Alma Monster: Marrow

for

edit. 10/20/14

Marrow graduated to the primary grade!!  I've been so unbelievably bogged down with terrible life events, but... trying to recuperate.  Finally finished this!  I played with so many different poses.. aghh.  & I wish I didn't have to squish it down so much!! I worked so large... maybe I'll upload it without the app template.

Updates on Marrow's development:

- As mentioned before, as she ages, she learns color changing, though it's still hard for me to be adventurous with some choices.  I've planned that she mostly stays with natural, de-saturated colors while younger, but when she gets all kick-assy later on, she starts to go with more crazy, bright colors, especially when sparring or doing her sports.  She's also improved on her ability to manipulate the sizes of all of her hands.

- She wants to be on the volleyball team! (or if there isn't one, to start one!)

- Her personality is pretty much the same, but team sports and living in dorms has helped her value more camaraderie and community. (Though I'm sorry I haven't really been able to RP with anyone ;^; life hard)

... I'll probably see lots of flaws and re-upload over and over. you've been warned

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So... this is really only my sixth or seventh tablet drawing, and my first attempt at a reference sheet on a computer program. I've just started photoshop about a month ago, so... bear with me.

Decided to apply for a RP group for my first time. We'll see how this goes. I am addicted to creating characters but I often leave them kind of stagnant and rarely explore them growing up and changing, so I'm excited to have a character that I push forward.

App info:

Name - Marrow

Race – Oni/Gorgon hybrid

Gender – Female

Grade – Primary

House – Poseidon

Personality

- independent

- headstrong; impulsive

- straightforward; blunt

- easily distracted and excitable

- has a strong (but incomplete) sense of justice

Marrow really enjoys doing things her own way, so she’s not incredibly mindful of the instructions of her authority figures, nor is she one to follow the crowd.  She doesn’t endeavor to make herself unapproachable or standoffish, but it’s not uncommon for her to ruffle feathers, so she’s definitely not the most popular kid in school (not that she really cares).  Her assertiveness is never meant to hurt others but she just doesn’t possess tact.  She’s generally pretty happy and adventurous.

History
Marrow’s mom and dad refuse to admit they’re a couple.  They live together for the most part, sometimes sleep together, raise children together, but they just don’t consider themselves committed to one another.  Marrow doesn’t give it much thought. She has two older sisters whom she doesn’t really look up to, but loves nonetheless.

It was her mom’s idea to send Marrow to the boarding school because she didn’t prioritize the education of her two older daughters—they were “homeschooled” by their father—and that didn’t turn out so well (…basically the older girls are self-absorbed, lazy, and promiscuous).  Marrow’s not very academically motivated, but she figures being out of the house puts her one step closer to ~adventure~

Additional Information
- she likes to wear flowy dresses, nightgowns, and long t-shirts not because she wants to be feminine, but because she finds them less cumbersome than layers of clothing… so she is rather displeased by this whole uniform business. if it was her way, everyone would be naked. she wants to be barefoot all the time.

- she’s applying for Poseidon solely because of the private pool, and because she thought she could maybe get away with wearing less clothing in this house, even if she has to be around the pool as much as possible in order to achieve that end

- as she ages, she gains the ability to shed her skin, often times revealing new colorations*

- her hand appendages on her head aren’t very dexterous yet; she has to practice her motor skills with them just like with her primary hands (as she ages, she grows more head appendages and learns to manipulate their size)

- these appendages are unique between the siblings (obviously her mom has snakes, but the oni side modifies this feature)

- she really enjoys nature and learning about/stalking/chasing/hugging all sorts of creatures, especially the stupid-looking ones (she finds the creatures that look dumbest/helpless to be the most adorable)

- she's afraid of pregnant beings; that whole process weirds her out

*Oni were originally invisible spirits which caused disease, disasters, and other unpleasant things, and they were able to shapeshift to deceive and devour humans.  (They became ogre-like based on the influence of other regional creatures, such as India’s yaksha, and a gate in China called the Demon Gate built in the cardinal “Ox Tiger” direction—explaining their ox horns and feline claws/teeth + the depiction of them in tiger loincloths.)  But I didn’t want a shapeshifting character, even though I wanted her to be able to manipulate her appearance somehow.  So I thought of the shedding like snakes because her mom is a gorgon, and added the color changing… honestly so I didn’t have to decide on just one color combination. bahaha. we could pretend her mom has some distant chameleon ancestry? haha**

**After some research, I've decided Marrow is loosely based on a sunbeam snake.  Most of these snakes have a base color of reddish/brown (some can be more black or more blue), but their scales are iridescent, which means they shimmer all sorts of colors (think of the colors in a bubble or a pool of gasoline... or google sunbeam snake or iridescence).  I've decided this iridescent quality is what allows her ability to change color after shedding!  

I also learned that there is a relatively new discovery of a snake species from Indonesia called the Kapuas mud snake, nicknamed the "chameleon snake" because it can change color.  It can't do it as drastically as a chameleon, but it can change from completely brown to completely white.  Maybe we'll throw in some of that lineage to Marrow/Marrow's ancestors, too.

I'm kind of pressuring myself to believe I should maybe have more extra facts about her, but honestly a lot about her is still really up in the air, and I think I kind of like that open-ended approach to character creation for her.  She is a preschooler after all; how much personality can they have?

UPDATES:

Edited her eye on viewer's (your) right side and some lines that were bugging me, as well as took off a soft light layer. I will probably re-upload my deviations over and over because I'm really detail-oriented and perfectionistic like that.

Click here to see Marrow's mother