AGU Originals (Patreon)

This is a look at the origins of the girls from Ashwood Grove University! From left to right, we have Shae, Eri, and Char's original concept sketches. 

The girls have been characters I knew I wanted to introduce for a long time! Another ASMR artist I respect had a series where there were multiple friendships and relationships, and I wanted something like that for my channel, but without a "canon" love interest. So, I got to work thinking about concepts that would bring the listener into contact with at least three characters in a setting where a romantic relationship wasn't the focus. 

Originally, I wanted the group to work for a government agency within Ashwood. This idea was quickly thrown out the window, though, when I firmly decided I wanted to be able to introduce Ashwood and its magic system to you all through this series... I mean, why have a series that shows off a bunch of magic if it isn't gonna address the magic system, right? I then moved to the idea of a boarding house and hotel, and I finally ended up on the tried-and-true University setting. 

Next, came the girls and their designs. Shae changed the least in terms of concepts. She was initially going to be more stoic, but that was quickly changed to a softer type of shyness. 

Eri was originally going to be far more "airheaded." She would be the kind of girl who danced through life and didn't seem to have a care in the world. Now we have our kindhearted busybody who can't sit still. I did keep the twin tails idea though! You may see our Eri rocking this type of hairstyle in the future! 

Finally... we have Char. Char's character got the biggest redesign, but her's came the fastest. I drew this little sketch and knew immediately something needed to change. The face reminded me too much of Grey, who was already a fully fleshed out character at that point. Char's tomboy, flirty attitude came almost immediately after. 

It's fun to look back! This sketch is now almost a year old, when I was just starting to commit to the idea of actually taking the leap and starting a channel... It's wonderful to see how far we've come since then! 

Also, enjoy my horrible handwriting... It's cursive and also not all at the same time...