Artist's commentary
Libbie Original Concept Revisited
Libbie the Cyber Oryx was the mascot candidate I designed for LibreOffice’s mascot contest. Now people often refer to her as Libbie. LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite. This drawing is my 2025 reinterpretation of her 2017 original concept sketch.
When redrawing the original design sketch, I aimed to stay true to the initial concept by avoiding major changes to Libbie’s design. I simply cleaned up the messy sketch, gave her a prettier face, and clarified her structure through improved perspective and shapes.
The high-angle view (which I failed to do in the original) is crucial because Libbie stands 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) tall (including her horns). Without this perspective, her “tall and slender” impression cannot be conveyed.
Libbie will be repurposed as a character in Spirit Animals in Disguise, where she will have a new look. However, this younger version can serve as a reference for her appearance when she was deceived into joining Octopus.Org after college graduation.
For comparison, here is Libbie’s concept sketch from 2017, dated one month before her mascot version. While I don’t recall the specifics, it seems to represent Libbie’s original concept which I attempted but failed to capture at that time.
My painting skills began to recover in the latter half of 2017. Despite several issues with the face and anatomy in this piece, it wasn’t a total failure; both the design and “spirit” of the character were largely conveyed. The major failure was that the top-down perspective wasn’t clearly communicated. The structure of the white coat was vague, and I seemingly forgot to draw the sleeves. My mental state was poor then, preventing me from cleaning up and adding detail, resulting in this rough concept drawing.
I can’t remember if I posted this picture; perhaps I did and later deleted it for being too unfinished.
With this redrawing, I’ve finally put an old matter to rest. I’m very pleased with the new version and will no longer feel regret when encountering that old image.
This re-drawing marks the start of a series where I’ll redraw old pictures in 2025. I’ll write a note later to share my thoughts on this matter.