The first REAL piece of concept art produced for Project Spellcheck starring the main character, Meeko. With nothing to his name but the garments and cane of a young shepherd, his only authentic “magician” garb is the large black cap atop his head, courtesy of the mysterious stranger who set him down the magician’s path to begin with.

As this design for Meeko depicts him in the early stages of his adventures, his design needed to embody the image of someone in over his head; he has big dreams and the motivations to make them happen, but at this point, Meeko knows the bare minimum of what it takes to be a magician. With that in mind, the earth tones of his clothes tfit clashing with the sleek black/purple colors—an item that Meeko tacked on without much concern for a matching outfit—symbolize the contrast quite well.

Obfuscating eyes behind the bangs isn’t exactly a new idea, but it felt like a natural fit for Meeko. In my opinion, it sells his “plainness” as a simple farmboy, but it also gives him a charming(ly dopey) aura (in retrospect, it gives him Tom Grape vibes). To compensate for the lack of visible eyes, the idea of using Meeko’s ahoge-like cowlick as a “hairbrow” of sorts emerged, as did a focus on making sure he’d be given plenty of passionate facial expressions.

Does Meeko pique your curiosity? You can learn more about him by reading his introductory blog post!