Throwback Thursday: Heather Loretta (Patreon)

Our 5th week of Throwback Thursday! In case you missed one of the previous ones, you can always take a look at them with the links below! Have a look and enjoy learning a little extra about your favorite character's growth during development! ^^

[Miki]
https://www.patreon.com/posts/throwback-miki-57980399

[Nova]
https://www.patreon.com/posts/throwback-nova-58304733

[Rachel]
https://www.patreon.com/posts/throwback-rachel-58563348

[Juliet]
https://www.patreon.com/posts/throwback-juliet-58841266

When the project first started, it began with placeholder 3d assets. Something that we of course see in the image above and it goes without saying there's a bit of difference between the first time Heather was seen vs the current. :P

Fun fact #1: Did you know? Originally Heather wasn't as extreme of a bully? Very early on in the project, more so with the comic. Heather didn't quite bully others quite as extremely as she does in current day. There's a reason for everything though! She's a love or hate her kind of character and maybe later on views will change. :P

Taking a look at the 2nd image, we can see the overall progress that took place for Heather in 2d form. From left to right: The first 2d polished sketch/lines preview, followed by the finished look. Heather underwent 2-3 redesigns in development trying to get her visual character to fit her just right, so we can see these design changes move from left to right into what is current.

Looking them over side by side, I still really like Heather's original 2d design but it didn't quite play into her character to touch on the more bully/extreme nature, but the other design before the current one seemed too far into that extreme also.. <.< So we tried going for a middle ground and that's how we have the current design.

Fun fact #2: Did you know? Heather's one of the more fleshed out characters? Ever since the early days, I always had her story set in mind and it'd explain why she acts the way she does. She's a very complex character, least I'd like to think she is and so there's a lot more going on than she likes to lead on behind the scenes. Her story concept has stayed very much intact though and it'll be exciting to see it unfold.

[Design concept]

The concept for Heather, taking some details from above. Heather visually has been adjusted a bit as it took a while to really capture how she comes across written wise compared to her earlier visuals. It's probably subjective too, as I can still find her first 2d design to be very good. Just not quite fitting for matching it up to the more extreme side of her.

Early on, I knew that Heather was meant to play the role of being seen as the "too good" for others, thinks way too highly of herself and let's it get to her head a bit too much. (Ego trip? :P ) As briefly mentioned, she wasn't originally going to be so extremely a bully, but rather it would be her thought process that sort of lead her towards coming off in a bullying tone at times. (More so when other students were around, trying to keep up appearances.)

This would play into her being the student council president for sure as she'd think that she ran the academy in some form. Which is still pretty spot on with how we see things playing out today with MA and her character, we're just sort of in a awkward spot from Brandon's pov with trying to figure this girl out without trying to suffer majorly from it. :P

It's hard to talk about Heather as there's naturally some mystery behind her to be found, but I really had to dig into her past and upbringing as a child. Without giving away spoilers for why she acts like a major bully, it was very important to flesh out her past and move from there as it would lend a huge role into what makes her who she is.

I knew pretty early on that I wanted Juliet to be part of the student council to rival Heather, at times Juliet would keep Heather in check and other times it'd be a struggle that feels like a losing battle with her. The main thing though was to help these two characters play off of each other as they have some elements about them that'd help bring them together, but also cause issues. (Juliet looking forward to becoming student council president and how Brandon thinks she'd be a better fit, pissing Heather off completely.)

Since Heather doesn't really have friends from what we know about her, it felt like the best and most believable option for anyone considering her a friend would be Juliet. Even if we'd learn that Juliet doesn't quite feel like they're really friends, but rather just work closely together on student council affairs and not spending much time outside of that together. It felt right to have some closeness for those two, not only for Juliet early on, but for Heather as she's probably similar to Juliet's problem of not being able to have friends.. Er well... Maybe she pushes people away. ^^" But perhaps there's something longing deep inside her for change.

With trying to talk about Heather's upbringing and past, I think it's best to explain it like this as it avoids spoiling things. Heather is one of the oldest students at the academy, with Nova being a year younger. The only people at the academy who know some history about Heather would probably be the teachers and staff, but Heather doesn't seem like the easiest person to have them open up or talk about themselves on a deep level like that either... ^^" So in other words, besides being the student council president.. We don't really know much else about her, where she came from or who Heather as a person is beyond being seen as a terror unleashed upon the school early on. (That's all I can really say.)

When it came to trying to piece together some interests, hobbies and what not for Heather's character. I wanted to make them feel mysterious, like I mentioned. She's not quite the open book character, so when we learn about stuff she likes to do in her free time or talents she might have. It should feel pretty rewarding, not only from naturally learning about them, but also because we can assume Heather will reassure it to you that you should feel grateful and honored to. :P

One final thing to add is linked to Heather and Juliet giving off rival vibes, maybe we won't quite see this to a extreme and it'll be more subtle as we progress along in development. But very early on, it was intended for the two characters to really push the rivalry trope between each other. This was also when I still had plans for Juliet to feel completely different too, but it's still interesting to mention.

That just about wraps up this throwback! I'm really excited to see Heather's story unfold in her route and curious to see if even those who dislike her completely might have a change of heart along the way.

(Since I won't be making a dedicated post about Thanksgiving.. ^^" I hope everyone has had/is having a Happy Thanksgiving! ^^)