July 17, 2022

[Poll] Which Kaly should I use on the novel?

Hello everyone, Corintio here!

I just wanted to ask a quick question to check people's preferences regarding how Kalyskah will look in this short novel we're working on. The canon is that Kalyskah's eyes are red and her skin white like paper, but when she wants to live among humans, she reverts them to her original colour, blue eyes and caucasian skin.

When she's not well fed, she cannot even pretend to have a heart beating, which is why in the RPG game, her skin turns pale when the player has less than 100 blood points. But again, that's a trick she just pulls if she needs to pretend to be human. In the novel, she's walking around alone with Merishya, who knows what Kaly truly is and thus, she doesn't have to pretend to be human. So I was initially inclined to have Kalyskah's skin fully pale, but I don't know if people would think she looks a bit 'ugly' with dark circles around her eyes and as pale as a piece of paper.

So I decided to make an open poll here to see which version people prefer. I suggest you open the picture on a new tab to see it bigger. But if that's not enough, you can see the 4k pictures here on google drive (It also has two wallpapers of this same scene during the night).

Completely Human

Although I love Kalyskah's blue eyes, this is not how she would look if only Merishya were around. So I'll only go for this option if there's a massive preference for it.

Canon - Red eyes, dark circles and almost like paper

How Kalyskah's actual appearance is when no one that doesn't know about her secret is around. It might be a bit too bright depending on the sun's position for some pictures.

Canon (Tuned Down) - How she looks like in the RPG game

In this version, she has dark circles around her eyes, but her skin still has some red tunes. It's how she looks in the game due to the complexity it would be to program her skin to go even paler than the selected option the player gives on the character customisation.

Human Skin + Vampire Eyes

This is the version I've used on screenshots and social media posts. I think it has a nice balance between what she would look like (red eyes), but it doesn't cause problems with bright lights, and I don't think people would think she looks like a zombie. It's the one I believe that, despite the canon, would be looking better.

Comments (8)

L
L0g0s · July 18, 2022

I actually wouldn't mind canon. BUT, as you point out, it can cause lighting issues. So, canon tuned down was my pick.

K
Kalyskah · July 19, 2022

The issue is just on a few renders, but it still exists

D
Darkon Turas · July 18, 2022

I would imagine a conversation would strike up between them on what Merishya would prefer and then go with that.

K
Kalyskah · July 18, 2022

I also think so! Merishya is definitely not the judgmental type and I think she would prefer for Kalyskah to be comfortable around her =)

B
Badguy292 · July 18, 2022

I think Canon or Tuned Down Canon are the best fits.

K
Kalyskah · July 18, 2022

From a storytelling point of view, I think so too! I'm just a bit afraid of people not liking to see Kaly looking like an undead..... even though she IS an undead!

L
Lee Thompson · July 17, 2022

I'd go canon every time. (Although I'm not a visual novel fan, point & click adventure games, yes.)

K
Kalyskah · July 17, 2022

I'm having a blast developing this novel because it's soo much simpler!