Bonjour!! ^^
We're hard at work to bring you some very exciting news! In the meantime, we'd love to share with you our (almost final!) "Meet The Characters" post!
Today, let's chat about Kei! 🍳
Initial sketches ✍️
When we started designing Kei, we kept coming back to one question: how do you draw someone who has lost their "spark"? Tired? Drained? Exhausted?
Kei is our incredible master chef, who you’ll meet in Chapter 4 of The Witch’s Bakery. His story revolves around the emotion of anger, where he challenges Lunne to be better, even though he’s struggling with his own ambition. We wanted his design to feel like a man who has seen it all, appearing a bit closed off and weary from the heat of the kitchen.
In these first sketches, we played a lot with his morphology. We experimented with a variety of silhouettes, we initially associated 'tired' with leaner, angular shapes - someone who is easy to hide, blend in with the crowd or the environment he is in.
But then we had a thought: Kei is a big personality, and we wanted that to come through his design. Despite losing his 'spark', we didn't want him to look faded in the same way. Some of us react to our emotions differently, and we thought choosing to keep Kei's strong character principals in his design would be the better option. Eventually, Kei became a tall, imposing figure, that you cannot miss.
He can feel unreachable, but not in the sense of disappearance and fading & getting smaller. In his design, he's almost like a mountain - a challenge to reach; but with a hint that, deep down, he’s actually really sweet.
Bringing emotion to life 🔥
In this phase of Kei’s design, we shifted from broad shapes to the finer details of his personality. While his overall vibe still says, "I’m the boss here," we began refining how his exhaustion translates visually.
We leaned into a classic, grounded look- mixing professional chef coats with casual elements like suspenders and rolled-up sleeves. Choosing the colors was a huge decision! To give a nod to his chapter’s theme of anger, we played around with dark, simmering tones and deep reds/blues. This subtle shift allowed us to explore Kei’s complexity; the red isn't just about "fury," it's also about the passion he’s trying to find again. Beneath that tough, tall exterior is a palette that feels warm and lived-in.
And here is Kei as you will get to know him in the game!
We hope you enjoyed a little insight into our favorite grumpy-yet-sweet chef. He can’t wait to challenge you in the bakery! 🥖
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned! You can wishlist our game on Steam, Xbox, and the PlayStation Store, with Nintendo Switch & Nintendo Switch 2 coming soon!
Don’t forget to join our Discord to chat with the community!
And until then… stay magical! 🌟