Baka thinks he knows a lot, but when you set him down in an unfamiliar situation (pretty much any situation), he shows…

Baka thinks he knows a lot, but when you set him down in an unfamiliar situation (pretty much any situation), he shows his true colors: he has no idea how anything works, and he has no idea that he has no idea. Sure, Baka’s pretty easygoing, but don’t count on him to avoid putting his foot in his mouth.

True to form, he’s boarded the refugee ship thinking it’ll be a nice tour of the bay area. Little does he know he’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime!

Pretty appropriately to his character, I set out to create Baka without any direction on what he’d end up looking like. Usually I have a pretty good idea (or two or three) what I want, and it evolves from there. Not so this time! I started off by giving him a magnifying glass, which he held up to each eye. I thought it’d be funny if he was the clueless guy but had the tool most recognizable for finding clues. He kind of ended up with a Sherlock Holmes-style hat, then swooshy hair, then bald, then a receding hairline. And I had problems with arms (as usual).

But something wasn’t right. It was difficult getting the magnifying glass to clearly look like a magnifying glass with only three colors. As a test, I sent that version out to see what people thought without saying what it was. The response was also appropriately clueless: “Wh-what’s wrong with his eyes??” So I went with my gut and scrapped it!

After that, finishing him up became about ten times easier!