For the past decade, I’ve been learning everything I could about character design—how shape language affects emotion, how color theory hints truths about a personality, and how a character design alone can tell a story.
But I’ve rarely posted my progress.
I was shy about my art. Always felt like it wasn’t “there yet.” And when generative AI started exploding, it felt even weirder to come forward—like suddenly everyone could generate in seconds what took me years to understand.
So if this feels like it’s coming out of nowhere… I get it.
But I promise you: this isn’t a reaction to trends. It’s the result of a decade-long obsession. Every character I’ve designed for Vow of Eden was born from sketchbooks, studies, and rewrites. Expressions of themes, conflict, and cultural pressure within the world of Terrarium in a canvas.
The portraits shown here are early character concepts meant to capture emotion, energy, and personality—not final outfits or details. I focused on mood and color to reflect who these characters are at their core.
Eventually, I plan to finalize the art style and refine their clothing designs. But for now, these serve as a foundation—a glimpse into the world I’ve spent years building, sketch by sketch.
Interpret them however you’d like.
Kaiser was the first portrait I committed to. Back then, I was still experimenting—testing brushes, color workflows, even questioning what style I wanted to stick with. You can see it in the rendering. It’s rougher than the later ones, less consistent. But there’s something about that uncertainty that still feels fitting to the character.
Fun fact: Kaiser is the character I’ve redesigned the most in the last decade. I used to beat myself up constantly for not “getting him right.” Before I expanded the world with deep cultural layers, his name was Rukito. Yeah... I hated it too.
He’s always gravitated toward open jackets. Among Dirvahs, hiding the markings is seen as untrustworthy.
With Kerisa, I always knew what I wanted—but not really. I had a strong feeling of who she was, but no clear map. A lot of her growth happens after Genesis, and for a while, I didn’t know how to lead her there. It took time. But in the end, both I and my editors are proud of who she became: flawed, authentic, and eventually… broken.
She’s unfiltered in a way that feels honest. She was raised around a lot of hate and bullying, yet she still can't help but do the right thing.
Fun fact: Like Kaiser, her old name was Kasai. I changed it to Kerisa—a scrambled version of Kaiser. It just felt right.
A lot of my readers can relate to her in some way.
Sapphire hasn’t changed much over the decade. She came to me nearly complete—and I’ve always been proud of that. While other characters kept evolving, she stayed consistent. I think I got her right the first time.
By the time I started her portrait, I finally knew what I was doing. I took my time. Focused on refining the linework—something I used to avoid, but now genuinely enjoy thanks to Clip Studio’s vector layers
and learning proper stroke weighting. Her design marked the moment I understood the direction I wanted for the rest.
Fun fact: Her original name was Sachi. I couldn’t let it go entirely, so now it’s her middle name.
Argentum didn’t exist for most of the past decade. He wasn’t part of the original cast—not until Genesis. But the more I shaped Sapphire, the more I realized: for her to still have any flicker of hope left, she needed someone who protected it. That’s where Argentum came in.
He’s calm where she fractures, steady where she stumbles. And though he becomes much more important in the story later, his sole purpose in Genesis was simple—be her anchor. And he was.
Fun fact: Isach is a scrambled version of Sachi, just like Kerisa is to Kaiser.
Shizuka is as old as Kaiser—literally. She’s one of the very first characters I ever created for Vow of Eden. Even before Kerisa existed, Shizuka was there. From the start, she’s always been the rich, snarky girl with a hidden dark side and a few obsessive tendencies… none of that’s changed. What has changed is the context—there was once a version of the story where she was Kaiser’s stepsister. Yeah, it sounds weird now, but back then, it worked in the structure I had.
She’s evolved in refinement, but the core has stayed solid. Shizuka always knew who she was—even before I did.
Fun fact: Her name has never changed. Shizuka Aizawa is the only one who kept her name from day one.
Also, since her halo is a big feature of her character design, I had to really go into detail, unlike the other Enfas... or that one Faenin coming up.
Well, well, well… what can I say about this little chaos pixie? If you’ve read Journey to the West, you already know exactly where the soul of Nevalyn comes from. Sun Wukong was the blueprint—especially when it comes to her origin. But Nevalyn isn’t just an homage. She’s me. Her voice is the easiest to write because it mirrors how I think, joke, and rebel. She’s the sun in the abyss that is Vow of Eden, and her presence—however brief in Genesis—shines through the gloom like nothing else.
I took extra care with her portrait, and it shows. Her colors are more vibrant. She’s the only one looking up and to the left. She doesn’t fade into shadow at the bottom. All of that was intentional. I love hiding small things like that—silent details that speak loud if you know what to look for.
Fun Fact: Nevalyn existed in the earliest drafts of Vow of Eden, but she went by just Nightshade. Her personality back then? Way more passive. Think of it like this—what she used to be is closer to her night form.
Last, but certainly not least—Irma Tempest. Her role in Vow of Eden might just be the most important of all. Her introduction in Genesis feels almost jarring—like she wandered in from another story. But by the end, when the final chapter hits, it clicks. That was always the point. Irma’s story is big. So huge, it deserves its own spin-off, and yes—I absolutely plan to give her one.
Out of all the characters I’ve written, Irma is the one I feel most protective of. A lot of writers say their characters are like their children. I had to unlearn that, honestly. You can’t write true pain or growth if you’re coddling them. And while I’ve grown comfortable putting the others through hell, Irma? It still stings. Ironically, she’s probably suffered the most. Her strength, her calm, her vision—that’s what excites me the most.
But know that there’s a tragic reason why she became who she did in the final chapter.
Every character here carries a decade of learning, reworking, and personal growth. Some changed completely. Others stayed eerily the same. But all of them reflect the journey—mine and theirs.
I used to hide my progress. I thought if it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t worth sharing. But these portraits, rough edges and all, are more than just drafts—they’re living records of what I’ve built and where I’m headed. Vow of Eden is massive. It’s genuine, emotional, deeply personal. And it wouldn’t exist without these characters pushing me through it.
Thank you for reading, and if you’ve made it this far, I hope you’ll stick around. There’s so much more I want to show you.
- Ayan Ray