Here are the sketches I did for the Cember and Sky Arqq-Olem outfits. For Cember, I kept going with variations of his established look of split, 2-piece tops and skirts. This time around, I added some pattern embellishments to his outfits. While I like the solid blue outfit he wore in Bad Goods, the little bits of patterning just add that extra bit of flash that suits his character. So I’ll probably do more of that going forward.

For Sky, the first few sketches here were a bit too dull, “girly,” or fancy. I do kinda like the back skirt of #3 though, so maybe that outfit (or some variation of it) will show up in the future. But for the most part, I really like the banded jumpsuit that I ultimately settled on. It’s a fun outfit to draw, what with all the piping, so I’m pretty sure it’ll be showing up again on a semi-regular basis. I really like the headband as well. Not sure where that came from, but it definitely adds a youthful, cute look to her. That’ll probably stick around too.

Additional commentary about the outfits can be found in the posting for The Big Snow Job #1, Page 14.

With this Bonus Feature, I’ll be returning to my Sketchbook concept designs for a bit, this time focusing on all of the snow outfits for the main cast.

In the Commentary for The Big Snow Job #2, Page 7 I mention the thought process behind the ponchos. Basically, I wanted all the individual snow outfits to be colorful, but some of the crew would also wear white ponchos or cloaks for part of the story since they would want to blend in with the snowy environment while following the rustlers.

I thought it would be fun to do a camouflage pattern on Roka and Ril’s ponchos, but ultimately, it made more sense to just keep them plain white. I always meant for Cember’s to be a bit different, since I figured he’d have his own, more stylish cloak, complete with puffballs!

I actually really like the bottom design quite a bit. I imagined it as a solid piece down the front and back, about shoulder width. A connected piece on top would then form flaps over the arms. It seems pretty practical to me in that in most normal body positions, the arm flaps are down, giving the wearer the same coverage as a standard poncho. But it allows for a greater degree of arm mobility since it’s not all one single piece that would keep the arms “trapped” underneath since the arm flaps could move independently of the main body covering. And that seemed like something that would come in handy for an action-prone crew.

Not sure why I didn’t go with that design in the end. Maybe I just wanted something a little simpler since (a) it’d be easier to draw, and (b) because I could also see Roka just having the most basic snow ponchos lying around. Nothing fancy. But I like the design enough that I might use it at some point.

For Cember’s snow outfit, I did like the idea of the radiating flaps on the bottom (sketch #2) since they seemed reminiscent of his lower body tentacles, but ultimately, the design just felt a bit too busy. The final design feels more streamlined while still being fashionable, as per Cember’s aesthetic.

And here we have the final design for Cember’s snow cloak as well, which ended up being shortened into a half-cloak. More like a poncho, really. Again, that just seemed a bit more fashionable for Cember than a full length cloak like Roka and Ril’s. The blue clasp and puffballs added that last little bit of flair. Because with Cember, it’s all about the flair.

Additional notes can be found in the commentary for The Big Snow Job #2, Page 4.