GandG
patreon
π Waltz Full Art
🕑 Added 2025-12-29 21:53:22 +0000 UTCDesign & Character Concepts
LLama here, I initially conceived as Waltz Van Asta, ('of the stars' sounded good at the time), he has gone through the most changes of any character of mine.
Definitely the first concept sketch, all I was thinking of was King Lion from Kizuna Encounter/Savage Reign and Magic Knight RayearthThe reason being I just wanted a villain, that's why he looks not just overly villainy here, but also kinda more built like how Reverich would be later lol.
Drak helped me steer him toward Honey as we typically think of things for Honey and her crew or Nor/Gull.
The most 'Meiers Link' inspired WaltzThe earliest memory I have of his idea was after making Drak watch Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, Meiers Link being a big influence on his look. At the moment I can't really remember why I wanted to give him a mask besides that theyre sexy.
I don't know when the Labyrinth inspiration came through(another movie I showed Drak) , it was probably a mutual love drak and I had of Jareth the goblin king, in particular the ballroom scene, must've been where the mask stuff came from.
Anyway... The initial story concept always had to do with how a corrupt kritarchy named Magog unjustly imprisoned folk and sent them away to a wizard's island for rehabilitation. In this case honey was the prisoner and waltz the correctional wizard.
Much of his character and personality came out here in Waltz's mansion. As he was a villain I didn't picture him being very relatable and had scenes where he moped and cried when things didn't go his way which wasn't appealing to drak so we pivoted from that
Waltz should be more stoic and delusional than emotional we decided on. This is also where I introduced Honeys estranged brother Shaar, a mysterious employee of Waltz. As well as Roux and Synkka.
I wanted Honey and Kron to get split up so Kron could not easily intervene with Waltz' machinations for Honey and that is still true but much of the original concepts had to be altered as Waltz became less of an astronomer and more of a theater showman. Also, whenever Kron would make it back to Honey, Synkka and Roux would also arrive at about the same time. Synkka and Kron have history and Waltz should take advantage of this.
After some time going back and forth in Waltz mansion, much of the setting and his character wasn't quite inspiring me and to compound things we had decided to make him not just a mainstay of Honeys story but also her main love interest over Kron, Kron and Honey more fitting for a 'best friends(with benefits) for life', which we're both very happy with.
Due to the nature of how I always wanted Kron to play out as a tragic hero and Honeys eventual decent into darkness I thought this fit very well.
Story - The Dark Dramaturge
The Waltz on the left was made by me and refined by Drak. Ozwalt and the rest Drak made based off old drawings of my D&D char 'Warwick'It must've been around this time Waltz got his big makeover from vampiric manor astrologist wizard into today's Dramaturge of Magog. A larger-than-life director of a theater seemingly spun from the same magical tales hosted at his Dark Dream theater.
It was already decided for a long time by me that his Soul Crown would be a false one cobbled together by magic tricks; the Soul Crown of Prestige. It's powers work only as far as it's user is able to convince you that it does. For this, it takes a magnanimous individual like Waltz to put on a convincing show! But Waltz himself is a show put on by a poor ex-circus performer named Ozwalt. Ozwalt would create this persona for himself and manifest it through an underdeveloped Prestige Crown, kindling it into the underking of Magog.
Waltz' Prestige Soul Crown requires soul energy that comes in the form of passion of the damned, audiences full of souls traveling from beyond the grave to see Waltz's performances. The more souls in it's possession, the grander the illusions.
His first Dramaturge redesign had some dark hair that came with it but I think we've gotten rid of this by now...His life as Ozwalt the circus performer in Harlich Puppatel's traveling carnival had exposed him to many horrid realities of Averold and would be the basis for Waltz' ambitions to create a new world. He needs a lot of souls to accomplish his new 'Wonderworld' as well as help from special people such as Honey.
I personally loved the idea that Waltz himself was a story created by the soul crowns user and perpetuates and projects this fantasy till it becomes reality, that is the basis for everything that he is.
Extras
Drak conceived, fantasy uses of the Prestige crown
Another creation by Drak of our concept for the dragon Waltz becomes when birthing his new world
Older version of the concept above
Another version of Waltz Drak designed with 'digimon' aesthetics in mind but intended for another Isekai-type fantasy universe
My sketch of the above
