Digital Art

With these options, we decided on our final concept. We combined the ideas of those we preferred, the strip club, bar, retro diner, and space prison. Ultimately, it became something of a retro-futuristic sci-fi bar in space. Dingy kitchens crafting burgers with questionable ingredients hunted on foreign planets, dubious garnishing, waitresses of a variety of alien races, and a manager favouring himself over the preservation of the establishment. This sketchy location likely holds some controversial secrets behind kitchen doors with money laundering or other illegal trades like an alien organ black market. This is taken from the previous idea of the manager being a pimp, matching with the customer-service driven waitress keen on attracting customers. 

A: This design was based on the idea of a much lankier build, made with the intention of contrasting with Xena's character physically. Her character at this stage is looking to be rather stocky and akin to Kingpin, so the distinction between these two will be evident with drastically different physicalities. I also experimented with shortening the head shape and enlarging the eyes, almost feeling like a natural instinct from the research done in the bug-based character designs last block.

B: The original silhouette of Rhonda, both with and without the clothes so the silhouette is clear on both. I believe I will need to take into consideration how the work uniform will affect the silhouette and recognisability of the unique anatomy, but that is something I'll inevitably iterate upon as an important element to this design. Rhonda is found to have much shorter, stumpier stature compared to the previous iteration, almost as if the atmospheric gravity of the ship pulls her downwards.

C: I based this design off of the general idea of a slug-like alien who trudges along, with a trail of slime behind them, leaving the bar floor constantly slippy which often warrants caution signs everywhere. She has a slightly saggy build which communicates her apathy through age, clear experience in this establishment and being tired of it. 

D: I wanted to explore a more positive attitude in this design, demonstrated in use of shape language with strong curvature and a generally soft build; she moves around on a set of four tentacle feet which curve at the end to complement the whimsical concept with approachable secondary swirls in her design, feeling much more motherly and likely more caring and accommodating towards customers.

E: My intentions with this one was to steer away from the generally feminine traits I was depicting such as breasts, lashes, and an implication of hair, even if in the form of tentacles. I had the idea that this waitress, understanding the reputation of this bar, acts more like a bouncer or bodyguard within the establishment, using her strength to kick out rowdy customers who are misbehaving. I made sure to use large, stocky shapes with a squared-off finish to complement the idea of the shape language representing a force of sturdiness and reliability within this sketchy environment.

F: Another iteration on the slug idea, with less of an apathetic attitude; I referenced Vi the waitress from Grease for her classic waitress design with an elderly, but approachable appearance. I incorporated her short, curled hairstyle and enhanced the elder/granny archetype with a pair of rounded glasses to reinforce the rounded shape language.

G: Despite branching out to slug tails, the rest of my iterations felt pretty standard anatomy-wise so far, so I aimed to branch out here by adding extra limbs, with the idea of a regular appearance at the front and extra limbs at the back which appear much more animalistic, the extra set of arms helps with carrying plates and drink and the legs help with mobility which would be a great feature for a playable character, although I need to accommodate for this extra set of legs with a much larger skirt. I used this iteration to also attempt the grungy idea, where the waitress sarcastically serves, and speaks in a back-handed manner all while spitting in your food. I imagine she wears heavy makeup with long, sharp lashes, styling her flesh-appendage into an impression of a hairstyle, and customising her uniform to fit her alternative style which suits the mature concept of this environment.

H: This was another attempt at the tentacle-based design seen in iteration D, with a much more slender and slim build that exaggerates the length of these tentacles which also feature in her hair, like Celia from Monsters Inc or Medusa, just without the snakes.

I: In the creation of Rhonda, we discussed her being a nepo baby as the daughter of the manager, who doesn't really fit into the uniform but insists upon working here, which I want to explore in this design. It doesn't necessarily carry the deserved narcissism of Rhonda, but I imagine this waitress isn't the most competent, acting a little clueless and dropping plates occasionally. She doesn't fit into the entire uniform so she wears it as a top, despite its stretching at the seams. The uniform doesn't fit in the slightest, but she still plays into her own femininity with accessories like bows and ribbons.

J: I tried a more aquatic route in this iteration, with flared fins, and a large shark-like tail extended from her head like hair, much like the Zora species of the Legend of Zelda.

K: This is the original drawing applied to the silhouette format, which uses a mixture of slender shapes to build her anatomy, with strongly curved shapes that build the uniform and hair to create the impression of reliability and friendliness in applying squares and circles to the consideration of shape language. I imagine she's a dedicated worker in this bar, who visibly contrasts the place's atmosphere with her cheerful attitude which displays her resistance and determination to build herself a good life despite her circumstances.

L: For the final iteration, I leant into the gangly anatomy much more than what I'd previously done, with a hunch-back showing her tireless working, along with a slightly exposed spine to demonstrate her overworking,

This is my attempt to mix up the anatomy, solely in the leg area as this part can be changed vastly without affecting the design I've already developed. I started with some slim, lanky legs that mirror the rest of her sleek and sharp design, followed by a variation in rugged boots to reflect the rundown environment of the bar. The next two constitute a more beastly design that would likely freak out customers, as their plates rattle on the table from every step she takes in near proximity. Following this is the variation with tentacles, showing that she slithers around in a surreptitious manner, leaving a trail of ooze behind, and using her tentacles to carry separate dishes. Finally, I designed a version with much longer legs adorned with sleek leather boots that enhance the scantily-clad design I am pursuing, also pushing the idea of her alternative tastes.

I experimented with the clothing and traditional waitress uniform by adjusting its level of exposure and therefore maturity, its materials, the accessories and brightness. Overall I landed on the 2nd to last for its more sci-fi vibe achieved with the latex materials and more modern take on the traditional uniform.

Amanda Westergren (2025) EY-E9  - Star Wars Outlaws: Wildcard. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/6LeZEW, accessed March 2026.