of layering two sheets at a time like this.”
“Ooooh… That has potential. Let’s try overlapping a few.”
Min-Hyuk quickly showed the combinations he had already thought of in advance.
Rok-hee examined them with serious eyes, then nodded.
“The first one and the fourth one seem the best to me. What do you think, Oh Dong-gyo?”
“Me? Uh… I don’t really know… They all kinda look the same to me.”
“Tsk tsk tsk…”
Rok-hee shook her head in mild exasperation, then grabbed a pencil.
Scratch scratch!
She quickly sketched out several rough armor shapes on a practice sheet.
“This screen tone—okay to use, right?”
“Yeah, I bought a ton anyway.”
Rok-hee cut off a corner of the screen tone sheet and began layering it over her rough sketches.
A moment later.
Tap!
She lifted the practice sheet and showed it to them.
“When I make clothes for dolls, I do it like this—laying the actual fabric over the sketch to get a sense of it.”
“Ooooh…”
“Definitely.”
Min-Hyuk and Dong-gyo nodded almost in unison.
Compared to just looking at the screen tones alone, now… it was much clearer what the final result might look like.
“To me, number 1 still feels closest to the vibe you described. What do you think?”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“Let’s find more good patterns. Oh Dong-gyo, you help too.”
“Y-You got it!”
The three of them pulled out the piles of screen tones from their bags and started layering and comparing again.
Whenever they found a combination that felt promising—
“How’s this one?”
“Hmm… It’s not quite hitting for me.”
—they would show it to Rok-hee and ask for her opinion.
“Then how about this one?”
“Not bad. Let’s cut it and check.”
Whenever a promising pattern appeared, they immediately cut it out and layered it over the rough sketch.
After repeating the process for about thirty minutes or so…
“This feels exactly right, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow…”
All three nodded as they stared at the tones pasted over the rough sketch.
Screen tone No. 13 from Company C, combined with No. 92 from Company E.
When layered together… the distinctive glossy sheen of armor came alive, while grotesque, bulging vein-like textures pulsed across the surface.
It was precisely the visual Kang Min-Hyuk had been aiming for.
‘Once I combine them like this, I can just carefully shave away parts of the screen tone on top.’
For the Monarch’s design… he could make fine adjustments later so the kids wouldn’t notice anything suspicious.
A short while later.
“Okay then! That wraps up the costume design work for Kang Min-Hyuk’s knight character!”
Clap!
Kim Rok-hee smiled brightly and clapped her hands once to signal the end of the session.
“Huuu… I’m dead tired.”
Oh Dong-gyo slumped forward with a long sigh.
“Thanks, Rok-hee. I’ll definitely repay this favor.”
Kang Min-Hyuk gave a gentle smile, speaking with genuine gratitude.
“Hehe… I’m proud too. I got to find pretty clothes for your soulmate, after all.”
Soulmate might be stretching it… he was really just an extremely terrifying villain, but hey—good is good.
Just as the mood was starting to wind down—
“What are you planning to use this for?”
“Gah!”
“Wha—!”
All three jumped back in shock as Han Yu-ra appeared out of nowhere, without the slightest sound.
From the way she had her bag slung over her shoulder, it looked like she’d been on her way out and had just stopped by for a moment.
‘Seriously, how is someone who looks so flashy this stealthy?’
While Min-Hyuk caught his breath with a sigh, Han Yu-ra glanced at the rough sketch left on the desk and asked again.
“I asked what you’re using this character for. Kang Min-Hyuk.”
Her voice carried a strangely sharp edge.
Min-Hyuk shrugged casually and answered.
“Just personal design practice. Figured if I make it good, I might find a use for it later.”
“…Liar.”
“Liar?”
“You’re telling me you go this overboard—making such a fuss—for something that’s just ‘design practice’? If it were me, I wouldn’t do that.”
Once again, she cut straight to the core.
Man…
She really had a talent for wearing people out.
“Well, tastes differ. And I don’t exactly have any obligation to give you an answer.”
“…That’s true, I guess.”
“Then what were you working on?”
“Hm?”
“You would’ve finished your assignments ages ago. And earlier, it looked like you were drawing something on manuscript paper. What was that? If you tell me what it is… I’ll tell you what I was really working on here.”
For a split second, Han Yu-ra’s pupils wavered.
A clear flicker of agitation.
“Never mind. I said something pointless.”
She gripped the shoulder strap of her bag tightly, then practically fled the drawing room.
“Huh? Why’d Yu-ra suddenly run off like that?”
“I… I have no idea…”
Dong-gyo and Rok-hee tilted their heads in confusion.
‘I think I get the general picture.’
Seriously…
Han Yu-ra had her own special way of exhausting people too.
Kang Min-Hyuk let out a deep sigh and roughly scratched the back of his head.
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