Main Character Development: 🎄Who is Krampus?🎄How do we build it?

Who is Krampus?

Krampus is part of a German Christmas tradition. He represents the dark counterpart to Saint Nicholas. Unlike the latter, Krampus seeks out children who have misbehaved. Instead of carrying a sack full of gifts, he uses it to capture his prey (the naughty children) and take them to his lair.

Krampusnacht (German), or Krampus Night, takes place on December 5th. On that night, all the naughty children in the villages must hide from his fearsome claws.

Now, we ask our artist: What inspired you, and what elements did you consider when designing the character?

“I focused on working with triangular shapes, mainly to highlight the dark counterpart that Krampus represents compared to Saint Nicholas. Rounded and curved shapes tend to look friendlier to the human eye, while sharp, triangular shapes with pointed edges often appear more aggressive. If someone confused his silhouette with Saint Nicholas, they would immediately notice the difference when observing these sharp details.

Then, I continued working on the silhouette, making it much ‘heavier’ so the character would appear stronger and larger, giving him more weight compared to other objects or characters in the game. I also experimented with some facial details that didn’t quite convince me. Since I was working in a cartoon style, I chose to simplify the face while still including those sharp elements, like the twisted, triangular teeth and an exaggerated nose.

When I chose the color palette, I wanted to give the eyes a red-orange touch, but they didn’t contrast well. So, I decided on a color that maintained the dangerous and fearsome harmony.”

⚠️The design isn’t finished yet. There are still more details to refine, which we’ll update in a new devlog soon.

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