Our Life 2: Tamarack Baumann Step 3 Design Sketch 💖

[This is a bonus sketch that was made to nail down the look. It's not the actual sprite sketch. The posing will be a bit different in-game, but the design will be the same]

As the years have gone by, Ms. Tamarack Baumann has battled with her sense of identity and who she wanted to be. She suffered through self doubt and insecurity, but eventually, after so much heartache, she realized, she doesn't have to try that hard. If she's unhappy, then whatever presentation of her character that she's trying to convince others of won't matter. Through spending her teen years struggling to choose a path she'd hope would lead to self-acceptance and contentment, Tamarack has come to appreciate herself first and let that lead the rest of her steps.

Her demure demeaner has stayed the same from adolescence, though it's out of a quiet confidence rather than shyness. Tamarack is almost reserved compared to how bold and outgoing her company tends to be. While Step 1 had the boys club, and Step 2 had everyone split in disparate pieces, Step 3 has the girls group- with honorary member, Qiu, and potentially the MC. Renee, Vianca, Serenity, and Tamarack are all good friends who get together regularly. The closeness of the group members in terms of who is truly besties with who is mostly up in the air. They're all tight. However, there is an exception with Serenity. They're definitely still closest with Tamarack out of everyone. On many days in the past, it was just the two of them (or the three of them if the player had the MC be close knit to both as well). But even as their friendship circle grew and more time was spent with more people, Tamarack and Serenity haven't drifted apart in the slightest.

Rather than the "mom-friend", Tamarack is semi-jokingly the "grandma-friend" of her circle. Both her hobbies and attitude give the impression of a little old lady. Playing classical music on her cello, taking strolls and feeding wildlife, baking, reading, photo scrapbooking, teatimes, and a little bit of gossiping. Tamarack is always in the loop about town goings on. Her main focus are recent positive developments in the lives of Golden Grove residents. She'll excitedly go on about college acceptances, new jobs, births, birthdays, romances, and other events of that kind about people her friends might barely even know. 

She's also nurturing, patient, and just has a depth about her. You can tell Tamarack anything because it's as if she's been through it all before and is far on the other side of those sorts of things. It's hard to believe any problem is the end of the world with her there. Tamarack's not quite that wise, but she is certainly reliable and does have her Omi and Opa as wonderful examples of overcoming hardships.

It also helps that, as nice as she is, Tamarack isn't only nice. In a refined and straightforward way, she can be awfully sassy. Tamarack will absolutely tell you what she really thinks. And what Tamarack thinks is usually what's right, even if you don't want it to be. Sometimes her desire for people to do "what's best for them" can go awry, and she ends up being overly-critical or too judgmental. When that happens, she's never too proud to apologize. 

Though she's certainly matured, her old childlike ways haven't completely vanished. Tamarack has a great sense of whimsy and romanticism, and she's always up for a new adventure if one comes along. If not, she's also happy simply having a pleasant day at home. And as ever, Tamarack's got a hefty bag at her side that's filled to the brim with wonderful and practical things. It's like magic how she always seems to have whatever someone might need.

Tamarack's eyesight remains poor, but it doesn't bother her the way it used to. She's got glasses and contacts always ready, and has made the choice of which to use part of her style. Some days glasses suit the mood, and other days she uses the contacts. Accessories and clothes and getting to wear cute things is also quite a joy for her now. She's not nearly as worried about whether other people will approve of it or not.

And despite the gentle teasing she gets about her already being elderly, Tamarack is still young. Her whole adult life is ahead of her and we can only imagine were she'll go from here.

In Step 3 Tamarack has three potential hairstyles, which you can choose yourself or let be determined by what happened in Step 2. Her optional accessories are a headband, bracelet, and a hair ribbon. Her bag, coat, scarf, and glasses, aren't determined by the player. Those are worn whenever an event calls for it.

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And here's our second lead! I think it's neat how Tamarack's arc is more about how she changes/grows over time while Qiu's is more about a journey to get to who they always truly were. Hopefully you all will end up enjoying their stories too 🥰️