An overdue redesign...
I finally finished this drawing of my character Zvezda! I’ve mentioned them before VERY briefly, but never shown their design in full.
For a very long time now, I’ve had a character in the Astraverse that has been basically my “self-insert.” A really OP type character that represented me and basically overlooked a small portion of the universe’s story. I remember as a kid hearing all about “mary sues” online, which is a concept of having a stupidly overpowered character or self-insert OC in your OC world that just plain doesn’t make sense. Well, from a storytelling standpoint, those types of characters may not be the best, but from a shits-and-giggles perspective? They’re awesome! So, my persona inside the Astraverse was made intentionally really overpowered, because they represent me, the literal creator of the whole thing. So if anything, it’s kinda fitting. Anyway, I’m saying all this to give a bit of background for Zvezda’s existence. They as a character has existed for years now, going by a couple different names before their current name, which means “star” in Russian. I was trying to choose a name for them that repped my alias “Luvstar” without being too on the nose, so it’s not so cleverly disguised behind a different language. :3 Plus, Russian’s “звезда / zvezda” sounds way cooler than… “stjärna.” Or “estrella.” No offense.
Anyway, this character has pretty much grown and evolved with me. I’ve recently changed Zvezda’s entire storyline to better fit my current interests and alignments. They have a pretty cool role in the Astraverse, being the same god species as Einar Byström and also leading one of the strongest organizations in Blueport. I’ll definitely go into Zvezda’s story and info more soon cause there’s a lot to tell! Their story represents a part of me that I absolutely love, which is my passion for cyberpunk media and culture. So of course, this drawing of Zvezda had to illustrate that. I actually was inspired to draw this piece because of a photo I took of my Cyberpunk 2077’s V:
My V in 2077 is supposed to be a version Zvezda, by the way. And my play-through of the game definitely inspired some character traits I gave to Zvezda. Anyway, I loved the whole aesthetic and mood of this photo, so I tried to bring it over to my illustration. I also of course had to draw that iconic Samurai jacket, but I did change the design a bit. I also wanted to represent each of my cultures in my drawing through some small details. The shapka of course being Russian culture, which Zvezda does NOT wear normally, I promise. The Mjölnir represents Swedish culture and it’s something that I wear in real life every day. Lastly, the small little safety pin on their jacket is an azabache stone charm, which represents Cuban culture. I also gave them some arm cybernetics, because I am just dreaming to get a cyberware tattoo sleeve IRL. The cyberware on their collarbone area is actually something that all DATAMECHANICAS are born with, which is Zvezda’s species. And my last note for this drawing is… dang purple and red look so good together!!
Music for this piece
I feel like music has a major impact on how my pieces turn out. Sometimes I listen to specific music because I want it to help me construct a mood or visual theme for a drawing, like how “I Refuse (Shock One Remix)” by Netsky influenced my “Keep Running” illustration. For Zvezda’s drawing, I think one of my biggest musical influences were Skeler’s Night Drive mixes. Skeler is an Australian producer who mainly makes music in the Wave genre. I’ve been listening to his music for years now, and his music greatly shaped my taste and still does even till this day. His Night Drive mixes are a blend of phonk/hardwave/wave/grunge hiphop and I’ve started to listen to them again and it’s honestly been quite nostalgic. The atmosphere of the tracks are just out of this world. Definitely the vibe for my drawing that I was looking for. So, here I’d like to share a couple of my favorite tracks of Skeler’s Night Drive releases.
Alright, I think that’s all for this piece. I had a LOT to say honestly! But I hope you enjoyed reading about my persona OC ^-^
OMG we finally see Zvezda in their glory! I remember seeing them in one of your sketchbook vids. Will we get a whole video about them? :3
Also, I LOVE the ushanka! Seems like Zvezda — not that much lol.
I did get a thought that perhaps it might be your in-universe sona because of the purple hair, Mjolnir that you wear all the time and all that. Cool to see my senses don’t deceive me xD