I've had the Monkey King design finished for a while now, sitting in the queue waiting to go live, and honestly I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I finished the artwork.
There's something about painting a character who's basically pure chaos - armor, staff, that furious grin under the red sun - that made me want to find whoever could actually stand up to him in the story before I even launched the first piece.
Turns out there's exactly one figure who fits: Erlang Shen. In the original Journey to the West, he's the only warrior powerful enough to fight the Monkey King to a standstill - three-eyed, spear in hand, a loyal hound always at his side. I've already been sketching him in ink-wash, storm clouds and waterfalls instead of the Monkey King's warm autumn maple, on purpose. Same mythology, opposite mood.
So here's the plan now - not just two random mythological characters, but two designs that were always meant to face each other. The Monkey King's going to own the autumn, red-sun side of the brand once he drops. Erlang's claiming the storm side, mid-motion, spear already swinging.
I don't know yet if these end up as a proper matched pair or just two pieces that quietly argue with each other from opposite ends of the site. Either way, this is the most excited I've been about a design direction in a while, and I wanted to say that out loud before either piece actually drops.