As we bridge into the production of ZC vol 2, I guess I can share a few of the early design concepts I worked on back in the Summer of 2019. It was vol 2 and since it was moving away from the comic medium, I had a chance to revise some of the things I wasn't happy with, or improve upon aspects I liked in terms of designs from volume 1 (which can be read for free here www.zachcooner.com)

I figured it best to start with the series lead, Zach. The goal from vol 1 was to get him 'over' as the series protag, make it so he was likeable and that you wanted to root for him. Part of that was his design- something familiar paired with something new. It's no secret that without the Sly Cooper franchise, Zach Cooner doesn't happen, and as such, I decided to implement some more aspects from the last installment of Sly, Sly Copper: Thieves in Time

https://gamespot1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/screen_kubrick/mig/7/6/2/2/2117622-169_slycooper_ot_vita_051812.jpg

Zach had the combination of "cute & cool" going for him in the first vol and I thought it wouldn't hurt to make him look a bit cooler with some minor tweaks. Chaning the ears from rounded to pointed, more discernable hair, and a wrap around his left eye. I needed to come up with a story reason for why, in a semi-futuristic society, he wouldn't have a glass or robotic eye, so there's legit answer to that question that I can't tell this early into development ha. Let's just say Feranthropes and prosthetics have disastrous results.

I kept Zach's signature jacket as homage to the great one: https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/sly-cooper-movie.jpg

But I played around with the idea of having it longer, like a coat. One of the biggest things that bothered me in vol 1 was his combat outfit. What was supposed to be something cool inspired by the SHIELD from WWE: https://www.wwe.com/f/2017/10/29_backstage_20140406hm_0149--cfc825d55c5f68f444b2382b30e134f4.jpg
didn't really materialize like I thought it would. Between the all black and the sword, he ended up looking like a typical ninja https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Viks3JxSbsU/hqdefault.jpg
And that's fine (to an extent), some people wouldn't mind that, but it just wasn't original or unique enough for me. I wanted something that was unique to Zach Cooner the character, so for vol 2 I think I'm going to stick with his jacket from vol 1.

Next was Zach's wristbands. One of the obstacles I face is Zach's paws and claws. Because they're black and full padded, they're practically accessories already. So things like fingerless gloves or handwraps don't add any layer of 'coolness' they only complicate the design when it comes time to ink and color. I tried to get around this by giving Zach the forearm wristbands in vol 1 (as they typically look good on powerful characters)- I think the design will work if I DON'T give him gloves like I did here. I was going for an MMA influence there (Since Zach is a world-class martial artist) but a Feranthrope doesn't need to protect their hands like a human does, it just made no sense.

Zach's Tail is an aesthetic, the bigger and poofier the better. People like tails yo.

Then there's the feet. When originally creating Zach in vol 1, I thought digi would look cooler (and it does) but it'd take a better artist than me to pull off all the acrobatics and martial arts moves he does with a digitigraded stance. There were so many times in vol 1 where I had no idea how his anatomy would function when trying to pull off a kick and it's always been giving me more trouble than the aesthetic was worth.

Clothes aside, I think I finally figured Zach's design out (Only took 190 pages). I like his hair, his body type (Sage Northcut-esque: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lsabUy5jixf8euG4MSnizHyTovM=/0x0:1598x1280/1200x800/filters:focal(398x337:704x643)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55720235/192_Sage_Northcutt_vs_Mickey_Gall.0.0.jpeg

So I got rid of the sword and guns cause Zach is a non-lethal protag. He doesn't go around killing everyone who opposes him (even if there's a valid excuse to do it), I'd much rather he actually showcase his stealth and martial arts prowess than PEW PEW DEAD DEAD, at least in this story.

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