The Man Who Wasn’t There

Last time, I introduced you to the ‘cheeky so and so’ spirit of Cas’shya. Today, I want to show you the other side of the coin.

Meet Elias.

If Cas’shya is all about skeptical, forward-moving energy, Elias is a man defined by his past. He is the historian from Chapter 1, and this illustration captures him in a pivotal moment: aboard the ship, just after he has sacrificed his entire world.

(Read here to find out more)

This sketch is from a specific scene in the story. He’s supposed to be in a briefing, but as you can see, he’s not really there. His demeanor is vacant, his eyes are glazed over. He’s a ghost at the feast, a man completely lost in his own profound, world-ending grief.

On Designing a Broken Heart

Like the Cas’shya sketch, this is about using simple details to tell a story.

The Book and The Ring: Elias is bookish, almost to a fault. He often uses his studies as a shield to avoid the messy, complicated parts of life. Here, he’s clinging to a book, a familiar anchor of logic in a moment that defies all logic. But the more important object is the one you can just see around his neck: he wears his wedding ring on a chain, close to his heart. It’s a constant, physical reminder of the life he has just abandoned.

The Plant: This is one of my favorite details, and it’s not about Elias, but about the ship. You don’t expect to see abundant, thriving plant life on a starship. It’s a small visual clue that this isn’t just a tin can in space. The ship is a massive, moon-sized biome, an entire world unto itself, which only makes Elias’s isolation feel more profound.

This sketch, like the Cas’shya one, is an exploration, an attempt to find the wonder and the behind-the-scenes insights from the story. It’s a piece of the map, showing you not just the character, but the world he inhabits and the sorrow he carries.

A Question for you.

Elias is a man haunted by his choices, trying to find a way to live with an unbearable, self-inflicted loss. His grief makes him quiet, withdrawn, and bookish, easy to overlook, but full of a deep, still-burning heart.

I’m trying to make him feel as real as possible, and that’s where I’d love your insight as fellow explorers.

Do you know anyone like this? A person who carries a deep sadness with a quiet, bookish dignity? What are their real-life counterparts like, what makes them special, and what could I learn from them to round out Elias’s character even more?

I’m fascinated to hear your thoughts.

Check out my last concept art post below ⬇️

Meet Cash’ya. She's a brilliant historian, a bit of a skeptic, and the first character from the world of 'Strings of Us' to step onto the page. This is my first attempt to find her, and like any good exploration, the map is still being drawn. In this post, I want to share the inspiration behind her look and what I hope to convey with this art style.

When I started sketching Cash’ya, I found myself pulling from two artists whose work has inspired me my entire life: Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch) and Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes). What I’ve always loved about their work is its deceptive simplicity. They create charming, appealing characters who become perfect vessels for surprisingly deep, philosophical, and adult themes. A conversation between a boy and his tiger can be about the nature of mortality; the story of a chaotic alien can be about the meaning of family. That blend of a 'storybook' aesthetic with profound substance is exactly what I'm aiming for with this project.

My goal with this sketch wasn't just to draw a rabbit, but to draw Cash’ya. In the story, she's described as brilliant, but also a 'cheeky so and so' who has a lot to prove and is wary of others. I tried to capture that here:

• The Glasses: The big, round glasses signal her intelligence and her scholarly nature as a historian. But they also create a slight barrier between her and the world, a place to hide almost, hinting at her skepticism.

• The Posture: Her stance—arms together, a slight head tilt—is meant to convey that mix of confidence and impatience I see in her. She's waiting for the world to catch up to her, but is also a little unsure of her place in it. She often seems quite demure, but that might be just a way to stop people noticing her. A well choreographed ability to carry herself shyly.

• The Expression: I wanted her eyes to show both immense curiosity and a hint of judgment. She is, after all, a historian who is already 'rolling her eyes' at Elias's first book, and who has a lot of opinions, as well as a lot of doubts.

• The Clothes: I wondered for a while if the Rabbits wear clothes or not in this world. I have opted for a half-way here. While it isn’t necessary for them to wear clothes, and often in their own circles, they don’t. When working alongside humans they tend to wear loose fitting shawls or robes that allow them a full range of movement, and give them a slight air of modesty. A nod to the humans in an attempt to make them feel more comfortable. By and large, Rabbits would otherwise only wear clothes for ceremonial or role-oriented reasons. For example a religious leader, or an emergency services worker.

• Shape Language: Typically both Chris Sanders and Bill Watterson both work with characters who follow the sandbag design principle, with a short body made of two distinct lumps, and short limbs on each corner. They also tend towards larger heads with Chris Sanders in particular using big eyes. This is a huge part of what makes his characters distinctly cute. It’s said that baby animals/humans are also considered cute because their eyes are proportionally large compared to the rest of their face. I have always enjoyed these designs as they are usually quite expressive, able to take on many varied and exaggerated shapes, as well as being remarkably easy to move around, if they were to ever be animated. This is a big part of what I think gives these types of characters their sense of movement and energy.

From a practical standpoint, this was a quick digital sketch on my IPad, using Procreate. I used a ragged ink brush setting for this particular drawing. I was focused more on capturing a feeling and a personality than on creating a polished piece of final art. As I mentioned, the style for this project is still something I'm exploring. It might evolve to become more painterly, or stay closer to this clean, illustrative feel. This post is the first step in that discovery.

This is just my first attempt to find Cash’ya, and as her story unfolds, my understanding of her will deepen. But I'd love to know what you think.

What do you see when you look at this sketch? What does it make you feel about her character?

Share your first impressions in the comments below—I'd be thrilled to have you as part of the expedition.