Illustrator | Photographer
“The Man Who Was Thursday” Character Design
Procreate
Inspired by G.K. Chesterton's book The Man Who Was Thursday, I created a series of character designs envisioned as digital chess pieces. At the end of the story, the Grand Council of Days, a group of detectives, each symbolizes their assigned day of creation through their attire. The book explores themes of creation and corruption, which led me to design each character to represent both the ideals of creation—good and beautiful—and how those ideals have been distorted after the fall—evil and broken.
Here are my initial sketches. I explored each character’s description in the book and accommodated their appearance to that.
Monday - The Secretary:
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day”
Genesis 1:3-5
Day One of Creation focuses on the creation of light, where God separates the light from the darkness. For the Secretary, I designed a dark trenchcoat that represents the darkness. It splits down the middle to reveal light-colored pants underneath, symbolizing the creation of light and its separation from darkness.
The Fall:
For this piece, I aimed to show how darkness distorts the light. The Secretary is depicted with his face partially covered by the collar of his trenchcoat, wearing glasses that obscure his face even further. This symbolizes the shame brought on by darkness. Additionally, he is seen attempting to hold his coat closed, as though he wants the dark coat to shield him and hide him from the light.
For this piece, I aimed to show how darkness distorts the light. The Secretary is depicted with his face partially covered by the collar of his trenchcoat, wearing glasses that obscure his face even further. This symbolizes the shame brought on by darkness. Additionally, he is seen attempting to hold his coat closed, as though he wants the dark coat to shield him and hide him from the light.
Tuesday - Gogol
“And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.”
Genesis 1:6-8
Creation:
Day Two of Creation is when God created the expanse of waters, separating the different waters. I designed Gogol’s outfit with layers of blue, incorporating ocean wave patterns, to represent the separation of the various waters that were created.
Day Two of Creation is when God created the expanse of waters, separating the different waters. I designed Gogol’s outfit with layers of blue, incorporating ocean wave patterns, to represent the separation of the various waters that were created.
The Fall:
Water is essential for life and survival. To represent its opposite, I gave Gogol a cracked, desert-like appearance, symbolizing the death and desolation that result from a lack of water.
Water is essential for life and survival. To represent its opposite, I gave Gogol a cracked, desert-like appearance, symbolizing the death and desolation that result from a lack of water.
Wednesday - Ratcliffe
“And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.”
Genesis 1:9-14
Creation:
Day Three is when God created the earth. To represent this, I chose green as the dominant color and adorned Ratcliffe’s coat and vest with leaf patterns. He wears a crown of golden leaves and holds a purple rose, symbolizing life and beauty.
Day Three is when God created the earth. To represent this, I chose green as the dominant color and adorned Ratcliffe’s coat and vest with leaf patterns. He wears a crown of golden leaves and holds a purple rose, symbolizing life and beauty.
The Fall:
To contrast this, Ratcliffe wears a coat covered in cracks, symbolizing desolation. The coat is adorned with black roses, representing corruption, and his crown is made of dead branches twisted together.
To contrast this, Ratcliffe wears a coat covered in cracks, symbolizing desolation. The coat is adorned with black roses, representing corruption, and his crown is made of dead branches twisted together.
Thursday - Syme
“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”
Genesis 1:14-19
Creation:
Syme, or Thursday, is the main character of the story. He represents the introduction and separation of the sun and moon, night and day. He is covered in sun, star, and moon imagery representing this.
Syme, or Thursday, is the main character of the story. He represents the introduction and separation of the sun and moon, night and day. He is covered in sun, star, and moon imagery representing this.
The Fall:
Since God created certain forms of light that bring life, I wanted to contrast this with a form of light that brings death—fire. I covered Syme in flames to represent the destruction of good light. Fire not only brings death and destruction to the earth, but its smoke also obscures the sun and moon, blocking their good light.
Since God created certain forms of light that bring life, I wanted to contrast this with a form of light that brings death—fire. I covered Syme in flames to represent the destruction of good light. Fire not only brings death and destruction to the earth, but its smoke also obscures the sun and moon, blocking their good light.
Friday - The Professor
“And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.“
Genesis 1:20-23
Creation:
In the creation of sea creatures and birds, I wanted to incorporate different parts of those animals into the design of the outfit from the bird feather tunic to the swimming fish sash.
The Fall:
To contrast the creation, I depicted an octopus tentacle suffocating his leg and a bird skull masking his face, symbolizing death and corruption.
To contrast the creation, I depicted an octopus tentacle suffocating his leg and a bird skull masking his face, symbolizing death and corruption.
Saturday - Dr. Bull
“And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:24-27
Creation:
For this, Dr. Bull is wearing a coat with details, like cave paintings, of man and beast, finished with paw prints on the sleeves for the last day of creation when God made man and beast.
For this, Dr. Bull is wearing a coat with details, like cave paintings, of man and beast, finished with paw prints on the sleeves for the last day of creation when God made man and beast.
The Fall:
Dr. Bull’s coat, now, has details of a ribcage, representing death while holding a skill. His glasses obscure his face as if to hide from the shame that sin brings.
Dr. Bull’s coat, now, has details of a ribcage, representing death while holding a skill. His glasses obscure his face as if to hide from the shame that sin brings.
Here are the final sets. The days of Creation are shown in blues and greens while the days of the Fall are seen in shades of red and orange to differentiate them.